Overall, I like it. It does have a good flow, and it allows a good view of the back yard. Unlike so many other plans, the garage is in the front of the house, but it isn't stuck out in front like an afterthought. The dining room and kitchen don't have much natural light, which can't be corrected -- but the built-ins are nice (though expensive).

However, I didn't like the interior images. That might've been the choice of finishes, which were very much not my taste.

I see very few things I'd want to change:

- The laundry room is very small. I'd give up one of the bathrooms to have an actual room instead of a closet, and the space is there -- it would be no problem.

- I don't care to have an oversized master bedroom -- it's just a place to sleep. I'd definitely cut down this 25x15 room.

- I'd want a bigger pantry.

It is a nice, simple layout! Dont know about your household so whether it works for you is up to you. But perhaps a couple of changes?

For example, when you walk in you are drawn in a straight line to the back door. Perhaps curving the island surface will soften the flow. Solar tubes in the kitchen, entry, laundry hall will bring in much-needed light.

Combining baths and enlarging the laundry is a great idea, and would give a little more household storage/broom closet space. The bath could have a single entry from the hall, giving the bedrooms an extra corner for furniture,

That is a large master, perhaps you could steal 8-10' or so for a quiet area, a sitting/reading room. There is only one living area, so a quiet spot on the first floor is nice,

How would you us the bonus room?

Agree with other posters about the laundry area. My old house had a laundry closet as opposed to an actual room with very little storage. I would cut out one of those guest bathrooms and one of the linen closets and make an actual laundry room. You'll still have that full bathroom upstairs.

That master bedroom is really large. My old master was 19 x 19 and I could do cartwheels in it! I like the layout of the master bathroom

In terms of accessibility from the living room, the powder room is not in a good location. I would want that half bath near the kitchen/living room area.

Also agree with other posters. There are a few other items that I personally don't care for.

The kitchen layout would not be adequate for me. I'm not a fan of kitchens that are basically a hallway, and I need more storage space, and more counter space. But depends on how you cook and the size of your family. With a covered porch, your main area is not going to get any natural light. Consider skylights or solar tubs.

Oh, that stairway! It's going to be a nightmare getting furniture up or down. Imagine trying to get a large piece of furniture around all those corners. One of our previous homes had a stairway similar to that, and we couldn't even get a normal sized couch down the stairs. So now I cringe whenever I see a similar setup.

I like a galley kitchen (hallway kitchen) just fine -- if it's against a "back wall". I'm not so sure it works well in the middle like this. It's one of the things that I didn't like in the images -- and I didn't "see" that I didn't like it until I looked at the images.

I personally like a moderately-small kitchen. If it's small, you can afford to have the really nice tile and countertop to make it look great, and it's quick to clean; however, the small size ONLY WORKS if you couple it with a large pantry so that you have the necessary storage . . . and this pantry could be expanded a bit into the garage.

Another kitchen thought: Note that if you're big grillers (we are), you'll have to carry plates of meat across the living room to reach the outdoor grilling area.

I like the idea of carving out a small sitting area from the massive master bedroom. You can do that and still have an ample-sized master. Perhaps it could be a long, narrow office /craft type room that could incorporate the existing computer space.

I do agree about the staircase and furniture being a bad mix. Another point: that turny-staircase will be lovely . . . and expensive. It's a shame to hide it in the back hallway. Fancy staircases are included in about 95% of the plans on this site, but if you're doing a staircase that "doesn't show", it makes sense to go with a space-saving, inexpensive, straight stair.

Would it make any sense to swap the kitchen and dining rooms? Here's why: when you walk in, your eye is drawn to the far end of the house, and the kitchen in the middle becomes part of that view. If the kitchen is in the front, you can have a U-shape or L with island, and it's not in direct view. When dining, you can also divert attention to the living room and outdoors, instead of the messy kitchen. And, if you add a window on the right-hand wall of the entry, you'd get a little more natural light into the kitchen.

I guess I should have went into a few more details when I said "We love the way the floor plan is laid out."

The plans are in the process of being modified right now with the following changes:
1. the "guest wing" will have the bedrooms left as is except the closets will be extended to where the bathroom doors were. There will be a laundry room added and a single bathroom.
2. The master bedroom will lose 2' in width to the covered porch and the living room will be 2' wider
3. The front porch will lose 2'. The kitchen will get 1.5' in length and the living room gets the other 6". There is an alternate kitchen layout the we may use so we decided to go ahead and ensure there was enough space if we decide that we don't like the island.
4. The bonus area will get a full wall with a door at the top of the stairs so that its closed off. Right now it will be unfinished until I get the time to finish it. May possibly add a bedroom up there for out of town guest or additional kids.

Sounds like a lot when you write it out, but really just minor changes.

Wow, GWers are on the ball...made all the suggestions you're already doing lol!

Are you giving up the porch access to your garage?

Curious as to what the alternate kitchen layout is, can you show a layout?

Yes, giving up the garage access from the porch and probably the walk in door beside the garage doors too. We need the storage space more than we need a walkway through the garage.

As for the alternate kitchen layout, we thought about the kitchen from this plan attached. The width is 13' so it would roughly leave a 5' walkway. The added walls would give the dining area a more defined space.