A couple of things that I notice about the Blenheim is that there is no closet anywhere close to the front entrance to the house and that the probably most used family entrance of the house takes you through a butler's pantry and either into the working part of the kitchen or into the dining room.

With a footprint this large I would expect a less convoluted family entry into the house.

The garage/family entry in the Camden Lake also seems a bit tight, through the laundry room, but at least it leads you to hallway and not into the kitchen or dining room. I would also want a door into the garage besides the garage doors.

Thanks for your thoughts. We would definitely be adding an entry door into the garage. However, the garage leading to the kitchen really isn't an issue for us. We prefer the extra square footage and open layout that's made available by not having a hallway to the living room.

I'd really like to get your and other readers' thoughts on exterior colors. I've posted a link to the Blenheim house completed, we like the look of this completed version but are leaning toward a darker main color for the exterior. We'll be building on hill and the lot is surrounded by woods. Most of the yard will be natural areas. What colors do you think would look best?

Here is a link that might be useful: completed Blenheim

Hi there,
I have built and live in the Frank Betz Blenheim. My wife and 3 kids love this home! The main floor is 2983 sq ft and the upper (optional) floor is 550 sq ft. All that is currently finished upstairs is my son's bedroom and a full bath. There are 2 full sized walk out doors on either side of the upstairs hallway leading to expansive attic space. One side is above the dining room/master and the other is above the garage. We will be finishing a lot of that space in the future. Because the first floor is 2983 sq ft, so is our basement. It is a much larger than normal basement because of the footprint. I am in the process of finishing the basement to add 2 bedrooms, a full kitchen and dining area, a craft room, a big theater and a massive workshop.
I noticed a previous person didn't like the entrance of the Blenheim. Having kids, we almost exclusively use the side porch entrance which leads to the "mud room" where we had a nice cabinet bench crafted where the kids put their shoes, jackets and backpacks. We also added the external side door to the garage. One of the biggest changes I made to the plan was to flip the orientation of the stairs 180 degrees. So, the door from the mud room leads to the basement and the door by the other 2 bedrooms leads to the bedroom upstairs. We liked the idea of all the kids bedrooms coming from 1 door to the kitchen. We also put in a sliding pocket door to cut off the 3 bedrooms from the kitchen and living area. This is great for guest privacy. I would highly recommend this plan. Keep in mind that one of the greatest strengths of this home is the open layout and large footprint. The negative there is that means you also have a TON of roof. This is essentially a 1 to 1.5 story plan. I spray foamed the entire home when it was under construction so it is extremely energy efficient.
I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.
Cheers,
Danny

Can you post pictures of your built Blenheim home?

We're considering Betz' Highland Place, and I think it's very similar to the Bleheim. Will be curious to see what you decide. That mudroom area is stellar.