That is an opening to the basement in the living room?

The roof is a little too chopped up for my taste.

Love the drop zone, but it looks like a long walk from the garage to the kitchen, AND across the living room carpet. Maybe think about moving the charging station to the closet and opening that to the kitchen?

I want that garage for myself, for sure! Room for bikes!

Maybe post on the Kitchens forum, too.

I like this plan. For the size of the house, I think it is one of the better plans I've seen.

I'm also curious what the "open to below" area is supposed to accomplish? I would think with the size of the main floor, you'd want that extra square footage in the living room area...

Do you mind that there isn't a sink in the laundry? That room isn't maximizing space as there is just room for the w/d and wasted floor space. I'm not sure what to suggest, but it is something to think about. It's larger than the hallway bathroom. I have a bathroom the size of the hallway bathroom --- it fits a pedestal sink, a toilet and a small bath/shower combo, but it is tight. It wouldn't be a nice bathroom to get ready in. There is very little extra room for toiletries, very little room to move around, etc. Again, I'm not sure what you are expecting, so just keep that in mind.

I think the bedroom closest to the front door is very small, and it might be cheaper to extend it by pulling the wall at the front of the house even with the other bedroom (corners are expensive).

Also, the foyer is long and narrow. I think it would be an awkward space to welcome people. If you could make it a couple feet wider, that would make a big difference IMO.

Good luck with your build!

Hello!

The plan seems pretty well thought out.

I agree with bpathome: I would move the entry from the mudroom to the house where the drop zone is located and close it off from the foyer. You can put a coat closet off the foyer instead and rotate the lockers. That foyer closet
Will be nice for storing the vacuum etc.
I would put a windows on either side of the range. You will love the natural light in the kitchen.

I'm assuming open below are stairs to the basement? Will you have storage space there? There isn't alot of storage space on the main level, but if you have storage in the basement then it should be okay.

If your lot allows for it, I always prefer a side entry garage.

This is a matter of personal preference, but I wouldn't do carpet in the family room. In open floor plans like yous, I prefer the same flooring in the entire space.

Do you really use the tub alot? The reason I'm asking is that the laundry room is cramped and if you dont use the tub alot, then maybe cut it out and reconfigure so that the laudry room can be more functional. You can put a nicer tub in the hall bath instead.

I would eliminate the garage-entrance's small closet, and instead open that space directly into the pantry. So often when you come home, you're carrying groceries. It would be convenient to walk straight into the pantry.

As it's drawn now, opening the closet door "covers up" your drop zone.

The door between the garage entrance and the front-door entrance is always going to be open, so I'd make it a pocket door. That way it'll always be out of your way. You just have an awful lot of doors in the entry way.

Windows on two walls always make a room nicer -- light form two directions make the room feel larger and more comfortable. You could do this in all three bedrooms, though you might not want a bedroom window facing the front door walkway.

For a fairly small house, this is an oversized garage. It does overshadow the rest of the house, especially since the front door is hidden down a hallway.

Thank you all so much, this has given us a lot to think about!

I'm torn about the entry through the drop zone because on one hand I like that it is easy to close off when you have company through the front. You close the door and it doesn't even exist! :) But, I completely agree about the walk to the kitchen.

pps7: I originally wanted to do carpet in the living area just because I like the homey feeling it gives, but my husband talked me into wood throughout the upstairs, except the bedrooms. I love your suggestion on the dropzone, I am going to suggest that to our designer.

We thought about a window in the kitchen, but we'll just be looking out to the back of our garage and the side of the neighbors house there. Do you think the natural light is still worth it? We will have large windows on the back walls of the dining and living rooms.

We need to give the laundry room more thought. I REALLY want the tub in my bathroom, so I am not giving that up. But, I agree that we probably need more room.

We have a prelim plan from the designer on our basement. There is a lot of storage down there. Our requests were family area, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, storage area and a workshop area for my husband with a separate exit. I think she did great with what we requested. We are not too concerned about having a huge family area down there. I want it to be big enough to sit down there and watch TV and for the kids to play video games sometimes. And, when we do entertain, we may have some people down there, but I imagine the entertaining will mostly happen upstairs. The downstairs will be mostly for us.

What do you think?

This post was edited by june123 on Mon, Sep 16, 13 at 1:30