Might be easier to see with 1 floor at a time

2nd floor living 1298 sq ft

Some quick comments:

--No closets at front and garage entry?
--Garage is narrow, but workable with careful single car parking;
--Master bath/closet looks large compared to rest of spartan house;
--You're paying for the exterior walls to the left of the of the master closet, thus you might as well enclose that space and use it to move everything that way and increase the 9' width of the room to the right;
--Lots of wasted second floor space in the area of the "loft" (is this open to the first floor? if so it really doesn't relate to anything there);
--If you slightly reduced the master bath/dressing and moved it into the "loft" space, there would be enough room on the left side for a fourth bedroom or other usable space.
--Second floor linen closet in the second bath seems odd (do you want to walk inside the second bath for sheets for all the bedrooms?);
--Where's the furnace, A/C, water heater and trash? Everyone forgets these everyday, but important spaces

For historical references to your type of house, Google "American Four-square" house

Good luck on your project!

I'd agree with much of what virgil said esp. the inclusion of a fourth bedroom on the top right of the plan and reducing the second floor hallway space.

I agree with the others: You don't have much to cut.

Why a full bath on the first floor, given that you have no bedroom on that level?

I'd go deeper with the garage. You can never have too much storage, and that's not something you can go back and do later.

I'm thinking that the loft area is just a small seating area? Just enough space for two chairs, perhaps? I'd flip-flop that and the laundry. Putting the laundry "back to back" with the master bath will save on plumbing costs, and you'll appreciate space to fold clothes in the laundry room. And the loft area, if it overlooks the stairs, won't feel overly small.

Some great call outs, thanks guys!

Virgil: The garage entry will be a small mudroom of sorts with a place to hang jackets and some small cubbies. I agree about not having a closet in the front though. Maybe we can extend the portion of the house next to the garage?

The loft is meant to be more of a play area for our small kids. It's not open to the 1st floor. It is eating up a lot of space though. We're were trying to re-arrange the master bedroom and bath to eat up some of that loft space and maybe cut total square footage.

We were very unsure about the full bath on the 1st floor. But if we ever need to use the study as a bedroom, then it's available, but I don't see it getting much use at all..

The loft actually measures almost 12x9 with a 3 foot walk way off the stairs. So, it's a decent size room. I do like the idea of moving the laundry room.

Only a single car garage? A 20x24 2 car garage is pretty standard, and even then, it's usually not enough room for the needed storage and cars. Especially when the occupants of those bedrooms start to drive.

The kitchen layout can be much better. Angles look interesting but they waste a LOT of space. If you keep the angles, you need to have a cabinet between the sink and DW if you want to be able to stand at your sink and load or unload it. Personally, I'd square it up and have a single large square island instead. A refrigerator in a corner like that usually has a clearance issue with opening against the side wall. You'll get better sundry storage with a pull out pantry over a step in pantry like that. However, if you can juggle things a bit to take away some of the wasted space elsewhere and come up with a walk in pantry, those are the most useful and least expensive choice. And you'll need the storage if you are planning on windows on either side of the range (which you *should* be planning to get some natural light into the interior space).

Upstairs, your closet should go between the master and other bedroom to keep sound transmission between them to a minimum and to allow the master to have light from windows in two directions. The closet would actually work better as a reach in than a walk in (with more actual hanging space), and you could give over some of that square footage to the small bedroom and loft area. If you took the suggestion to even up the wall, you could probably even work in another bathroom with a shower, as the master also wastes space and most homeowners with children could really use another bathroom upstairs where the bedrooms are.

A once car garage will be full of lawn and sports equipment with no room for a car. I don't know of any developments that will even allow a home to be built without at least a 2 car garage, and many are now requiring a 3 car one. And it's the cheapest square footage under roof in any build, so it doesn't make sense to short yourself in that department if you are on a budget. Look at reducing the overall square footage of the living areas if you need to economize. The overly large master area alone could easily be split into another bedroom and bath and still be quite functional. Or, just eliminate some of that square footage if you have to.

I also would not want to share a common wall of a master with a secondary bedroom. Sound travels. And you want a bit of privacy. No child wants to hear his parents activities, and no parent wants to hear the beeping of the electronic contraptions that even an unspoiled child "has" to have these days. Sharing a bedroom wall will mean all of that and more.

Have you played around with furniture layouts on the first floor? It looks to me like there's a 7 foot wide swath from the foyer to back patio door that won't ever be used for anything but a very wide walkway. Do you want to devote almost 200 square feet to that?

Also, when do you expect the kids will use the loft play area? My kids always wanted to be near me when they played. If you're planning to make the room next to the master bedroom an office, then having a play area on the 2nd floor makes sense, but otherwise I suspect the kids will be bringing their stuff downstairs unless a grown-up hangs out with them in the loft space.

Good luck!