2nd floor

Basement

With the basement, how do you see yourself living in the front rooms, on the first floor?

Do you think you'll use the formal dining room or living room? Would it be better to rework the space, to give you more area in the breakfast and family areas?

This type of floor plan is so common, but it doesn't seem to suit many people's lifestyles. If you do have a reason to use formal spaces, informal spaces and very informal rec spaces...then this might be the perfect plan. Just don't settle for the first layout that shows the right number of bedrooms and a view out the back.

There are thousands of plans available....so make sure this is the one for you! :)

I lived in a house -- well, not exactly like this one, but its first cousin! It was a comfortable house. The flow between the family room -kitchen -dining room was comfortable, and the living room was a nice separate, "away area". The downstairs layout works well.

I suggest losing the French doors between the living room and the family room. It'll provide greater privacy between the two rooms -- both visually and acoustically -- and it'll allow you to place furniture against that longest wall.

How much space do you have at the foot of the stairs? It looks narrow to me, and that can be a problem since everyone in the family will be going up and down those steps constantly. It may also be an issue in moving large furniture up the stairs.

Is that the refrigerator right by the pantry door? If so, I don't see it working kind of tucked into the counter.
What is that other small room next to the pantry?
I'm having trouble seeing the kitchen items.

Upstairs:

How wide is your hallway? I'm thinking it's narrow, and while I do think the hallway is a place to go "minimal", I'm wondering if this is too minimal. Do you have a comfortable amount of space at the top of the stairs?

Is that set of office French doors opening up onto one of those tiny Juliette balconies? That is, a balcony that isn't really a balcony? If so, I'd consider giving up the expensive doors and going with a great show-stopper window instead. Right now those doors are taking up interior space (with their swing), and they're not functional. A window is less expensive and more practical.

Still on the subject of the upstairs hallway, I'd consider either eliminating the door in favor of a simple cased opening (I don't see noise in this area as a big issue). . . or going with a single French door . . . or a non-functional window between the office and the area above the stairs. What I'm getting at is any way to funnel some of the nice light you'll have in the office . . . into what could otherwise be a dark, dreary hallway.

I'd suggest going with a plain single door on the master bedroom. I think it's a bit odd to have different-sized doors adjacent to one another. Plus these double doors have a major pitfall: You walk into the room, and you want to flip the light switch? Where is it? Oh, yeah: It's behind the door, so you have to enter the room and shut the door before you can turn on the light.

The kids' bathroom sinks are very small. I'd be willing to give up some bedroom space to give them a more comfortable vanity area. Your oldest is just reaching the teen years -- they're all going to need more sink space in the near future: Space for make-up, curling irons -- or perhaps in your house it's more like electric razors. Also, these small sinks aren't going to allow for any drawer storage space. Do these bathrooms have storage space for towels and toiletries? Space for a trash can and a hamper?

The kids' closets are okay . . . but I personally would vote for trying to enlarge them a bit. If kids have PLENTY of storage space, they can keep their rooms cleaner. I personally would rather have large closets and a smaller room -- even for me as an adult.

I like the master bathroom layout . . .except for the toilet. That toilet closet looks very small -- imagine you walk into this small room . . . where are you standing so that you can close the door? Unless you're standing on the toilet, the door is un-closeable. Actually, the downstairs powder room has the same issue. One author I read calls it a "sidle toilet" because you enter the room and are forced to "sidle up next to it" while you attempt to close the door.

What is going to go on in the "home mom's center"? While I like having my own space, does the mom in this home like being isolated? Me, I'd keep my chocolate stash in there, and that's not good!

MrsPete's right, the kids' bathrooms don't have enough storage and counter space. And in the master bath, where is your towel when you step out of the shower? (And just my preference, but a closet through the bathroom makes for a long walk when you need your jacket, brings moisture into the closet, I'd rather a different arrangement, but that's just me)

I see where you're coming from on having the garage below-stairs. But gee, what a trek every time you come in from school, the store, bike riding, etc. Maybe you'll have a driveway swinging past the front door, though.

But here's the thing: the central stairs, which will be used a lot, are not convenient. Coming in the front door, it looks like you have to go around the stairs to get to the kitchen or family room. Coming in from the garage, you have to close the garage door to ditch the coats and boots, before heading up with the backpacks and groceries. When heading down to the rec room, you have to go through the mudroom and through a narrow passage and door. Not fun. And kids going from bedrooms to family room and kitchen, again have narrow doorways. Going upstairs, right in front of you is the end of a wall with doors on either side. Seems like bad Feng shui, like it wants to split you in two lol!

In general, it seems to be difficult to get from one area of the house to another. Could you, somehow, rotate the stairs so they descend more into the center of the house? That would mean moving the door into the garage to over by the bar.

If you leave the stairs as is, to MrsPete's point, you could open up the study to the hall and stairs altogether. There's not a lot of noise coming up from the entry, and it's set back from the upstairs hall by the stairs, so it would make that hall more expansive-feeling.

Where is your out-of-season clothing and decor storage?

Is there any way around the garage-under layout? I really really hated our first house with garage-under and vowed never to own one again. At least our front door was at level ground with 2 steps, so I could drive up the circular drive and bring the groceries in that way, but it was still a treck to the kitchen in the back. Hated lugging the kids, groceries, etc up from the basement.

There are many newer plans out for narrower lots (some very narrow). Perhaps you could visit a few of them for inspiration unless you have somehow married yourself to the "not ideal" garage location.

The link below is to some local architects that do a lot of homes in our area. Many must be on narrow "lots". What are your set backs? If you do an advance search and the width of your setbacks, you might be surprised what interiors of homes are possible with garage on main level, without looking like garage takes up the whole front. (In our city, garages must be set back from the front face).

Here is a link that might be useful: Architectsnw

Thanks everyone for your most helpful feedback. I will need to get back to work on the floor plan to incorporate many of the suggestions.