Before everyone else chimes in, what kind of budget are you building this home for? I am probably off, but I counted 34 exterior corners. This is going to be VERY pricey.

And who's living there?

So this is a 2 bedroom home? You must entertain a lot. Since there is so much common space.

A couple thought. By rotating the powder room 90 degrees, the entry would be from the hallway. Instead of entry by the bedroom suite. If you forget to close a bedroom door, people can't peek in to see your unmade bed and the dirty laundry you forgot to place in the hamper.

The coat closet is a bit away from the main entry. Right next to the other bedroom. Similar issue. Any guest arrives and goes to the coat closet - they can peek in the bedroom.

The turned staircase is an expensive staircase - especially if it's just leading to an unfinished basement.

I can't read any of your dimensions so can't really comment on size of spaces.

It looks really really complicated. Complicated = Expensive.

Do you have a front elevation? What's the roof line like?

Lots of little changes...have to go make dinner, but I hope this helps :)
{{gwi:1507562}}From Kitchen plans

This post was edited by lavender_lass on Sun, Oct 5, 14 at 22:37

I am single with no plans to have kids ... If that changed I could put two bedrooms down in the unfinished basement.

I'll post the front elevation shortly. I was planning on $125 per square foot to build.

This is being built on 9 acres that has about 350 feet along a river. There is a natural hill on the property which is why I chose a basement (will be walkout) instead of a second floor.

This post was edited by Raqqasa on Mon, Oct 6, 14 at 6:33

Here are the Front and Back Elevations

That's no $125 a square house. And as a 2 bedroom house, it will NEVER appraise for what it costs to build. Which means no bank will loan you the money to build this without a much more than standard substantial downpayment. You need to build a simpler 2 story just to justify the cost vs value to the bank. It has to have resale ability to meet the needed appraisal. This doesn't. In more ways than one.

I understand wanting to take advantage of the view. You have A Lot of bump outs that don't give you any extra views. Like the bumpin in the master bathroom #1. I don't understand the bumpin between the garage and the mudroom? That is 4 corners (which bump the cost way up) and you get nothing in return. Is the den going to be an office area? That den is adding a lot of cost to your build...would you consider reworking the MB1/master closet/den area to straighten your lines out? You can still have some bumps, but this is way too many, and on the den area, you only have windows on one side, so it's not like you are bumping out to get extra views. Assuming you own the land outright, you will still need 20%+ of the build cost. By eliminating bumps that don't add value, you will have more flexibility with finishes.

I do own the land outright and the bank appraisal is definitely a good point. I do want to make sure I account for the appraisal value even if it means partially finishing out the basement to add a full third bedroom.

I also thought about seeing what the Den needs to be qualified as a bedroom. I am intending it for an Office and if I ever changed my mind on a kid I figured it would make the perfect nursery.

As for the garage, I was thinking I would need the space to store yard and lawn equipment but maybe a storage shed would be more cost efficient. The extra little space with a door to the outside is for the trash so the wildlife can't get to it, very important according to my neighbors :)

I could easily extend out the 2nd Bedroom and move the mudroom door back to even out those lines.

I did think about evening out the Den / Master Bedroom #1 area as well as squaring up the den. I am more worried about the view off the back as that is where the river is but I didn't want the front of the house to look unbalanced.

Ok...I see now that there is a door. At first glance, I thought that was a bump in. That does make sense for a trash can, but doubt you can get much for mowers and such in there. Your garage is big enough though.

I would eliminate that trash bump out altogether. I agree that you don't want to store trash outside. But you have enough space in the garage that you can store the trash there. With this separate trash closet - you have to walk outside to put your trash in there. Just think about emptying the trash late at night when you are in nighclothes. Won't it be easier to just bring it to the garage?

I think I'd try to find a way to make the master by the garage the true master. By adding a closet, the den can be considered a bedroom. But - it ends up being a bedroom with no access to a bathroom. You could try to make that corner of the house 2 bedrooms with common bath. One room can be reserved as a guest suite. The other used as your office. You also end up with the true master next to the laundry room. You don't want to be trading all the way across the house with your laundry, especially when it is just you living there.

I worry about drainage for the peaks over the den, covered porch, and stairwell. I think downspouts running along each side of the covered porch will detract from the appeal - but that's where most of the rain that lands on that half of the house will end up. And all those little peaks in the front make for a very expensive (and to me, kind of silly-looking) roof line.

Which way is North?

Sorry I had to run last night :)

A few of the small changes, include making the dining room larger, so there's plenty of room to open the french door and have people sitting at the table. I added a large table, for holidays, etc.

Also, if you can modify the roof lines, extending the porch to the end of the house might be a nice idea. Not only does this make the covered porch larger, but allows for the possibility to hand things through the kitchen window, for BBQ and other outdoor food, drinks and festivities.

I made the pantry larger, to recess the fridge (if necessary) to give you more space in the kitchen...and a bigger pantry.

The kitchen island is a little larger, with stool seating on two sides. The loss of light from the covered porch is hopefully offset by the window on each side of the cooktop. With the larger pantry, you might not need those upper cabinets.

I centered the fireplace on that wall, but depending on your TV situation that might not work. I also added the half walls or posts to divide the living room from the foyer.

The foyer looks good on paper, but in reality...it seems like it would be a lot of windows looking into the living room. Do you plan to have them all covered? It also makes the foyer and living room one large space. Maybe that is ideal in your situation....but if you live in a colder climate, more closet space and a bit of separation might be preferable. It really depends on what works best for you :)

Oh, I also changed the bedroom closet, so it opened from the bedroom and not the toilet area. Again, your choice...but this allows space for a larger linen area and the door could open into the toilet area and even have enough space for a pedestal sink under that window...or room for handicap access, which is nice for resale.

I agree that this is a very complicated, expensive floorplan -- at a glance, I think you have no chance of building this for $125/sf. You can lose the bump-outs and reduce the cost significantly -- with no loss of quality.

Your pantry and the master closet near the bedroom both have the same problem: They're designed so that they require walk-in space . . . yet they give you storage only on two sides. If you dedicate the walk-in space, you should allot enough width for storage on three sides -- this is just getting the most for your money!

I agree that you might want to consider a larger dining room. Since it must also function as a hallway to the kitchen, you're going to be limited to a small table. Of course, you might decide that you're totally cool with that: We are limiting ourselves to a small table, but we've carefully considered that choice, and our circumstances aren't particularly typical.

Too many doors in the "nicer" master's vestibule. I'd lose the small closet . . . and instead make it a set of built-in bookcases.

Too many doors in the master bathroom too, though most people would disagree with that.

I'd consider a sliding door in the master bedroom. It's more convenient to leave open at night (because it doesn't block one person's ability to walk around the bed). If you didn't have this back door, I'd be concerned about you getting large furniture into the bedroom -- the small hallway requires a sharp turn. So don't lose that back door!

Definitely plan on good insulation between the master bedroom and the great room. This isn't an expensive item, but if you ever end up sharing this house, it'll mean a light sleeper won't be annoyed with someone else watching TV or listening to music in the great room.

I definitely think you'd be wise to add a closet to the den so that you could call it a bedroom -- sure, you don't want it now, but it'll allow for versatility in the future. If you don't want it to LOOK like a closet, you could leave off the door and make it an entertainment system /shelves . . . and then if it's ever needed, it'd cost very little to simply add a door.

Of course, that leaves you without a convenient bathroom for that bedroom. I'd consider moving the den /possible future bedroom over to the garage entrance area (so it can share the other bath) and bring the laundry over to the master bedroom.

I'd lose the little end cabinet in the laundry room. Those corner cabinets are expensive, and they're inefficient. You'll have just as much storage if you go with a simple, straight cabinet for the laundry. This isn't a place to splurge on expensive cabinetry.

You're a single guy . . . and your plan includes three toilets. Two would be planning for "future expansion"; three is overboard. I'd consider losing the powder room and opening the secondary bathroom to the hall so that it can serve as guest bath AND powder room.

I like the kitchen. And its location.

Good windows -- you'll have great views of the lake.

The foyer is very, very generous. Not really where I'd "spend" square footage.