and the 2nd floor

In the kids' baths upstairs, consider using drawers in the lower half of the linen cupboard. In a narrow cupboard, it will be easier to access things at the back. I had this in another house and it worked very well. You might also make the upper portion slightly recessed (again, in a narrow cupboard, depth is not your friend), with the bathroom vanity continuing over as a shallow ledge in front of it, and if you put an outlet inside it's convenient for storing the rechargeable toothbrush or shaver.

Are you sure you want the top of the stairs RIGHT outside the master bedroom door? One, it seems scary, and two, with such an open floor plan, it seems that you come up the stairs to a narrow corner, that opens out again to the right. Could you move the door into the bedroom just a foot, and create a little entrance?

It looks like a very "clean" plan, very nice.

Did Nicke comment on why the 2 bathrooms that are side by side (front, upstairs) are oriented that way instead of from front to back, (where maybe they both could get natural light?)

I think that might be the one revision I'd consider. Or, put in a skylight or solar tube type "light" for that interior bathroom.

I like the plan if you like an open great room (ceiling).

No window in the master bathroom?

Will you have a prep sink in the kitchen? The one in front of the window would be too far from both fridge and the range. I think you can have a sink on the island and if you have a rectangular island, the sink and your prep area would be closer to the fridge and the range.

I have a window in my bathroom now and I have it completely covered with a curtain. It is never open for natural light to come through. Now this is because my neighbors could see us stepping out of the shower, but it has never bothered me to not have natural light. I have never lived in any other house with a window in a bathroom actually so I don't think it will bother me to not have a window in bathrooms. I would rather have storage space and a bigger shower.

Is the door right at the master scary because of the possibility of intruders being right in our bedroom? That would be one flaw that we would welcome. And the fact that our kids would not be able to sneak out of the house very easily.

I will post on the kitchen forum to ask about the island shape. We want an island that is big enough for all five of us, or the four of them, to sit at while I cook/for breakfast. I have never seen a prep sink in real life (it is like a mystical creature around here) so I am not sure about that one.

The "scary" at the top of the stairs is just the idea that as soon as you step out the door there's a drop off. (Reminds me of "Beetlejuice".) It also just seems more graceful esthetically to have a bit of transition there, and I'm also thinking of the view from downstairs (it looks like you'll be able to see it from the entry or dining room). But as for kids sneaking out, just be sure to add a "squeaky step" LOL!

In the baths, and laundry too, I second the "solatube" suggestion. We had them in our last house's interior bath and hall, and loved them.

I like it a lot! I love that front den that can be closed off for tv viewing or a bit of quiet time. Love the placement of your shower, and the restrained size of the master bath. Love the large closet in the mud room. I think it's a very nice plan, and, really, my suggested changes are simply personal preferences.

I'd add another foot in the laundry room (taking away from the closet to the rear.) Sometimes, you will find two people in there, and an extra foot will just make it feel more spacious. Also, since this room has no window, it will tend to feel claustrophobic. Also, I would need a place for an ironing board.

I'd also shrink the closet in bedroom two (it's mostly floor space, anyway), and make the bedroom larger. A larger, secondary bedroom is so pleasant and luxurious, and would make a great room for two kids or a lovely guest room.

There are so many things I love about this plan! Amazing job!!! LOVE the walkthrough from MB closet to laundry room. So practical.

You wouldn't lose anything by adding a small window in the master bath in between toilet and shower and it would really add a LOT to the room. You could even locate it up above shoulder height (where ours are) so you wouldn't need to have privacy. Rooms with even small windows are amazingly more welcoming.

Here's an example of a small window:

I think if you had it, you would love it.

Speaking of adding windows, I'd consider a small window or two on the left side of the master. Rooms with windows on two sides are classy and airy in the summer.

Also would prefer a little more 'landing space' between master door and stairs but couldn't see an elegant solution right away.

Great! Nicke has done an amazing job on these plans and we are still kind of shocked that he took the time to do them.

I see what you are saying about the "scary" stairs/master door now. My husband does sleep walk so that might be a concern!

Nicke did draw up some elevation options. I should have included those originally so here is one.

Overall, I like it. As someone else said, it's a nice, clean design. I think it'd be comfortable.

Specific comments:

- I'd include a pass-through from the pantry to the kitchen. It'll allow you to stand in the pantry and set cans right onto the kitchen cabinet.

- I'd definitely have the WIC in the mudroom "continue" into that half-tall space under the large stairwell. You could have loads of short-storage under those stairs -- perhaps for holiday items, or other things that you don't access on a regular basis. Don't let all that empty space go to waste.

- I agree that I'd want a window in the master bath. Perhaps flip the closet and bath to accommodate this? If privacy is a concern, use a thin white curtain -- you'll still get light, but no one'll be able to see in. Or, if you're feeling splurge-y, consider a stained glass window.

- Ditto for the downstairs bath -- I'd want some natural light.

- I like the above poster's idea to turn the two upstairs hall baths "sideways" so they can each have a window.

Oh, with the garage roofline you won't be able to do a window in the master (unless you do a "cut out", or whatever it's called; but you have such nice clean lines as it is, don't complicate it). I'm tellin' ya, solatubes LOL!

Here's a picture of the master entry moved in a bit, and I switched to small double-doors so it doesn't block the bathroom door. And, left the "old" doorframe to create a "vestibule"; you could put a pretty light in the ceiling there.

Just for fun, tried turning the hall baths so they could have a window, but the window would be over the tub, not sure if you like that; It also added an angled entry for BR2, keeping the "angled" theme going.

Love the clean elevation. Do you think you'd want a service door, though it would mean a reconfigure of the closet/mudroom?

Here's another vote for solatubes in all the bathrooms!

Building codes require operable windows proportionally sized to the floor area of habitable rooms and half of that must be operable to allow natural fresh air ventilation.

Bathrooms are not habitable rooms so an exhaust fan will suffice for code required ventilation but this is a good example of why homeowners should not use the building code as a design guide.

A bathroom needs fresh air and natural light as much as any other room so in my experience omitting a window would be entirely unacceptable to most homeowners.

The intersection of the garage and the main house is so awkward it looks accidental so moving the garage back would be beneficial to the overall design and also allow a window in the bathroom next to the toilet.

I would consider this design to be in a preliminary stage in need of too much tuning to comment upon so I'll just point out that some space needs to be provided at the tops and bottoms of the stair runs to allow wall mounted railings to properly terminate and avoid falls.

This would be a good time to show this to a professional designer or builder.