Fitzgerald:

Hi Tylerh21! Welcome to the forums!

I haven't been inside either of these home plans, but The Fitzgerald was built nearby & it is beautiful. The Hartswick is also a very popular plan in my area. Here's what I see:

The Hartswick's style has been around for a long time. We have houses in historic districts that look just like it from the exterior. So I think you could call it's look timeless. However, where once it was a novelty, it has become very commonplace in the last decade or so. The Fitzgerald's style is also pretty timeless, so you pretty much can't go wrong from that standpoint.

I like the larger dining room in the Hartswick, the kitchen layout in general & that it has a powder room near the garage entrance.

The Fitzgerald offers a more centralized staircase (easier access), a full bath attached to the study which could double as a guest suite, a larger family room, a linen closet on the 2nd level, and a larger bonus room. While many on the forums don't care for the J&J bath, I do. The Fitzgerald has it while the Hartswick plan has 2 bedrooms with no private access to a shared bath.

If this was my house, I would go with the Fitzgerald plan & I would utilize the space over the foyer on the 2nd level to make a bathroom for the bedroom by the stairs & make the J&J bath a private one for the rear bedroom. You may even be able to squeeze a 1/2 bath in for the bonus room in that space. Downstairs, I would extend the utility room to the end of the garage & bump it out back a little to fit in a powder room. I would delete the counter in the kitchen that borders the family room & put the sink in the island to open that space up. I would make the back porch deeper (14-16' deep) so you could actually use the space and not feel cramped. I would delete the door & windows from the master onto the porch and put a triple window in centered to the room.

Just my $0.02. Hope this helps!

tylerh21

did you decide to build the fitzgerald or the hartswick? i am considering the fitzgerald and was wondering if you had any advice.

Would love some suggestions on The Fitzgerald and wether I should be able to access the bonus room from the second floor??