Not kitchen related:
- where will the kids play in the yard?
- is the driveway on the left side of the house or the right?

Will kids play in the left side near mudroom or the right side near screened porch?
The way your newest layout has them playing on the right side near screened porch/kitchen.
But if they're playing w/ sidewalk chalk in the driveway by mudroom, you can't be in kitchen cooking and in the driveway watching over them/playing them.

usually, driveway is near kitchen/backyard.

just a thought as a parent.
Amanda

I just had to respond to this particular comment: "If you change the doorway of the half bath (by the foyer) to the living room side, you can make the 11x11 bedroom longer by removing the hallway. "

That is the LAST thing I'd do. It gives me the heebie-jeebies just to think about it. We looked at a condo that we loved last go-around and rejected because the bathroom door opened into the living area. As far as I'm concerned, you may as well not have that bathroom.

I love the revised configuration with the grilling porch and screened porch, provided the orientation of the porch is the way you want it (east vs. north).

I don"t like the one posted by the OP at 12:26 because you are now walking through the DR with your groceries.

Good catch blfenton.

This is a dirty cut and paste but I wanted to stay within the footprint with the exception of the cut out in the lower left corner which I would eliminate in a house of this size.

Sticking to the mostly original plan I would not have the pantry shoulder into the greatroom and not repeat it on the other side of the dining area so I would probably at least do some sort of cabinet here.

I juggled the closet and removed the cut out corner in the front bedroom.

I would not have a master bedroom that opened onto a porch and then bury the master bedroom from the outside by putting the bath and closet on the exterior walls. I juggled that space. What I don't like about my solution is that it adds another hallway and I don't like the shape of the master bedroom much.

Just a thought about your washer dryer...if you can switch them to the opposite wall, your master bedroom will be quieter!

I'm thinking the side porch would make the dining room too dark, esp as that side of the house is north-facing. Really no need for a porch on the north side of a house.

Lavender, I like your plan... it reminds me a lot of the one I was originally working with on my other thread.

Palimpset, I just had to tinker with that master layout :) I don't love the hallway, but I do love it having a view off the back.

This post was edited by davis.mbd on Tue, Dec 16, 14 at 15:46

While it's nice to have the access to the porch, it would also be great to be able to bring a chair or bench into the master bath and put the kids into the tub. Not much room to do that in the hall bath.

It is like the original plan, mainly to access the side deck. However, there have been a lot of improvements since then, thanks to all the help on the forum :)

I really like both the plans that are going right now. BTW huango, the driveway/carport would be on the left-hand side. I would imagine the kids would play on the right... especially with the addition of LavenderLass' patio. Could be a good spot for sidewalk chalk too!

@LavenderLass... I think I can sit on the toilet to bathe my kids in the hall bath. My husband and I are not bathers, a tub in the master would just collect dust.

What is a "grilling porch?" To me those two words are incompatible in the same square footage. A typical bbq grill will give off lots of greasy smoke that will mess up any portion of the house it touches. Also your local fire codes may require that a permanent grill be some distance from the house.
You really need to think through the east west north south orientation of your house in order to make any of this work properly.
If you are not in a snowy area you may want to add skylights in the dining room, or if they just won't fit in the budget now, plan for them so that they could be added at a later date.

If you have the proper built in grill, some locales allow you to have this built in on a porch--they may require an outdoor-rated range hood to clear the fumes.

Seriously? You're building a house where the only rooms with southern exposure are two closets, a toilet, a washing machine, three bedrooms, and a hallway door? And you're worried about the barbecue?

I agree with Marcolo. If I were building a home, the first thing I would do is ensure that the main living areas were receiving the best light. How about flipping the floor plan for starters and work from there?

I sat on the toilet when my kids were of the age needing bathroom supervision. Perfectly fine.

And I see no problem with the kiddies sharing a smaller room. But if that's a concern, I suggest making the master bedroom area smaller so the mudroom/laundry can be moved up a bit and add a few feet to the kid's bedrooms. I know not everybody is like us but except for the time we're actually in bed, we're only in there for dressing/undressing. That's it. The master bedroom could easily be the smallest bedroom in the house for all the time spent in it.

I, too, hate a bathroom that has a door directly from a main living area without any kind of short hallway or some other way to disguise it. I think, especially when entertaining, that it's uncomfortable for guests to have to go take care of personal needs with everybody viewing you entering/exiting the bathroom and that contributes to a worry that your activities in said room will be overheard, that upon opening the door there will be an odor. Yuck! Keep the door in the hallway.

funkycamper: I chuckled at your comment about the Master Bedroom. I sometimes feel that I must have missed something in my life when I see these grandiose bedroom suites--most of us pop out of bed like toast from the toaster and run like crazy, day and night. Who has time (except for that lady in the blue dress waxing rhapsodic about ED medication in dulcet tones) to hang around the bedroom all day. If space is an issue,trim the MB down.
Not convinced that in a hot climate, rooms facing south is always a good idea.

I know! I haven't hung out in my bedroom since I moved out of my parent's house. That's one of the advantages of being the adult. I get the living room, kitchen, wherever and the kids can go to their rooms if they want privacy....or if I want some, lol.

I didn't really catch how hot of a climate this home will be in. And I've never lived in a hot climate. I live on the coast of Washington state and all my living spaces face south and I treasure every bit of light and sun I get through them. But I see your point.

I do think some consideration should be given to where the best light is when building a new home. Example: if someone is a morning person, they might want their kitchen facing east to enjoy the sunrise. Little things like that can really add to enjoyment of a living space.

Another vote to switch your living spaces to the south side and your sleeping spaces to the north. And a strong vote to put your kitchen on the outside wall. You will spend much more time there than in your dining room. To avoid a dark DR, perhaps the wall bordering the screen porch could be all glass.

Also, I agree completely with sjhockeyfan re the door to second bath...keep it in the hall! Having it in the LR would be Awkward with a capital A.

Porches are just as expensive to build as finished interior space. I learned this lesson the hard way.

In Texas, the heat is fierce. Porches will help with cooling. But, the budget may demand some restraint.

Will there be a garage? Where would it be located. Is it planned for the future?

No garage - either a parking pad or a carport. Not unusual for our area.

First thoughts. I flipped the side-porch plan around and then brainstormed a possible site plan that would give us privacy in the public spaces. I'm thinking we could put a privacy fence up from the side porch back, and flank the fireplace with higher-set windows to block views of the neighbor and our cars. Family access to the house could now be through either the side porch or the front door.

{{gwi:2141210}}

[Traditional Living Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2107) by Lincolnwood Design-Build Firms Airoom Architects-Builders-Remodelers

This post was edited by davis.mbd on Wed, Dec 17, 14 at 9:47

The flipped side porch plan.

A real advantage that I'm seeing to this plan, other than the increased quality of light, is that it would be very easy to frame in a doorway in the laundry room during construction to allow for the possibility of future expansion if we were to outgrow the house as-is.

More thoughts - increasing access to backyard and making the master suite flow a little nicer.

This post was edited by davis.mbd on Wed, Dec 17, 14 at 10:44

And now the kitchen reminds of one of my other favorite kitchens!

{{gwi:2141211}}

[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Santa Cruz Media & Bloggers Shannon Malone

A great design that actually works for you and your family and the site is one of the most cost effective expenditures that you can have in a build. It saves you money, and MUCH frustration, in the long term. You need to get an architect involved.

Getting closer, but I think in your newest design you have actually reduced the size of the master bedroom to the point where it would not take a king size bed. You need to double check that.

Loving all the kitchen windows...nice design there.

Unfortunately, your dining room is now just a very large hallway. Do you really want to dodge the table and chairs every time you go from the kitchen to the bathroom? The DR is taking lots of valuable real estate, it seems...can it be smaller?

The entrance to the MBR looks like it's in the laundry room. The MBR is very small - can you post the measurements? Also would like to see measurements of the kitchen. And maybe I missed it...what is the square footage of the house?

Is the screened porch something that is a must?

I'm not sure of the exact dimensions any more... we're still in the same "under roof" footprint as my original plan. The original plan was 1696 square feet heated and cooled, and I'm pretty sure that number is higher now (as the inset screened porch appears smaller than my original on the back of the house). If the master is too small, couldn't we just reduce the size of the master closets?

Yes, a screened porch somewhere is a must. We have a lot of bugs and rain, it's the only way to really have outdoor living.

I like the layout, but i would not want my busiest side exposed to the neighbors. The biggest issues for me would be lack of privacy in the screen porch and deck as well as all coming and going. Remember, sound travels through fences. Also, I would not put a parking pad or carport on the south exposure - hot car and ruined paint. Have you priced privacy fences? They are very expensive and if you do not need one for a dog I'd put that money into the house and use the current trees and additional landscaping to create privacy. I live in the Midwest and have east and west facing picture windows and patio doors, creating excellent light. Skylights with shades would be excellent for a hot sunny climate. Is it possible to expand your footprint north/south to give you more sq. footage for east and west windows?

Looking at the topographical, it appears the north and west exposure give you the most privacy. Wouldn't you want this porch as a way to provide ventilation and a space to cool off with a pretty and serene view? I picture skylights and ceiling fans.

I would take practigal's advice and really study your NSEW and I would spend a lot of time at the site to see how the sun interacts with the current trees, envisioning your views, where you want most of your time spent, and if you want much of your family's time so close to a neighbor.

Re. the dining room, maybe we could do some sort of banquette seating in that corner to free up circulation space?

{{gwi:2141212}}

[Eclectic Dining Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/eclectic-dining-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_722~s_2104)

Mea culpa:
- my not-thinking-it-through idea of enlarging the bedroom/opening bathroom into LR was based upon my own pain of thinking whether or not my family should move/upgrade to a bigger house (and we only have 2 kids)

I know everyone has a budget, but maybe this can go on the list also:
Regarding the screen porch:
- instead of just screens, where it allows in tons of dust and pollen, etc, how about making it a non-heated room where that outside wall is 2 sets of French doors or sliders.
Then you can put in phantom screens.
So when you're out there, open up the sliders, leaving just the screens and it would function like a screened porch.
But when you're not using the room, you can close it all up, so that pollen/bugs/dust can't get in.

My 2 gfs have screened porch and they tell me that if they could do it again, they would close it all up.
Because every Spring, etc, they need to sweep daily of the pollen off the furniture, floor, ceiling fan, etc.
The entire room is often yellow/limey green from all the pollen!

{{gwi:2141213}}

{{gwi:2141214}}

Here is a link that might be useful: phanthom screens = easy to open

Well bbtrix... I decided to try your suggestion of transitioning the footprint to be more north/south in orientation. I'm not sure about the plan, but it was a fun exercise!

GreenDesigns, you're probably right... we should probably get an architect. We have a "house designer" on call, but he pretty much just draws whatever we tell him to.

So, now for something completely different:

I like your new plan, but since you live in a hot, southern climate...why would you want the screened porch facing south or west? So I would flip the plan back and have the bedrooms on the south side with the smaller windows.

Maybe something like this? {{gwi:2141215}}From Home floor plans

This post was edited by lavender_lass on Wed, Dec 17, 14 at 14:06

Is there a reason you have the parking on the south side? Since it is hot and rainy will the screen porch be more of a 4 seasons room or totally unconditioned and open to rain? Where do you feel the best placement is for the screen porch to get the cross ventilation you want?

It would be a totally unconditioned screened porch with ceiling fans. LavenderLass, porches/overhangs on the east, west, or south sides would help protect the house from the sun. If I had a higher budget I'd probably just wrap a porch around those three sides. A porch to the north side would just be in shade and would rarely get any sunlight - even more so on this lot, with all the trees on that side.

I had planned for parking on the south side to mirror the parking/driveway of that neighbor (keep all the unsightly bits together!). The trees are also largely cleared on that side, I thought parking there could preserve the forest feel to the north.

With the dining room now an interior space...it might be nice to add skylights to the screened porch. That would work better on the north or east side.
{{gwi:2141216}}From Home floor plans

This post was edited by lavender_lass on Wed, Dec 17, 14 at 17:33

So I just took LavenderLass' last plan, turned it on its side, and rearranged the bedrooms/front porch. I don't love all the hallways and how the master is on the south side, but I do love how the public spaces take full advantage of the views and privacy off the back.

This post was edited by davis.mbd on Wed, Dec 17, 14 at 16:39

Another try with the bedrooms switched. Laundry is buried in the middle of the house which is not good. But now the master has more privacy and everything is under one roof (boxes are always cheaper to build!!)

Now you're going past the laundry to enter the office. Are you sure you want to do that? Or through the dining room? And your master bedroom has windows on the porch....

I think you should probably seek the help of an architect, at this point. It will really help you explore your options and see what is feasible...and what your costs might be.

You mentioned on your other thread that you are in Florida, I absolutely wouldn't want my living spaces on the south side of a home in Florida, that's more light and heat than anyone wants! I'm in northwest Florida and we never feel a lack of light.

Just build it the way you want.
You are the one living there.
Reminds me of my kD, thinking it was a good plan. Not. I changed it to what I wanted:)
Just saying....

This post was edited by zorroslw on Wed, Dec 17, 14 at 19:19

There is always some give and take when you are trying to keep costs down, but you are giving up too much space for your screened porch. You should consider skipping the screened porch for now, and if you don't want to pay an architect, look at plans close to what you want.
Pick a plan where you can add a screened porch later on. You might even want to add a carport/garage with a screened in breezeway onto the house. Consider how the sun will affect living areas and the future porch. Also, with an acre lot, you have the flexibility of angling the house for the best sun protection and or view.
If you are expecting 2 to 3 kids and they are not cheap either :), and you want an office, plan on 3 nice sized bedrooms and a small office. Use one of those gazebo tents with screens until you can afford a screened porch.

I lived in Fl for 30 yrs. natural light in any direction not a problem :-) .

Where do you want your views? Which rooms do you want facing the backyard?
Which do you want facing the street? Which rooms are best shielded from your closest neighbors windows? Figure that out first.

A screened porch/room is most likely something you would use most facing the backyard. You are alloting a lot of space for this 'under roof'. You might be better allowing for it as an addition off the back of the house.

I went back a couple plans and got rid of a redundant hallway, made the dining room more of an open, central room and enlarged the foyer.

>> You mentioned on your other thread that you are in Florida, I absolutely wouldn't want my living spaces on the south side of a home in Florida, that's more light and heat than anyone wants! I'm in northwest Florida and we never feel a lack of light.

Totally agree.

We had a screened in porch on our last house and I would not want the western sun on the porch. It would definitely be hot and sunny in the late afternoon. I would build your screened in porch as an addition outside the foot print of the house open to fresh air on 2 to 3 sides. The north side of the house would be coolest if the sun doesn't set in view of the porch. Perhaps you have tall trees that could screen the sun as it sets.

One comment to take or leave...when your children are young, you will want to be able to keep an eye on them while they're playing and you're cooking, etc. Most likely, they will be playing in the Great Room - but you don't have a good line of sight from the Kitchen to the Great Room in these plans - in fact you can't see the Great Room at all in some of them.

Consider a plan that has a DR - Kitchen - Great Room or similar layout.

Here's a rough idea....note the secondary bedrooms are a bit bigger as is the Hall Bath (longer - with a wider sink base cabinet) [Exact placement of doors, windows, walls, etc. would have to be worked out based on room layouts, especially the kitchen.]

The Screened in Porch is off the Great Room and there's a Patio both on the back and on the side. The door to the Master Bedroom is in a small "hall" so its entrance is private.

Also note the Kitchen has a pass-through to the patio for passing food,etc. more easily than using a door - a nice thing that you can do in climates that are warm year-round. :-)

Note: While I did read the individual posts, there were a lot of comments and I may have missed some things, so I apologize if it conflicts with something you said earlier.

[Edited for typos & to fix picture]

This post was edited by buehl on Fri, Dec 26, 14 at 4:34

Whatever you decide, check in to the very best soundproofing possible for bathrooms and laundry room! I also like your idea of being able to close off the kitchen with sliding doors at times. Seems like that idea may have gotten a bit lost in the shuffle.

I know you said you and your husband shower, not bathe, but I don't see a bathtub anywhere in this house. Where do you intend to bathe the children you're planning to have? A bathtub is a must. Or is that a tub in the second bathroom?

I agree there is way too much "screened porch" under the main structure. That is precious/expensive "real estate" taken up for a quasi-room that won't be used all that often. Romantic yes but in reality it just doesn't happen. We live in the south and have a 7 x 12 screened-in porch on the north side of the house. The few times our kids played out there, it was plenty of room. But when it was hot, they were either wanting to swim or be inside in the air condish.

Buehl's plan is better but it made me think that you might also consider a "shotgun house" . The more turns you put in your main hallway, the harder it will be to bring in/move furniture. And Buehl brings up a good point about having children in a great room near the kitchen so you can keep an eye on them while in the kitchen or doing laundry.

An architect could really help you best.

Think about how you are going to bring in groceries with two or three little ones. Are you going to run through the house, set a crying baby down alone and then go back out the front to get another load of groceries? Or if your kitchen is on the side of the house, then a side entry would be more practical. If you want to watch them playing in the backyard, then the back corner is the best location for the kitchen with a direct side entry.

Just some things to think about.

Also, if you're trying to keep building costs down, then explore a two-story house. Building up is usually less expensive than building out.