We have a small, slightly sloped, private, forested piece of land, and wanted to minimize the footprint, maximize (give or take) efficiency, and keep to a cabin-like look. So, here they are in the great wide open: the plans (not the official ones, these are messy, but close.) The outer dimensions of our planned house are 32'x 32'. It is a kind of 5-level thing, with a 5' crawl space under the 2nd level for mechanics, a "walk-out"ish 1st level, kitchen 2nd level, living room 3rd level, and a loft.

From all the small home-experienced, i would very, very much appreciate comments about layout and windows: functionality, general feel, possible improvements, cost-saving changes, etc. I'm at the point where i'm in too deep to be objective! Thanks!

By the way, the purple vertical thing is our ridge beam.

Lower level:

Mid-level:

Upper-level:

Loft-level:

North view (entrance from garage, not onto street):

West view, lower roof line is where eaves end (this window arrangement seems awkward, but with the room arrangement, i can't seem to do better):

South view:

East view, lower roof line is where eaves end (the wall space between the egress window/coat closet and the dining area has been retained for potential room addition in the future:

We are still pretty young (30s), and i'm hoping 6 stairs won't be a problem for a while. We tried to concentrate space that we use a lot (bed, bath, laundry, kitchen) as much as possible. The rest, for now, is free space. I definitely don't think that it's a house for someone with mobility problems, though... Hopefully if that becomes an issue, someone else will decide they like this house.

The entrance porch is pretty high, and i'm not a big fan of that... i'm hoping we can ramp up a path that will eliminate a few stairs. We had to choose whether to set the house in deeper (more window wells or less window for downstairs) or go with a higher entrance, or lower ceilings downstairs (they're 8' now). hmmm...

Does the kitchen have a window over the sink? It doesn't show in the floor plans, but think it does on the exterior. One of the things that I hate about my kitchen is the small corner between the sink and stove. Everyone that visits has to congregate in this corner and there is really only enough room for me to do anything there. Neither I nor anyone else "gets it" that there are counters on the other side of sink and stove.

So, for the kitchen I'd make it a U shape, move the floating island to connect up to the sink counter. It would open up your eating area too. I did this in my last house, primarily due to my never using a floating island for cooking/preparation. Have no clue why I could never do that. I created an angle (inside of kitchen area portion of counter) where it met and installed the sink in the angle. It gave me a view outside through the large windows of dining area. Under the window in the kitchen I installed a large cutting board. This gave me a long, long working counter. With a small kitchen, everything was still close at hand.

The downstairs bath/laundry. I'd flip the shower/tub/sink/toilet to the workroom area. Closer to the bedroom. Put the laundry into the shower area. The work room would still have a lot of room.

Is the window by the front door really that close on the left side? It doesn't seem to fit with the exterior. Possibly move it over a bit?

Am really intrigued by what you are doing. I'd love to be able to design my own home and just with your plans can see some wonderful possibilities. As for stairs, I couldn't, but at your age nothing to consider. 30 years from now perhaps.

Keep us posted and will be interesting what other's think.

Some of the things I don't get are:

1) Why wouldn't the 14.10 x 10 foot loft be made into an actual bedroom?

2) For the ground floor, is there a way to reconfigure the pass throughs between all the plumbing areas such as sinks, toilet, laundry areas and make the large 12 x 7 "work room" an actual bedroom? Couldn't you move the main doorway to where the laundry sink is, then have a hallway to the bedroom by going through the current toilet room. Move the toilet room next to the bath/shower room. Stack the washer/dryer. If you want that room to be a work room - great, but if you separate it better it could be a private bedroom.

emagineer:
i like the idea of making the kitchen "U". It is short on counter space, and that would give a little more horizontal surface. I had put the sink on the south wall with a window above it (messy floor plans don't show that), but to make the top of the window even with the sliding door and still use a stock size window option, there would be no room for a backsplash, so i was thinking of moving the sink anyway. What you suggest may work out well.

so, the shower area... i HATE cleaning showers, which was the impetus behind this design. I want the shower/bath area to be devoted to water and easy to clean, like with a hose and a long-handled scrub brush. I also wanted windows to let out steam and let in light. Glass blocks with mortar and an aluminum-framed vent window seemed a safe way to do this (the walls are actually insulated concrete forms, not wood, so i hope we're super safe), and the blocks will be sandblasted white glass, so it will just let in soft light. We'll have radiant floor heat, so it should stay toasty in there. The bathtub will actually be (my dream) a free-standing ofuro (deep wooden soaking tub) and i was figuring on using that spigot for a hose attachment (i am laughing at myself right now. i sound a little strange, don't i?) I put the shower room in the corner for the plumbing and the surrounding outer walls. The door into it will be like a glass shower door. The room next to it is for changing/towels/primping. If i moved it, it would be closer to the bedroom, but, well, i have this vision stuck in my head...
And the separate toilet means both can be used at the same time. The toilet is pretty close to the bedroom door right now, so i think it's convenient enough. I have thought of reversing the toilet with the laundry so it could have a window, but we need to vent the dryer...

I can put any window anywhere i want right now, so that's the most flexible part of all.

whew! okay... rachelrachel:
Well, if we made the loft a bedroom, we'd have to put in a dormer egress window, and that would add a bit to costs. Also, the vision we had was of a very open area upstairs, and bedroom walls would block things up. My husband likes (check that, LOVES) to hunt, and we've got some mounts and antlers he'd like to have up, so we're hoping the openness will allow them to be displayed, but not "in your face". Perhaps if we need to, it can be converted into a bedroom in the future, but for now, we see it as a place to read and nap.

we've talked about prepping the work room floor for potential bedroom walls... perhaps some playing around with the toilet location and door and laundry and all would lend the floor plan to this a little better. We're already planning for a stackable washer/dryer. i don't really want the toilet to be right at the foot of the stairs, though, and as i was writing about earlier, i have a vision of the shower and changing room that would be hard to get rid of... do you know what i mean?

Thank you for your comments! This is just the thing to stir up the pot. Keep them coming!!!

I see now that if the toilet area was flipped there wouldn't be enough walkway from the stairs. And your plumbing locations for all which can't be changed. But in honesty the design of the area doesn't feel right.

Is your workroom a "workout" room, or art room? What is it used for?

My bedroom is the size of yours and wall space is gold. I would consider moving the bedroom door to the angle. The bump out in the bedroom where current door is planned could then be used for furniture.

And am still intrigued with what you are doing. So keep us posted.

You'll probably want to disregard my comment completely because it would mean a great deal of configuration.
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:)

It seems like you could maximize your space (and perhaps the efficiency of the build?) if you had a U-shaped flight of stairs from top to bottom.

I love the idea, though! Very cool and certainly unique! Did you mention how many square feet total?

Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress!

-Lara

Emagineer: The workroom is a space that is tucked downstairs for messy projects, working on sporting gear, a weight bench, etc. It's multipurpose... We put it by the door so we can get bicycles and other stuff in and out easily, and so the bedroom could be bigger.

Also, I agree with emagineer, that you might "consider moving the bedroom door to the angle". That would create a more "logical" way in and out of the room, and would free up space for a little nook for reading or other activities. For example, one could turn on a light and read late at night without disturbing the spouse.

Lower level

Upper level

Outside view