I think this is going to be a great house for you. I really like the porch. Will it be screened?

Looking good. However, I would be concerned with the size of the dining room. How wide is your dining room table? The one you are showing looks very narrow to me.

the 'entry' and mstr baths both look much better!

what's on either end of the stove 'run' in the kitchen? the wording is too small for me to read. I'm guessing pantry on the hall end and work station by the DR?

I think it's looking great!

It's still the same type of house, you first posted...but so much better! I like the way you've worked out all the little 'challenges' but kept the home that you envisioned, from the beginning. And the entry bathroom looks much better, too! :)

I think the house will live really well. The main difference I see from your initial designs is the loss of the dedicated office. If your family is comfortable not having that dedicated space, then that loss is not a big deal.

I mentioned before about planning where parking will be, as that will be the main functional entrance into the house. But with your focus on the main entry also being sort of a mud room, it looks like that is where parking will be -- a circular drive with some pull-off "spaces" in front?

Last, I'm a little worried about your closet space. My husband and I have filled up a 12'-wide reach-in closet, and we (especially me) are not clothes horses at all. And this does not include coats/jackets that are in the hall closet or DH's suits and some of my dress clothes that are in another BR's closet. Just make sure you are honest with yourselves about how minimally you can live in the clothing department(!)

The small closet in your hall -- is that the water heater, or is that a linen closet? If it's the water heater, you don't have a linen closet. I can't tell what is happening in the laundry, but you could do two things there: use a stacked W/D and use the freed-up space next to it as a linen closet; or use front-loading W/D with the folding surface on top of them (with shelf storage above) and on the right (where it looks like there is a countertop) make that a closet of some kind. It can hold linens and surplus clothing, and the other stuff closets hold -- like the vacuum cleaner, ironing board and brooms/mops -- there is never a good place for those things.

Also, where is the interior portion of the HVAC going to be housed -- attic/crawl space?

Thanks for the replies!! I have updated the plan (below).

Marti8a ~ Thank you! Yes, we do plan to screen the porch. I love having the option to enjoy the great outdoors without all of the bugs!

Dekeoboe ~ Good catch! Thanks for looking out for us! I hadn't noticed how narrow the Chief Architect provided table is. We would indeed prefer a wider table. I enlarged the dining room a bit to accommodate.

Desertsteph ~ Thanks for the words of encouragement! You are correct, that is a pantry on the hall end and the "office" cabinet on the dining end.

Lavender Lass ~ Thanks so much! I sure hope we are close!!

Jakabedy ~ The loss of an actual room for an office came with great scrutinizing of how we live. In a former home, we had a separate office space and a walk down memory lane reminded us that we never used it. We would always work at the dining room table or the breakfast bar in the kitchen. I would even grade papers curled up on the sofa! Therefore, to save square footage and to better accommodate how we live, we are going with the office cabinet at the dining end of the kitchen. I think it might be cool to have a rolling cart that can be pulled over to the table to create more workspace.

Our driveway will wind up our knoll with parking in the front (we may add a detached carport or garage later). I like the idea of a circular drive, but we will have to see if it will work.

You hit upon one of my biggest concerns with this particular design ~ closet space. In the bedrooms (budget allowing), we are planning to have "wardrobe walls" instead of true closets. I think this will utilize the space better.

That is a water heater in the hallway. In the laundry room, we are planning to have cabinets above the W & D to house linens. On the opposite side, we are planning to have cubbies for laundry baskets with cabinets above for more storage. I am hoping that the space on the north end of the kitchen (backing up to the entry) will be room enough to store a central vacuum and cleaning supplies as well as my cookbooks.

Lastly, for HVAC, we are planning to have a ductless mini-split system.

Thanks for your wonderful feedback!!

Here's the updated plan:

I continue to appreciate your ideas ~ I am amazed at the help I am receiving from people I have never even met. I will do my very best to "pay it forward" :) !!

Is there any particular reason you're going with a mini-split rather than a traditional ducted system? Is the climate very temperate so that you sill seldom need heat or air? Is it a cost concern? Re the mini-split system, have you run this plan past a mini-split contractor? Do you know how many units you'll need? Please do have a pro look at that and help you sort it out. You may find out it isn't saving you as much as you might think, and you'll also have the units poking through the walls.

We had one in an attic in a 1926 home, as there was no real way to duct it given the construction. I remember it being very loud. Of course the whole thing hung in the attic -- the construction didn't allow it to be mounted in the wall. So even though the cooling portion is outside on the ground, you still have the fan noise in your room. But this was a Mitsubishi Mr. Slim ca. 2000, and they have probably improved them since then. In any event, do find a way to spend some time in a room where one is operating, so you know what you're dealing with.

In my mind, mini-splits are ideal for retrofitting into exiting homes. I also see them in additions to existing homes, which saves the cost of adding ductwork and possibly a second or larger HVAC system. But you're starting from scratch. You can do a traditional ducted system inexpensively at this point.

I love your idea of the rolling office cart. I'd like to implement that myself. I do most of my work at the table too.

I read that the mini-split systems are more expensive than regular HVAC and cost more to operate than window units. I didn't know about the noise though. I thought about putting one on our den but the HVAC company managed to run some ducts to it. It's still not as cool as the rest of the house though.

We have a minisplit system...and will likely use another one when we finish our addition.

In our case, installing furnace (with or without air) was WAY more expensive than putting in the mini. Plus, there are rebates for the minis. Plus, we got a/c for "free"...

But, I'd price them both out.