I agree that at a minimum we should put walls around the dining room which will help obscure the powder room. But we will also think about different placement for powder room (any ideas?) although I do have to say that conceptually our current powder room is in a similar spot in that it is in between the breakfast room, kitchen, great room, and dining room so we like the fact that it is accessible both when we do more formal entertaining as well as every day use by the kids (my husband and I rarely use it and instead primarily use our master bathroom which is currently upstairs). I get the functionality of having a powder room near the mud room but I would not want that to be the main floor bathroom for guests since I envision our mud room will likely not be the most presentable spot in the house and since we can't afford 2 powder rooms I'd rather have 1 where I think will work best based on how it currently works for us. Also we hope to have a pool and finish some of the walkout basement so there would be a bathroom down there easily accessible from the back yard.

Overall, I like the flow of the rooms, and it seems like with some tweeks this could be a nice plan. However, some of the proportions seem really odd. For example, your foyer closet is 4X5. That is too small for a walk-in, too big for a reach-in. That is 10 square feet that is just wasted. And the laundry room - is it really 8X16? Unless there is something going on in there besides laundry (sewing? crafts?) that room is twice the size it needs to be. Maybe give some space to the pantry, and some space to cubbies and a drop zone for the garage entry? I like big kitchens, but only when they are functional. There is what looks like a 10X11 area just open in the middle of the kitchen. That is a lot of walking back and forth space. Lots of counter space can be nice, but lots of floor space doesn't really help you cook. I would reexamine the whole kitchen layout. Maybe post it on the kitchen forum? Do you really need three eating areas? I agree with previous posters that you could loose either the breakfast table or the bar. I would vote for the table, since there is another table in the dining room just a few more steps away, and then make the counter seating nicer when reconfiguring the kitchen. Maybe a wider counter, or an island with seating on two sides? Then give some of that breakfast space back to the living room, which as lavender lass pointed out, seems too small. I think you have a good start on a nice plan. It just needs some fine tuning. As i've been working on my own house plan, I've started measuring everything around me. Sometimes I'm surprised by the dimensions of rooms I am in. Try measuring some of the rooms where you are living now, and see how they compare to this plan. i think it could give you some ideas about where things are out of proportion with function or comfort.

I made the image bigger by picking it up, moving it to word processing, then zooming in on the screen. - Your site sounds ideal. - I agree with the others about your garage. With so much space, why squeeze it onto the front? I'm not a big fan of angled garages. Sometimes they're necessary for small city lots, but you don't need it here. - I think that's a workshop in the garage. I'd suggest that you don't have the builder install this for you. Instead, keep your eyes open on Craigslist 'til someone sells old kitchen cabinets, and you can install this yourself for a fraction of the cost -- and avoid having it financed in with your mortgage, which will save you big bucks over the years. - To stay on the other folks' bandwagon, I'm totally in agreement that I would not like to circle through the mudroom to reach the master. I don't know that it'd be a make-or-break item for me, but it isn't ideal. - I also agree that I'd want the master bedroom facing the back of the house /would want to take advantage of the ability to have windows on two walls. Your master is kind of small, which I actually prefer -- I don't see the point in a huge, oversized place to sleep -- but windows on two walls will make it appear larger visually and will make it more comfortable, especially since you'd get lovely southern sun from the back. - The master bath could be much better arranged. It's relatively large and could be much nicer. - Love the big pantry. If you're going for enough space for L-shaped storage, only one extra foot could enlarge your storage area by 30%. If you don't do that, I'd consider either in-wall can storage (like Pharoah's Storehouse) for the wall "behind the door, OR at least a pegboard that could store seldom-used kitchen utensils. And consider Lazy Susans in the corner; they don't have to be expensive, built-in items -- just have your shelves built wide enough for the ready-made pantry-quality versions at Bed, Bath & Beyond. - Your eating area is going to be cute, but it isn't overly spacious. If you do away with that clipped corner, you'd have space for a larger table. And in such a set-up (with a big window behind), I always like a built-in banquette. - In the kitchen, angled cabinets are expensive and provide less storage than plain squared-off cabinets. Being in the center of the house, the kitchen won't be particularly bright, so I'd go with white cabinets or pale wood. - I'd consider putting the bathroom into the middle of the two bedrooms. First, this would be more convenient than walking all the way down that loooong hallway. Second, it would allow you to make the back bedroom nicer: It could have windows on two sides, and part of that giant hallway could be incorporated into the bedroom. I don't think I spelled that out very well: When you enter the secondary bedroom hallway, you'd see the first bedroom door and the bathroom door on the right-hand wall . . . but the back bedroom door would be straight ahead of you -- and closer than it is now. Less hallway, more bedroom -- win-win situation. - I have a friend whose house has that half-moon front step configuration, and she has no handrails (where would you put them? Against the house?) as you walk up the steps. It isn't a problem for me, but it is an issue for her elderly mother.

Architects do more than just give you 'pretty' plans for a dream home. They design the home so it works, is safe, so that the systems are properly installed, meets code requirements, etc. A home's plans are NOT someplace you want to skimp--be sure you have a qualified professional plan your space so it's safe, workable and will give you many years of enjoyment. Personally? I'd rather use cheap materials than a cheap plan. If you have this done by someone without the proper expertise, there are SO many, potentially very expensive pitfalls you will probably encounter in years to come. Don't be pennywise and pound foolish on this important project