Depending on what options you have for the driveway I would move the garage door to the side and add windows for nicer curb appeal. We did it, and while you can still see it's a garage it's not the most overwhelming architectural detail. If you do decide to keep it in front I would definately look for a custom door that would add to the look. They can get pretty expensive though.

Looking at your plan, I have some big concerns, so I hope you don't mind some critical comments.

I am concerned about the scale and if things really are workable as sized. The doorways to the toilet and shower in the master bath, for example, are about the size of the depth of the kitchen cabinets...so 2 ft?

I don't know how you'd get into the master bedroom closet (small doorway and not enough room to hang rods on both sides as you show), and your guest and linen closets are narrow and deep.

I don't think you'd fit a table in the breakfast area with the clearance needed for seating and the 2 doors.

The bathrooms don't have much room for storage or towel rods.

I don't know what your family size and ages are, but I don't see a closet near any secondary/family entrances, and, I know this may be a personal thing, but I would hate a walk-through laundry, and one without room for even one hamper. You'd have to be super neat and keep all dirty laundry elsewhere until it was going into the washer in order to keep that walkway clear.

The deep back porch mean it and the great room will be kind of dark...are you planning any skylights? Will you have windows in the great room?

Have you tried drawing furniture to scale in each of the rooms so you can check that you have room for what you want and clearance for traffic around it all? Also, where do you see storing cleaning supplies, broom and vacuum, and other things necessary to keep stored around the house?

Hope this helps. It's a complex process to get a plan right for your family. Best wishes.

rhome410 -

Thanks for the detailed look at the plan. I have copied what you wrote and will answer in parentheses below to keep it focused.

Looking at your plan, I have some big concerns, so I hope you don't mind some critical comments.

I am concerned about the scale and if things really are workable as sized. The doorways to the toilet and shower in the master bath, for example, are about the size of the depth of the kitchen cabinets...so 2 ft?

I don't know how you'd get into the master bedroom closet (small doorway and not enough room to hang rods on both sides as you show), and your guest and linen closets are narrow and deep.

(The entire left side of the house will be bumped out another 1.5 to 2 feet for the bathroom and closet space, as well as the additional depth in the garage and thus the bonus room. So to answer your questions - the doors will be wider - more like 2'4" in the toilet and shower and this well open up the space for a larger door into the master closet from inside the master bath. We don't want to have to wake the other person up in the morning if possible, so keeping the door shut to the master bed and accessing the closet from the master bath should help that we fee. This will make the walk in closet a total of 7" wide which is plenty of walk thru room even with clothes hanging on each side. Good catch though - it took me a little while to figure that one out.)

I don't think you'd fit a table in the breakfast area with the clearance needed for seating and the 2 doors.

(I have scaled it out with our current breakfast table and chairs and while it will work, I really am leaning towards eliminating the entire breakfast nook and using that space for making an incredible kitchen layout. This would remove the door to the patio - perhaps not depending on the layout - and would allow for two pantry's in the kitchen - one where the refrigerator is now for brooms and other cleaning items you mentioned below, and the other for food would likely be included in the kitchen cabinets instead of framed in. What do you think about taking out the breakfast nook? I know people like them, but if you use it religiously then you're dining room is likely going to be neglected. That's a lot of wasted space in my opinion. But I eat at the bar most of the time so I won't miss the table. In fact, we've used our breakfast table in our current house about 3 times in 2 years. We personally won't miss it.)

The bathrooms don't have much room for storage or towel rods.

(We currently have less storage in bathrooms and still have more than we need. It's always good to have storage, but I'm not worried about it with the size of our linen closets. We store towels and sheets in there only. So, between the two of us we don't really have a lot of stuff to need storage for. Did I mention we're 24 years old and have one spoiled rotten dog and zero children. We don't plan on having children in the next 3 years or so either.)

I don't know what your family size and ages are, but I don't see a closet near any secondary/family entrances, and, I know this may be a personal thing, but I would hate a walk-through laundry, and one without room for even one hamper. You'd have to be super neat and keep all dirty laundry elsewhere until it was going into the washer in order to keep that walkway clear.

(Again, just the two of us. We currently have a 6 foot wide by 4 feet deep laundry closet - this will be an upgrade in our book. We don't keep dirty clothes in the laundry unless they are in the machines. My fiancee is an OCD clean freak. You can eat off our floors and I promise you that there is a place to store everything within our closets - including dirty clothes. We wash 1 time a week for both of us. I guess we're lucky, but if we were Jon & Kate - I may be looking for a different style laundry room. I'm not big on the walk thru but it is large enough to get the job done and without changing the layout and therefore adding costs to the build for something we won't utilize like the other areas we will - I can't justify spending the additional money and changing the look of the outside. If you want to draw out a sample of how to modify the layout without changing many things in the plan then I'd be happy to try to incorporate it.)

The deep back porch mean it and the great room will be kind of dark...are you planning any skylights? Will you have windows in the great room?

(I may be missing something but I don't understand the first part of the first sentence here: "The deep back porch mean it..? The great room won't have skylights - I hate them - as a Realtor, every house I've ever toured that has skylights also has leaks. No thanks. We may incorporate some of the solar tubes if I can find out how prone they are to leaks as well. Big holes in my roof that have to be flashed around well to prevent leaks, scare me. I currently have way more light in our living room that anyone can stand. I don't want that again. Thus we incorporated the covered porch area. We will have full lite doors on both sides of the fireplace leading to the deck. My parents have almost an identical rear porch layout and we are totally fine with the amount of light that comes in. Our house faces the same direction as theirs does and we have less trees, so I think we'll be fine. I'm still debating whether or not to vault the rear porch ceiling and that may help a little bit. We'll see.)

Have you tried drawing furniture to scale in each of the rooms so you can check that you have room for what you want and clearance for traffic around it all? Also, where do you see storing cleaning supplies, broom and vacuum, and other things necessary to keep stored around the house?

(Yes, I have scaled every piece of furniture we currently have in this plan and it all fits. This house is over 300 sq.ft. larger than our current. All rooms are larger and I'm not interested in additional sq.ft. just to have it. We lived in 400 sq.ft. 1 bedroom apartments throughout our years in college, and we've learned to love cozy spaces - as long as they are designed and decorated well. We do not have clutter. Did I mention the OCD clean freak I live with? Most days, the dog is too much "stuff" in the floor! Not joking. Stop laughing!

If I reorganize the kitchen the brooms and cleaning supplies will be taken care of. Also, even though it's not drawn in - there is room for a double door cabinet style pantry in the laundry room - this will house the vacuum and other miscellaneous items we'll store - including the doggie grooming supplies. By the way, we have the cleanest dog in the world. Most days I think she's probably cleaner than me. I'm thinking of incorporating a small 3 x 4 tile dog shower in the area under the steps to the bonus room - accessed through the garage where it would otherwise be wasted space that we can walk the dog into for her baths. She's getting older and balance has been an issue so getting into and out of the bathtub with her is a hassle. Plus, I don't think having dog hair in the tub is a good thing. What do you think?)

Hope this helps. It's a complex process to get a plan right for your family. Best wishes.

(Thanks for your comments. Please keep them coming.)

rachelh -

I have already relocated the garage doors to the left side of the house. I'm not a big fan of seeing garage doors on the front of the house. I like them facing the side of the house or a courtyard entry garage. Our neighborhood is set up to discourage that as well in the restrictions. Thanks for the comments.

Obviously bumping out that end will make a big difference. I worry a little about any doorways less than 30" (you mentioned toilet and shower at 28") and I'm not one of them, but there are those here who wouldn't do less than 36". Think of navigating around if you have something as simple as a broken ankle, df (dear fiance') gets pregnant, or you need to get in to do repairs or replace the toilet.

Excuse me if this sounds blunt, but I don't know how to say it in writing in a better way, but I think basing everything on a comparison of what you have now and how you live as healthy and carefree 24 yr olds may be short sighted. It's certainly understandable, but I've been where you are and 24 yrs past. :-) Do you plan on moving within the 3 years you won't have kids? Diapers and piles of clothes with spit-up on them, trikes, strollers, and lack of energy and time to keep everything as spotless will change your needs for things like laundry and closet space in a hurry. And kids only get more stuff and make more mess as they get older and play outside, join sports teams, etc. I'm certainly not someone who would encourage extra square footage 'just to have it'. We have a family of 10 in 2750 sq ft. and I am big on efficient use of space, which makes me big on space where it's needed and plenty of storage.

I actually meant skylights for the porch. That sentence you didn't understand was supposed to read "The deep back porch *means* (that) it and the great room will be kind of dark." (sorry for the quick typing) I meant that the depth of the back porch will prevent/shade daylight from lighting either space. If you know of a space like that and think it's OK, it's your call. I would think that in the realty business you would find buyers that would be turned off by a main living area without ample natural lighting.

We use our dining room on a daily basis and my kitchen was top priority in designing our home, so I am one who would certainly favor an incredible kitchen layout over a redundant casual dining space. Be sure to visit the kitchen forum when you have an idea of how you want to arrange it. :-)

Anyway, I hope you know I'm only trying to help bring things up you might want to things to consider. It's a big project and I wouldn't want to neglect mentioning something that might cause you to have regrets when it's finished, or too soon after. That's what we're all here for! Best wishes.

rhome410 -

First, let me say "Thank You" and I didn't take anything to be blunt or rude by any means. I asked for everyone's input, just as I do with all my friends and family, and I wouldn't be pleased with this forum if all I got were... "It looks good!", "Post pics when you're through and we'll tell you then!", etc. I really wanted the critical feedback and you've definitely brought a few key things I hadn't considered to mind. We have a construction company that we operate alongside our Real Estate business and after every house we build, I go back and write down all the things we hear from buyers that they do & don't like, as well as the problems we have with the build and what could have/should have been done differently. It's inevitable that I won't get it right on this house or any of the specs we build in the future, but I do want some things to think critically about now. I can't have everything in 1650 sq.ft. with the overall look I want, so we are just trying to determine what we are willing to compromise on and what we aren't. So, that being said, again "Thank You" for looking so critically at our plans. I wish my fiancee would look at it as closely as you have and give me even more feedback. It's not our final house, so basically all I get is "It really doesn't matter too much for this house!"

The whole idea is to move every 2 to 3 years. This house won't be any different. We won't have kids in this house. If by accident we do, we'll build again sooner!!! Plus, 90% of the buyers in our area (our subdivision) are empty nesters and want efficiency & cost affordability versus the additional sq.ft. We're in NC foothills and have a lot of folks from Florida & New England area that are moving here to retire. They want good entertaining spaces and lots of porches for the rocking chairs they've always wanted. They are also now on very tight budgets b/c the housing markets in their regions are suffering drastically compared to ours. They are leaving the McMansions alone and are gobbling up our smaller more custom spec homes. We haven't built a single home yet over 2300 sq.ft. total and they are all selling for under $300k with all hardwood (except 2nd and third bedrooms) and ceramic tile, granite countertops, Hardie plank & stone siding, vaulted ceilings, etc. They absolutely love them. And they are all on over an acre of land with nice mountain views from the porches, etc. I'm telling you all this to help you understand that most of our local folks don't typically buy houses like this when they are moving up for larger families, so my end result in 2-3 years has retirees in mind - probably with blinders on.

You absolutely bring up good points about not thinking like we're 24 for the future, and we definitely didn't plan for children and diapers (uggghh!) for this house.

I totally agree, buyers do like ample natural lighting, but when it comes down to it, I really don't think we'll sacrifice enough natural lighting with the design. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty confident it will be just fine as there are windows all over the house leading into the great room ... ie. from the dining room, the kitchen/breakfast nook, the doors to the patio, double front doors with 3/4 lites, etc.

The back of our house will face due south - therefore we'll have daylight coming in the back of the house all day long. And in the south (at least where we are) for most of the year the sun stays in the lower southern hemisphere and never gets to the front of the house completely. It was a major factor in selecting the lot we chose. Mostly for energy savings so we won't have to have lights on during the day. Partly why I want the most critical living areas in the rear of the house. The smaller back right bedroom will likely be where our dog lays on her bed to get her daily "sun bath".

Our current house faces the same direction and again as I mentioned, the glare and light that comes in the house is plentiful and I all too often wish it wasn't as harsh. I'll talk with my DF and my dad, brother and most critical friends and see what they think. I may need to modify the rear to include some ways to let in more light. We'll see!!!

Again, thanks for the thoughts. You've given me more to think about than anyone else, so far. On the forum and in my personal day to day conversations.

You're quite welcome, but it doesn't sound like I was of any help! You didn't need it. ;-D

rhome410 -

You were definitely of help! You brought up things I hadn't really thought about, but will definitely think about now. Like the fact that other couples may very well like a house like this that do in fact have children; and I don't want to do anything to hurt my chances of selling for top dollar when it comes time. On my final house, I'll say "The heck with it" and just do exactly what we want. But for now, you have caused me to step back and think a little more about other buyers, even though they aren't the most prevalent target I'm after. Money is money! As long as it helps us move on to the next house, I don't really care which market segment it comes from. I just want them to enjoy the house as much as we do!

I'll make changes along the way and hopefully get a few more updates on here in the next few months with all these changes hopefully worked into one fluent plan. Keep your eyes out for it and please comment again. Have a great weekend!

Charles