Alright you've all convinced me, I'll deepen the porch :) Anything else? No issues with the open concept? It's hard for me to be objective coming from a loft. Also, I'm not entirely sure about the master suite balcony. Does anyone have one of these? Do you use it? Is our logic on the ground floor laundry room sound?

Suero, I followed your instructions but it creates a clickable link to the photos but it doesn't display them as you did?

Did you put that in the body of the message or did you put it in the optional link URL box?

Welcome to GardenWeb!

You are right that we in the US do tend to build big. I noticed long ago that the Canadian designs I looked at tended to be more compact with smaller bedrooms, smaller closets, etc. than US designs. But then, I suppose we Yanks also tend to be fatter so we need the extra space just to get around our own homes. LOL!

Overall I like your plan very much. It is clean and simple and fairly space efficient. You do have a lot of hallway upstairs but I don't really see any way to reduce the hallway by very much - and even if you did, it would make your central hall seem cramped. Probably better to leave it alone.

Do be aware that with an open plan, you will need to provide ways for water/sewage to travel up/down to the second floor. (i.e., "Wet-walls" on the first floor) Down here in Texas we just run our pipes in the outer walls but then our temperatures almost never fall below freezing. Up there in Montreal, if you don't want to insulate the heck out of every pipe, you probably need to have interior walls on the first floor that plumbing to the second floor can be run through.

There are a couple of other things I would recommend also:

Along with widening the porch, you should consider lengthening the garage. With a couple more feet of length, you could squeeze two small cars in if you had to. You may only have one car now but after your kids get to be teenagers, thre is a good chance you'll wind up with a second car - that is, assuming there is still fuel to be had for anything approaching a reasonable price!

The bedroom in the center at the back is really too small to be very useful. Plus, the closet you have drawn there isn't deep enough to actually hold clothing. A clothes' closet's interior needs to be at LEAST 22" deep and even that will have the sleeves of heavy clothing such as jackets rubbing up against the back wall on one side and and the closet door on the other. As sketched, the closet looks barely 18" deep. If you make the closet 24" deep - which is what it needs to be - the "useable" space in that bedroom is reduced to a rectangle about 9.5' X 10.5'.

You're showing the tub in the front bathroom far larger than a standard-sized bath tub. A standard sized tub is only 5 ft long. Even a big tub is usually no more than 6 ft long. I've never seen one 6'9" long! I'm also surprised to see that you're putting a separate shower and tub in the secondary bathroom and that the overall bathroom is so large. It seems odd for the secondary bath to be so much larger and better appointed than the master bath. Do you anticipate two or more of your children using the bathroom at the same time? Maybe when they're toddlers they will but, once they get a little older, even if all the same sex, each child is going to want privacy when using the bathroom. So, there is not much point in making their bathroom huge or sticking in both a shower and a tub. If you went with a 6ft tub/shower combo, you could make that bathroom a whole lot smaller and use the extra space to enlarge the bedrooms.

You could also rearrange the upstairs rooms to provide for more parental privacy by putting closets and bathrooms between the master bedroom and the other bedrooms. Here is a VERY rough sketch (made by rearranging your sketch using my paint program) of a possible layout.

Just my 2 cents worth...

It sounds like you have not bought any property for this house yet. If not, this is a good exercise to help you think about what you might want, but you'd be wasting your money to have it drawn up by a professional unless he/she and YOU know what the lot looks like. But here are some thoughts on your plan.

Your garage is almost deep enough for 2 cars, one behind the other. If you extend it, someone could get 2 cars in if they wanted to, and it can be listed as a 2 car garage when selling it whenever. Actually, since it is already 17' wide, just a few more feet gets you the 2 car garage width which would be better.

Normally, the laundry and kitchen are put closer to the garage, so on your design, I would flip the rooms on the first floor.

On your elevations (outside views) be sure to line up the windows and doors so there is symmetry or balance, depending on the final design inside.

It's only been relatively recently that new construction has included mudrooms. Have you looked at new homes in your area, or might you be referring to older homes when you say mudrooms aren't common, since you also mentioned that most houses also have the pantry and laundry in the basement which has changed in the last couple of decades. If you read more of these threads for a while, you'll find that most people love having a mudroom as much as having a first floor laundry and large or walkin pantry.

BTW, if many houses in your area have basements, not having one would likely be a deal-killer for most people when you need to sell the house. And the future has a way of turning out differently that we sometimes expect . . .

Since we also live in a cold climate, we put a 2-sided gas fireplace between the living/family room and the dining room. Love it on cold mornings!

Since you're putting a shower in the first floor bath, I'd fit it in between the stairs and the front wall, so that it can be accessed from the dining room as well as the front hall. That way, if needed, you could say that you have a first floor suite.

Anne

Don't know how I missed it but, after I posted I noticed that I'd left out the door to the master-bath in my sketch. Duh!

Also, I meant to mention that, for ease of unloading groceries, most people prefer to have the garage on the kitchen side of the house. If you read much here on GW, you'll also hear a lot about "mudrooms" which are back-entry halls (usually between garage and kitchen) which contain a place for everybody to dump off clutter like coats, hats, boots, etc before they bring them into the house. Especially if you're going to leave your garage attached directly to your great room, you may want to carve out some space for a "mud-room" in the garage. As sketched I'd probably pull the garage forward by about 4 feet so that the back wall is even with the edge of the fireplace wall. Then I'd cut off about a 10' x 7' space to make a mudroom and make it so one had to go thru the mudroom to get from the garage into the great room.

Of course this would make it impossible to turn the garage into a 2-car garage but, what the heck. The teenager's car can sit always out in the cold. ;-)

I think we do have smaller bedrooms in Canada because the 10x10 guest bedroom that you are saying is too small to be used as a bedroom is actually a pretty standard small (but definitely usable) size up here :) Especially as a guest bedroom. In a lot of 3 bedroom bungalows the smallest bedroom is often smaller than 10x10. You're right about the bathroom, I was thinking that the common bathroom would get used by more people indivudally so I made it bigger but it never crossed my mind that the master should be larger because we'll be two using it at the same time. The only reason the tub was 6'9" was because I didn't bother making a trim around the tub, it would be a 6' tub. I like your ideas! What do you think about putting the tub in the master bathroom and putting a shower (unless a bathtub can be squeezed in) for the kids bathroom? I know kids require a lot of baths but after a few years they start taking showers so it would be nice if my wife could have a nice place to take a bath from the get go. I'll play around with it some more :)

First thing sorry we'll absolutely have a basement, I guess I wasn't clear on that. I had just mentionned in my original post that I just haven't designed it yet because it's not a really a focus of ours, we likely wouldn't finish it right away. It will just be a playroom for the kids as they get older and probably an additional guest room, and storage of course. You are correct we don't have a lot picked but the area we would build in has many lots and they are quite large and flat so I'm sure any plan could be fairly easily adapted to the topography. Regarding the garage, originally I had it on the right side but by doing that I lose the window in the kitchen, and if it's a long garage I would lose the window beside the kitchen table. I'm not sure it's worth it? I would actually have a longer walk to the pantry from that side because I'd have to walk around the kitchen counter. For the garage I just drew a box, it's easy enough to make longer/wider without having any effect on the rest of the house. I haven't decided what size to make it. We would only park our cars in the garage for four months of the year when it snows, otherwise we'd keep them in the driveway. I'm still debating what size to make it :) Thanks for all the advice! It's greatly appreciated

Bevangel, I really liked your ideas but after closer inspection because thats the peak of the garage gable, there would be no way to put a window in the kids bathroom :( I definitely need windows in both bathrooms upstairs.I've played around with it a lot and I can't figure out how to get a 6 foot tub and a full shower in the master suite, have a standard tub in the kids bathroom and have windows in both.. I also still can't seem to be able to display photos like all of you can :)

When you uploaded your images to imageshack, you were provided with a series of links to share your image. One of the links was labeled "HTML code". The code in that box starts with a "less than" symbol followed by "a target..." Copy the code in that box into your message here and then click on Preview Message. You should then see your image.

The only thing you did wrong was you copied code in the "Direct link" box instead of the "HTML code" box. Suero, who is obviously a LOT smarter than I am about computers, somehow coverted the code you provided into its HTML code equivalent. You don't have to figure out how to do that. You just have to copy and paste the right piece of info directly from Imageshack.

I played around some more with your upstairs area to see if there was some way to get both bathrooms where they could have windows AND put a separate shower and tub in the master.

Here is what I came up with by flipping the master bedroom to the other side. I'm pretty sure you can fit a window in on the side over the garage so long as the window is near the back of the house instead of right at the peak of the garage. So, the masterbedroom can still get light from two directions.

Advantages:
1) Room for separate walk-in shower and a big bathtub AND his&hers vanitys in the master bath.
2) His and Hers closets... altho "his" is a lot smaller than my last sketch. Sorry but you guys always lose out when it comes to closet space. LOL! \
3) Each secondary bedroom is sized so that a double bed would not have to be placed right up next to a wall in order to have room to move about.
4) All secondary bedrooms are about the same size (Fewer squabbles among the kids about who gets the big bedroom - and trust me, tho you don't have kids yet, this can be a BIG deal!)
5) Greater parental privacy since master bedroom is separated from secondary bedrooms by closets and bathrooms.

Disadvantages:
1) The master bedroom is a tiny bit smaller than your original.
2) You may not like the angled wall that is necessary to reach the back bedroom in a manner that won't make moving furniture in nearly impossible.
3) The hallway linen closet is smaller - but it is more accessible.
4) You would not be able to put your bed right under the window as you showed in your original sketch - but having it directly under the window might not be such a great idea anyway b/c even the best windows don't have the same insulation factor as walls.

Thanks, some more great ideas but unfortunately I forgot to mention the laundry chute! My original plan isn't perfect but I don't think I have a choice but to sacrifice having a tub in the master If I'm going to get everything to fit together cleanly..

Laundry chute? Is that what that purple thing in the laundry room is?

No those are pantry shelves, I didn't have the laundry chute in the original plan, wasn't quite sure where to put it. Planning a layout is harder than I thought it would be :) So many little things to keep in mind. I moved a couple of things around slightly, so the chute would be built into the small empty space at the end of the tub with a couple built in shelves above it for towels, etc.. the chute would empty into the wall cabinet downstairs and underneath that is where I was planning on having all the laundry baskets so it would be very functional and tidy/unseen.

Well if anyone else has any ideas or suggestions on how to get the tub into the master bath while keeping the laundry chute and windows in both bathrooms, let me know :)

Be sure a laundry chute is allowed where you live. In some areas, ours included, it is against code because it's a fire hazard.

Anne

I read that in a few places but it makes little sense to me, if a small one square foot laundry chute is a fire hazard, what about a giant stairwell? Or two story foyer or living room? I'll have to look into it, but really whats stopping someone from installing one themselves after the build?

Hi qwibbled, You have gotten great advice here, and I have to post 'cause we have so much in common.

We are on our 13th home, believe it or not. 21 years of marriage, and we have often bought-fixed up-sold. We, too, owned a Loft! Loved it. That's when I became hooked on an open floor plan, also. I don't think they are going out of style... at least not in the southeast US. Well, most people want an open kitchen/family room anyway. I have polled people endlessly, 'cause we, too have just spent the last 5 yrs plotting our "final" home. Almost always, people like their kitchen opening up to a family area.

I wanted to mention a few things:

*Apparently we in the US do build bigger. I once had a 9' bedroom and that was a mistake. I would never build a room smaller than 10, but 11 is my minimum for bedrooms. I do currently have a 10x10 craft room, and that is quite functional. It would work as a kid's room.

*When my boys were younger (they are now 11 & 12) a tub was a necessity, so do keep a bathtub in the kids' bath. I also highly recommend double sinks in both baths! A basement playroom is fabulous to have for children...esp. on bad weather days. It makes a big difference in quality of life. When mine were toddlers, it was hard to drag them out to do things. We just played at home most of the time in winter, upstairs, down, basement. Kept the kids very well-entertained. A friend of mine in a tiny house had to go out almost every day to play at a McDonald's playland or somewhere. I was so thankful for my bsmt!

* Be sure you have a good pantry space near the kitchen. I'll have to look back at the drawings, can't remember. Where will the vacuum & brooms go?

* I would never build without a fireplace.....but we love ours and use all the time. Also makes holidays more merry.

* Don't know how available it is up there, but Beam Central Vac Systems are wonderful...I wouldn't build even a small house without it. They have little "garage doors" that can go in the kitchen toe-kick, and you can sweep right into that, and it's sucked away. My SIL has that by her birdcage, where seed is thrown constantly by her bird. I think the systems cost about $2800 around here.

* I did just like you---I started by sketching what we wanted. I then went through 2 residential designers trying to get the floor plan all ironed out (it's very big) and I think we'd still be struggling if it weren't for my Interior Designer. She was the miracle worker, and has worked magic on my plans. She is very reasonable. I hired her to help us with the interior architectural design (my husband & I love to decorate & will probably do most of that ourselves when it's finished). But I was surprised when she looked at our plan (and our frustrations with it) and she said, "May I please work on this?" She came back with wonderful solutions! LOVE her. The 2 pros had not been able to solve these layout problems, but she did, beautifully. Her name is Sharon Murphree-Demos, and she works in the southeast US.

But I think you're getting great help here. I'm not sure that you need an architect. My builder has said he wishes I'd gone with an engineer instead. Once you get your plan the way you want it, I might choose a builder first...ask him if you need to get the plan to an engineer, or a residential designer, or an architect. You might want to get several opinions on this, not just one builder. Someone else may have better advice on this, but in the US, architects are the most expensive option.

* I have hated my closets that were under 24" deep. At 22", the clothes kept getting caught in the door.

* I had a house with 2 small showers. One was highly annoying (too small)-- it measured: 3' x 2'9" (this is a square, but had a corner angled off). The other one was 3' x 3.5' (also a square with a corner angle door, so actually less than that large). That shower was fine & comfy, but the first one, tooooo small.

* LOVE laundry chutes!

* OH--regarding laundry room on 1st or 2nd floor--I'd rather have it on the 1st floor with a chute...I spend most of my time in kitchen/family room, and I want to do laundry right near the kitchen. In my final house, that was the most critical element---laundry and craft room and big pantry right near the kitchen. And as the kids get older, you do more & more laundry.

* Do you need a computer desk area? We couldn't function without a craft room or home office. I think your ideas about using your formal dining room different ways are GREAT. I think you are right on target there...that will be a wonderful play area for toddlers, while keeping LR clean, and where you've located it, it will be good for other purposes. Traditional Home Magazine once did a big research project about what people need long-term in houses, and the answer was a house that could change somewhat with their needs, as their lifestyle changes. I think you've done great with that.

Wow thanks for the comment, it's really appreciated! Regarding the pantry, I think it's a functional size, we will have central air and vacuumming so I will probably just leave a small one foot slot between the shelves and the wall for the broom/mop and vacuum with a shopvac in the garage. Not sure if you missed it but there is a fireplace in the living room and will have a wood stove in the basement. My shallowest closet is 30" so I think I'm ok on that front. Thanks for all the tips and if you think of more let me know!

The main issue that I find on your first floor plan, IMHO, started in your design concept: The kitchen should be not that far from garage and of course, it needs a window - so here is my contribution. I printed it to scale - the sketch has your basic space proportions. The garage to home door could be located at the kitchen or at the laundry. You could shift the stairs to the right so your garage access/laundry/kitchen could be related. I never expect the OP's to change their concepts so this is only for you to consider.

No wonder why I had extra space! I missed the powder room! :) which is to be by the laundry/entry/garage access.

Oh--I have a house with a staircase exactly like the one you drew, and I love that staircase.

I appreciate your suggestions however your design would basically involve a complete redesign of the house just to have the garage door closer to the kitchen. Could you expand upon why it is so important to have the garage door as close as possible to the kitchen? I've never seen that as a standard in homes I've visited, I've seen garage doors in every imaginable place :) Our main objective was getting the living room and informal dining area to face the backyard (for privacy) while maintaining an open concept and having the stairs to the second floor in a central area. Some of our friends live in two story houses and when you go upstairs you have to walk down a hall back to the entrance where the stairs start, up the stairs and then down a long hallway upstairs.. going from the kitchen/living room to a bedroom feels like going to another house. I think with our layout the two floors will feel more connected. We also wanted to have a room off the living room or kitchen that was seperate and could be used as a formal dining room, office, bedroom, or play area but that wasn't too disconnected from everything. I've played with a bunch of ideas and basically to get the garage nearer to the kitchen would involve losing the window which we don't think is worth it (and with my current plan would actually involve a longer walk because of all the counter space to navigate) or a total revamp of the layout where we would give up many of the things mentionned above. Not worth it for us, it's a 20 foot walk from the garage access door to the kitchen and realistically we would only park in the garage four months of the year anyhow. Plus with your layout we lose the convenience of having the pantry/laundry door in the kitchen, another major convenience. I do think we will go for a wider/shorter two car garage though. Thanks!

I think it is a good idea to have the garage closer to the kitchen and also think it is an improvement to avoid interrupting the kitchen work area for a pantry/laundry.

If you raise the floor to floor height a bit you can use beams at the ceiling to add some formal organization and style to the otherwise casual plan.

I would also turn the ridge line 90 degrees to simplify the roof construction, tie it into the porch roof and improve the front elevation for possibly a small cost savings that might pay for an attic window.

This is just a rough idea sketch and need some tuning:

I like Macv's floor plan. Maybe there is not need to place a bulkhead in the LR because it will optically reduce the size of the room. The kitchen one is nice to have. I also like that the bathroom is closer to the dining since it could be used as a bedroom. The dining could have it's own closet by just flipping the doors.

I like Macv's floor plan as well. Could you explain why turning the ridgeline simplifies the roof construction? I thought I had chosen the simplest roof possible :) I would want 10' ceilings on the ground floor so there would be room for beams and decorative bulkheads, I just don't know where to put them. Would there be any issue having 10' ceilings on the ground floor and 8' or 9' on the second floor? I'm going to go play with your plan now :)

I missed this the first time I looked at it but how is the garage access closer to the kitchen in this plan? You would have to walk down the hall and around the stairs which is pretty much the distance you would have to walk in my plan? Also, is it more beneficial to seperate the laundry/pantry area from the kitchen? In my mind the person most likely to be doing laundry is the person most likely to be cooking in the kitchen so that person would likely appreciate having everything as close as possible, am I wrong? What do others think about this? I do like the idea of a kitchen desk, I tried to fit it in my plan but it didn't really work :)

The stairway only has 14 risers and is apparently drawn wrong on the upper level so I assumed you wanted an 8-0 ceiling. This is something that must be decided before beginning schematic design. You can easily ruin a design scheme by putting off the stair design.

10 ft ceilings would increase the length of the stair about 30" which could be a big problem in such a small house. IMHO a 10 ft ceiling would not be appropriate. I would use a 9-0 (or 8-6)ceiling and add some beams below that. The goal for a small house is charm rather than grand design. Don't be intimidated by fads and the typical houses developers build; they don't have to live in them or pay the cost of the added volume and heat gain/loss.

Here is the roof and elevation. It eliminates the roof to side wall flashing and provides a stronger gable front profile to the front. It also integrates the porch roof into the building mass and the long rake creates a strong Shingle Style form.

The roof slope will get steeper and the elevation will get better if the floor to floor height increases.

Don't ignore the opportunity to use the attic. It is cheap space and far better than the basement. Insulation should be placed between the rafters and the space used like a "bonus room" (I hate that silly phrase).

The ceilings in my plan are 9', I haven't fully commited to the idea of 10' ceilings :) I lived in a condo with 10' ceilings once and really liked the effect, but like you said i'm worried about losing the coziness factor if i go to 10'. I live in a loft right now and the ceilings are 15' in the living/dining area but I don't think I would do that in my house though these days it seems everyone is building a two story cathedral great room.

It really bothers me that I have so much wasted attic space, I'm a big fan of efficient use of space. Would I save a lot on building costs if I lowered the roof and put in dormers for the second floor? Like this:

http://www.homebuilding.co.uk/files/ascent-homebuilding/images/1108duff_elevation_free.jpg

I know I would lose a fair amount of square footage on the second floor but I could probably make up the difference by using the space above the two car garage? I really want to make this as economical as possible

qwibbled,
You are only showing 14 risers for so you will get an 8' tall ceiling. If you want 9' you will need 16 risers.

Hmm, my software says 14 risers, 7 5/8" high, 10 1/2" deep reach the next floor (109 1/8") at 35.93 degrees. Maybe I'm doing something wrong

Don't confuse the ceiling height with the floor to floor height. Forget the software and just add up he risers. The floor to floor height will be 106 3/4", then subtract 12" for the floor-ceiling thickness and you will get a 7-10 ceiling height (assuming 2x10 framing). If you want a 9-0 ceiling height you will need two additional risers and treads.

Stairs are not designed at a constant ratio (angle). As the risers get taller, the treads should get shorter and the angle then gets steeper. A 10 1/2" tread is a bit long for a 7 5/8" riser. For a 9-0 ceiling, a 7 1/2" riser and a 10" tread would be good.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1402674}}

A story and a half frame with dormers would probably lose a bedroom and reduce the floor area of the attic by about a half. The steeper roof would be more traditional and less contemporary ranch.

The rafters would be longer although braced by the attic floor and the additional cost of the dormers might be offset by fewer windows. There would be more roof shingles and less siding and trim. To regain the 4th bedroom the second floor could extend over the garage.

Determine your space needs first, then consider the possible house types.

Story and a half houses only work when the second floor spaces are about 1/2 to 2/3 the size of the first floor spaces and that is not the case here unless you include the garage in the shell of the house and let the second floor extend over it.

For this type of house I like to build a complete platform framed second floor (as if it were going to be a 2 story house) and then add a 2x6 perimeter sole plate and put the rafters tails on that. This detail raises the rafters up a foot and allows more headroom under the rafters. Of course, the rafters must have a steep slope for the upper floor rooms to have sufficient headroom and for the dormers to look right on the roof.

On the other hand, there is no more efficient use of orthogonal space and standard construction materials than a 2 story square house with a low sloped hipped roof. But don't count the attic space of a steeper roof as a waste. If the rafters are well insulated, the attic space can house mechanical equipment, ducts, general storage and perhaps a future study or bedroom. Always provide good access to the attic not just a cheap pull down ladder.

Well if I can get the same amount of floor area with the story and a half dormer style by using the space over the garage then it would just come down to whichever is cheapest to build. Generally speaking which should be cheaper assuming the exterior would be vinyl siding and asphalt shingles? Thanks for the info on the stairs, I will adjust my plan accordingly

In the story and a half solution you would be be trading difficult to use under eave storage space for difficult to access attic space. IA great deal depends on how you feel about sloped ceilings in bedrooms. I doubt there would be much savings.

Perhaps if the exterior walls extended two feet above the second floor before the rafters started you could get the best of both schemes. It was done often historically but today an engineer would require either stiff exterior walls (2x6 studs) or braces in the eaves, or both. This would allow larger eave overhangs in case you have a lot of snow and don't want to have gutters. It would also allow the dormers to be placed even with the exterior walls and still look right.

I don't really care about the attic or eave storage space because I'm unlikely to use either, I highly doubt that our storage needs will extend beyond the basement. I just don't like the idea of wasted space and in the dormer style house it seems like there's a lot less material used and a lot less wasted space, plus its a more charming look. But if there is no construction cost savings then it's probably not worth the hassle. In your design with the ridgeline going front to back, is that simply an aesthetic choice or is there a structural advantage, or lower construction cost associated?

Regarding the stairs, I see what you guys are saying now, I scrolled up and looked at the plan I originally posted and thats not the stairs I have in my plan. Bizarre, the one posted has 12 treads and both staircases going in the same direction. Here's the right plan, 109 1/8th ceiling height, 121 3/4" second floor height. 14 treads, 16 risers at 7 5/8". It all makes sense now :)

{{gwi:1402686}}

Are you are shoes on or shoes off family? If you are a shoes off family, the above plan doesn't seem to have a place to sit and put shoes on and take them off.

Qwibbled, sorry I keep forgetting to mention things---I just remembered, I wanted to tell you that we had a deck off our master br in our last house. It was a really lovely deck, and we never went out there, not once. I bought a nice wicker set of chairs & table, with cushions, so it was comfy, but we never used it. We used the deck off the family room a lot. I would put that money elsewhere, personally... And--my husband & I love to have a place to go have our morning coffee...but we always ended up preferring to be indoors in our pjs. We did live in a fairly cold area, too.

Hey, what software are you using to draw the interiors of your house?

We are a shoes off family, if you look in the plan as you walk in the front door there's a nook on the left with a 4' bench/shoerack and coat hooks on the wall above. And then more shoe storage space in the closet on the right side of the door.

Highjumpgirl, you know I was actually going to start a thread asking people if they ever used their 2nd floor bedroom balconies because I wasn't so sure we would. I know I wouldn't and my wife isn't sure so it will probably not happen.

qwibbled, this is an option to think about. The bedroom is wider. If you like I can send you the dimensions.

Note:
I am trying to figure out something, this can not be considered spam - I only want to control what I post, like to edit things. If you have any comments, plese let me know. Thanks

Here is a link that might be useful: test

Highjumpgirl, I forgot to add, I'm using Chief Architect to draw the plans. Thanks marthaelena, please send the dimensions if you can

qwibbled,
You should be able to see a couple of options, with dim.

Here is a link that might be useful: With dimensions

Okay, I just thought you might be coming in through the garage.

During the winter, won't your family members be coming into the house from the garage? Might they not have wet, salty boots? Which way would you be bringing groceries in year round? You probably would bring them right to the kitchen counter without taking off your shoes or boots. If you don't see a need for a mudroom by the garage, I'd at least have a tile floor in an 'L" from the front door around to the garage door, so that you could protect your hardwood floors, and be able to drop off the groceries on the corner of the peninsula.

Anne

I will be getting rid of the link I posted yesterday.

I guess I would just put a big doormat with shoerack/bench and some coat hooks outside the garage access door?

Ok so I've thought a lot about it and made some changes. I changed the kitchen quite a bit but it cost me a window. The room will have a lot of windows so I think it's ok? I moved the cooktop off the peninsula and put it on the wall, moving the sink to the 12'x4' peninsula. We prep by the sink so it makes sense I guess, we won't have our backs to everything. I'll just have to work a little harder at keeping the sink area clean and clutter free. The stove is now up against the garage wall, will this make venting difficult? Based on a suggestion in the kitchen forum I moved the door to the pantry/laundry room down so that the pantry cupboards are part of the kitchen now and the laundry room is it's own room. I'm not 100% convinced yet but it's growing on me. Since I don't have a window in the kitchen now there's no reason not to have the garage on that side so now the garage entrance is where you all wanted it :) It's a long garage so there's plenty of room at the end for a bench/closet/etc.. or even a bonafide 'mudroom'. And moving the garage allows me to add another window to the dining/office room at the front of the house.

Upstairs I made quite a few changes as well, I wasn't really happy with the bathroom situation, the kids bathroom was much bigger than the master bathroom and there was no room for a tub in the master. I've moved things around a lot, one of the bedrooms got a little smaller but both bathrooms are much roomier now. The master closet is also quite big (too big?). I couldn't figure out a way to make the bathrooms bigger without sacrificing the size of one of the rooms but frankly, they're the kids rooms and they don't need a whole lot of room. By moving the master bathroom though I don't have all my plumbing stacked in one corner anymore and it's actually right over the open part of the first floor, will this mean i'll need a bulkhead for the drains or is there a way around that?

Well let me know what you think, I always appreciate the feedback! Thanks

PS. What is the standard overhang for a kitchen counter bench to comfortable accomodate seating?

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Sorry the images weren't loading on imageshack so I've uploaded them to photobucket instead, hope this works better!

Hi,

I know you put in a lot of thought into the design. My concern is about the laundry room being so tucked away. Even though you might have a laundry chute, you would still need to take the clothes up. To me, putting the access to it only from the end of the kitchen doesn't seem practical. You would have to go through the entire kitchen to take the clothes up. Can you instead convert that into a pantry and put the laundry room at the end of the garage? The walking distance might remain the same. However, if you have dirty clothes - working in the garden/on cars/wet clothes from snow/rain, etc, you could strip right in the garage and put in the laundry and not drag those clothes through the kitchen. This will be helpful especially with kids.

Also, in the upstairs design - if you eliminate the hallway closet, you can divide the master bedroom closet into his and hers - might be a marriage saver ;)

Just my opinions.

V

I could put the laundry in the garage, but then I lose the laundry chute, so in that case I may as well put the laundry room upstairs otherwise we'd have to bring the clothes down and up which is what we want to avoid. I guess our thinking is laundry will probably be done every couple of days. One of us will likely spend a good chunk of most evenings in the kitchen cooking, cleaning, making lunches, etc.. so it would be very easy and convenient to just pop into the laundry room and throw on a load or two. With regards to the distance we'd have to walk to carry the clothes back up, like you said it would probably be just as far a walk from the gargage. We could always make the bathroom larger and throw the washer and dryer in there but that seems less convenient than off the kitchen? Is my logic flawed?

Regarding the closets, I don't think I would need nearly as much closet space as my wife so I would happy to give up some room on my side for the linen closet :) We get along pretty well so I think we can share a closet but as far as resale is considered, do people generally prefer his/her closets?