I really like the way the house looks, and I like a lot about the main level, but I'm wondering if you plan to have a TV, and if so, where you'll put it?

As you say in your post, the upstairs has a lot of wasted space. Since you plan to have more kids, why not put in a 4th bedroom up there, instead of having so much hallway?

Also, do your kids like to play away from you? Or do you expect to sit with your kids in their playroom? Mine always wanted to be near me, and then when they were past that wanted to be in their own room. I'm not sure an upstairs playroom would have ever gotten much use in our family, because I get antsy sitting around while my kids play, and would go find work to do, and they'd follow and play near me.

If you do plan to use an architect, you could take what you've got with you and talk about your concerns and see where the process goes.

Good luck!

Thanks, Z4N! We are thinking flatscreen TV over the fireplace. Right now we have a giant entertainment center, but we really don't want to devote so much real estate to it in our new house.

I know what you mean about kids wanting to be nearby -- that is something I've been thinking about as well. I did find one plan -- linked below -- that has a small family room off the breakfast room that would work well as a playroom. I don't love a lot of other things about that plan, though, including all the wasted space on the second floor (and the thought that one of my kids IS going to fall over that balcony at some point).

I've thought that one possibility might be using the formal dining room as a playroom while they're younger, and then when they're older and don't want to be near Mommy all the time, they can use the upstairs room. (It could be storage or a workout room or something in the meantime.) My husband really wants the formal dining room now, so we can have fancy parties, but frankly, we have three kids under 6. The only parties we're throwing involve Little Caesars and legions of OTHER kids running around!

Here is a link that might be useful: Eastlake

What about doing away with the two closets upstairs and putting in a laundry room? Our kids produce most of the laundry in the house, and at some point I'd like them to take responsibility for their own cleaning-which is a personal choice. But regardless of who's doing the cleaning, it would be very convenient to have the W/D downstairs. If you don't want to shell out for two sets, at least plumb and vent for the room, and if you never get around to buying another set you'll have a large linen or storage closet.

That's another great thought, Lethargo. I've gone ahead and added another room, because we really COULD use a spare bedroom for my mom or other friends or family members, but I love the idea of plumbing and venting it so it could be a future laundry room (maybe combo sewing room for me, too). Goodness knows we could use two sets of washers and dryers around here as it is ... can't think about how bad it will be when they're teens. (And I agree about having them do their own laundry!)

Here's the revised layout.

I also made a couple of changes to the bathroom on the right, as a friend pointed out on Facebook that I had a window in the shower :)

What about doing away with the two closets upstairs and putting in a laundry room? Our kids produce most of the laundry in the house, and at some point I'd like them to take responsibility for their own cleaning-which is a personal choice. But regardless of who's doing the cleaning, it would be very convenient to have the W/D downstairs. If you don't want to shell out for two sets, at least plumb and vent for the room, and if you never get around to buying another set you'll have a large linen or storage closet.

In most localities you need two egress points in a bedroom that is often a door and a window. How about switching the bath and the bedroom. You could put a solatube if you want daylight into the bath.

Your upstairs really needs to be reworked.
It is a nice square design, so getting 4 rooms plus a bathroom should not be difficult, and should get you squarer rooms, not odd shapes. And, yes, there should be at least 1 window in every bedroom (bathrooms don't need a window).

When you "gut" this upstairs design, aim for bedrooms with minimum dimensions of 10 feet x 10 feet. I have a bedroom that is 8.5 feet wide (by 14) and it a very awkward room, and soon it will become a mudroom (it wasn't working as a bedroom). 10ft is a great size for any bed that isn't a King.

Also, you don't need such large bathrooms. A good standard (one sink) size bathroom is 8x5. You can go to 11x5 for a double sink vanity. Both of the current upstairs baths are oversized, without gain in function.

In the international building code, a bedroom requires a window. Many of the closets are large but pretty non functional because of the way they are laid out.

I find the whole plan rather convoluted, unfortunately, and I would recommended starting out with a stock plan and making your changes from that starting point, or consulting with an architect or designer.

Actually it's also a bit easier to work with a rectangular form for housing. Squares end up, like yours has, with dark spaces in the middle.

I am not trying to be critical for the sake of being critical, but you have a number of criteria to meet and an expert would be better at coming up with a cleaner, more efficient design.

I appreciate all the feedback! This is actually based on a stock plan, though I reworked the upstairs (and I agree, it's still not perfect). Here's the original.

Here is a link that might be useful: Original link

I think your family entry - between the kitchen and the garage - is tiny. ESPECIALLY if there is a washer and dryer in there. With several young kids, boots, hats, coats, backpacks, etc., it will be virtually stacked chin-high with STUFF. Everybody in your house will use that room twice a day (or more). Why not make it useable and comfortable? Just imagine standing in there, trying to juggle kids, their coats, groceries, your phone and handbag and car keys, etc. . . . . . .

There's no way I would have a washer and dryer in there. And I would have a HUGE closet or cubby system.

Is the drawing to scale? Some of the dimensions seem off.

Is the walkway from the garage through the laundry only 2 1/2 feet? that needs to be 3 ft minimum, preferable 4 ft. Plus, it's quite a hike from the garage to the pantry.

You have room for only 18" night stands. I like nice and big ones- minimum 30" bc we often have books and a glass of water, not to mention lamps, and phone.

Kitchen island is only 2x4. I'm not sure how functional that is.

The upstairs just doesn't work. I would put a bedroom in each corner and go from there. the bath layouts need work too. Pedestal sinks in both?

OK, slightly revised floor plan. On the first floor, I've moved the staircase somewhat and widened the laundry/mudroom (you can't see very well in here, but I do have lockers built in, as well as a big closet). I've also added a sitting area off the master bedroom because my husband really really wants one.

Second floor (in next post) is completely reworked.

I've also made some changes to the porches -- got rid of the side porch to increase the amount of sunlight on that side of the house (that will be the west side).

And new second floor:

And, lastly, new elevation :) (Again, disregard garage roof -- I hate the roof tool on Home Designer.)

Huh -- the elevation photo doesn't want to post. Follow the link to see it.

Here is a link that might be useful:

sanveann-I am not trying to upset the apple cart but I am in MI also and I am attaching a couple of post snips that I found helpful in trying to orient rooms to capture as much sunlight as possible for solar gain as well as brighter spaces. If the image is too hard to read and you want to look at it further the link is: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/build/msg0820382523166.html and it's about half way down.

Because we don't get all that much sunlight during certain long cold and gray seasons I thought this might interest you too.

The link is something else another poster shared on maximizing light and comfort in spaces.

I hope it's helpful to you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Room Orientation for Sunlight

Autumn, thank you for the link! I have been thinking a lot about sun exposure, and I'm hoping that that's something the designer or architect we hire can help with.

Btw, where are you in Michigan? I'm near Lansing.

Born and raised in Lansing (graduated from Everett in gulp, 1990) - live near Grand Rapids now in a small rural community.

It's best not to plan bedrooms with the windows over the bed or windows overlapping the window opening.

I think some of your upstairs bathrooms have impractical or maybe impossible layouts/locations compared to what's going on downstairs, because of drain lines and soil stacks etc.

It's also much more efficient and cheaper to group bathrooms together and have them on top of other bathrooms or other "wet" rooms like the kitchen or laundry.