Second floor

This is a personal pet peeve of mine and may not bother you at all, but I wouldn't want the office clipping into the front porch like that. I see that done on plans all the time and don't understand why. Is is supposed to add some kind of interest to the facade? Again, just another personal peeve but I wouldn't want the master closet entry off the bathroom and would move the door to the bedroom. Your storage closet will be hard to access items in the back. Tweaking the kitchen is almost a given but overall I like that layout although i might make the island smaller and pull in the short walls to close it off a bit but that's nit picking.

dlm-Thanks for the input!

Never thought about the office protruding, will definitely consider what you are saying. The facade isn't my favorite anyway so maybe addressing that could help it out a bit.

Master closet entrance is where I had it in the last house and liked it but if we moved the door, we could then relocated the linen storage around the corner to ease the number of doors in the bathroom entrance. Hmmmmm.

Thanks for the thought!

Foyer is awfully wide, but you have great sight lines as you enter the house.

Like the corner windows on the office -- unusual.

I do not like the master bath -- so much wasted space in the middle of the room, good for nothing but walking. Along the same lines, I don't like the closet entrance. Imagine carrying laundry across 1/2 the house, then through the bedroom, through the bathroom . . . inconvenient.

If you keep this house 'til you're elderly, backing into a tiny closet to use the master toilet will one day be difficult, if not impossible.

If you do keep this toilet-in-a-closet concept in this spot, I'd definitely do a slightly lowered ceiling in this spot, which would create a nice "visual" as you enter the master bath.

I like the connection between the kitchen and the dining room, especially the beverage area in the dining room. The dining room looks like a round table is going to be your only option.

I do not like the kitchen arrangement. Corners are inefficient and expensive to build, and you have two of them. Also, this U + island tends to create a "people trap" on the back side. I'd switch to an L-shape, which would save money, give you essentially the same amount of actual usable cabinet, and would allow you to enlarge the island a bit. Also, I think your aisle between the stove and island appears to be too wide -- it'll require extra steps.

Changing to an L would also allow your pantry to open more directly into the kitchen. Your pantry space would remain the same, but the entrance would be more convenient.

I do not like the angled garage -- it's expensive, and doesn't serve you any better than a straight garage. IF you were building on a narrow lot in the city, you might find yourself forced into this angled garage, but with five acres, you have the space. Also, a three-car garage comes out looking like a monster. Since you're talking about storage of extra vehicles, I'd consider two double garages sharing one driveway -- one garage straight ahead, the other garage on the side of the house. Or one could be a single garage. Either way, you'd get the storage without the mass.

I do like the two upstairs bedrooms' arrangements: That is, the closet and the dormers. It'll have some old-fashioned charm.

On five acres, why not have a side load garage? I'm also an advocate for a good sized overhang over the garage, keeps it dryer.

It looks like you have lots of windows. Great for lots of natural light. I think this looks very nice, but second the opinions about the garage. It will look massive and take away from the looks of the rest of the house. Good luck!

Thanks everyone for the additional comments.

The garage, I know. It's still being discussed at great length. We were just out walking the property again. Trying to balance the layout/view/trees. We would really like a winding driveway and the front load keeps the most trees in tact but I agree it isn't ideal. Believe me, we are brainstorming!

MrsPete - Thank you for your thorough reply! Lots of things to think about, especially kitchen and bathroom. If this is the plan we end up with, lots more kitchen analysis will be needed. I had to smile with your round table comment. We have just that, an antique table that I have a hard time finding plans it will fit in. So that is the plan there anyways :-). Your comments are helpful as always.

If you're going to be out in those woods a lot, you might want to rework the garage entry/laundry room area so you have a place to sit down and remove muddy boots and other gear.

We recently completed a house on 10 heavily wooded acres, and have front-load garage for the same reasons you list. I think having the driveway aimed at the house when pulling in from the street does a lot to make it seem like you're going to a house, not a big garage with a dwelling attached.

Since the house is just for the two of you, do you need the bonus room? Reducing the height of the garage would help to give it less visual weight.

Also, is there no door to the master bath? It seems like that could be an issue if you're ever on different schedules.

I have seen this plan in searching myself. I like that it captures views from about every room. I personally love a C shape kitchen. It is what I had at my last house, and feels cozy and complete to me. I am trying to incorporate it into my next home, but think it will be a C with a walk through one of the corners. We are also building on an acreage and our driveway will be coming in from a distance from the house rather than straight on, so I think an L or angled garage fits our location best. But many on this forum do not like them, so I would say go with it of it is what you like and what fits your lot. This plan could easily be reworked to have a front facing garage that only protrudes halfway by backing it up to the kitchen.
The immediate things I don't care for in this plan..
1) The whole space between the garage and foyer. It is a bunch of small spaces with a long hallway. I would probably close up the wall betw3en the foyer coat closet and the stairs and rework the space. You could have a nice hallway then coming from the garage to dining and have your other spaces a little larger.
2) I would add a closet door to the master bedroom and remove the closet door from the master bath.
3) You could rework the master bath/closet/ and office to have fewer extra corners. If I recall, I didn't like the exterior on this plan either, and reworking these may give you better lines.
4) Did I read that it was you and DH? I would be tempted to do a deep 2 car garage with a garage door out the back to get the toys in and out easier. A single car space isn't really the best organization wise for storing smaller ATVs. A deep garage would give you better space to line them up, and a garage door off the back would keep them from tearing up your front yard!

More great comments, you guys are fantastic!

Zone4 - I like the idea about more room for a bench. We are, 90% of the time, a no shoes inside family so I think the plan will be to have that in the garage. We plan on taking out the pantry to allow for a larger to enter the house rather than through the laundry room. Maybe a small bench would fit in there as well? You're right in that we don't NEED the bonus room but the roof pitch will help with the snow load. Otherwise great idea to drop that down. Thanks!

Nostalgicfarm - the views were what has this plan on my short list. The layout of the rooms in the back of the house is perfect for the lot. That being said, we have a beautiful ridge we would like to place the house near so your idea of the rear garage door for toys won't work unfortunately. DH wants a small fishing boat so the front three bay is best I suppose. The garage battle is tough that's for sure. Thinking about moving the closet door in the master although I've had the current arrangement before and liked it. Good ideas!