a rapidly drawn tweak of what i would do ... not sure if this is in keeping with your desires , as i don't know all your particulars ... but i'll try to work with you , if you'd like :-)

Wow! That is really nice. Thank you so much! I'm going to think this over! You are so kind to take the time to do this for people here!!

you're very welcome ... worked on a few improvements ... will do the upstairs asap ... let me know your thoughts :-)

Summerfield: I much prefer the powder room door location! I would probably change the door swing collision in the master bath between the toilet door and the double entry door. I think the home has a really nice flow to it.

I also have a much stronger preference for the second kitchen design. Still has a nice linear shot to the rest of the home, but has much better access from the carport to the master suite. And has no bar stool interference with the master entry. And the wall of pantry cabinets is a better sound insulator for the master. I also really prefer having a window over the kitchen sink.

I hope that their lot allows them to put such a pretty terrace off the side of their home! Lovely views from the windows of the public side of their home.

Summerfield, You constantly amaze me! I love your design. I had thought OP originally said she wanted a view out the back and for the den to be able to be opened into the living area so I was trying to think of a way to revise her floorplan within those restrictions. But I really really like your plan and, since OP does also, I'm scrapping my ideas.

But, may I make one tiny suggestion re your plan? That office is awfully small for two desks. How about making the entry hall two feet shorter AND pushing it to the right by two feet so that the terrace is also two feet shorter. Then, move the staircase and closet 4 feet to the right so that the office be enlarged by 4 feet? Like this...

I don't think anyone would really miss the space taken away from the terrace and entry hall and the extra space added to the office would make a HUGE difference in how comfortable it is to use. And, in a pinch the office could even be used as a child's bedroom which might matter if OP ever needs to sell. Just an idea.

Of course moving the staircase will have a huge impact on the upstairs design too and I haven't yet given that any thought.

thank you bevangel! oddly enough , i have a version like you suggest on my pc ! it really is a much better use of the available space ... i'm working on the upstairs tonight , and waiting to see what babs is wanting ...

a possible upstairs plan ...

i'm unsure of the type of exterior you desire , babs711 ...

this is just a thought ...

I'm sorry I haven't been on here in a while. We've had some work things going on for the worse. Thankfully, I'm OK but some of my friends did not fare well. It's been crazy the past couple of weeks.

I've looked at your plans and love what you've done. The one issue I do have though is that the plan takes up the whole back yard as it is b/c of the sliding over of the carport/garage. We had originally done the garage that way so we would be able to have a yard/pool and a view into the back yard as well. So that would probably change a whole lot for this plan. I like the front!

Forgive me for asking (I haven't been that active on this particular forum since we're so new at this) but do you do this as a hobby or a side job? You're very very good!

Re: the two desks. We don't really need two desks in the office. DH and I both have laptops and the kids will either use them or end up with laptops too. We will probably have one desk and cabinetry on the other side. Our kids could not possibly do homework at the same time in the same confined space! LOL!

So given that information about the backyard, that's going to change having that master sticking out in the back, huh?

the plan is just one possibility ...

i do not know your limitations as far as the buildable area of your lot , i used the "footprint" of your original plan as my guide

if you would , please share this info with me , and whether your driveway will be from a rear alley , or beside the house ... how many cars? ... certainly , all of this has bearing on the design ...

hope that everything is going ok for you .... sorry about your friend ...

look forward to your reply :-)

Hi again! No driveways in the front. In our particular area, you can park along the front curb but there are back "alleys" of sorts in the back of the houses where the cars access the garages or driveways, etc. What we planned was a one-car carport/garage as there is a parking spot that will be on the outside of our fence already. DH is fine using the outside spot. The carport/garage will have a door in the back and will be enclosed on the outer wall. We planned to leave it opened on the yard side so that when we have crawfish boils, barbeques, parties, etc. we can NOT have a car in it and use that area for space if we want to. Does that make sense?

The lot itself if 50x122. The house dimensions in the original plan with the garage is to the max length on the lot as far as zoning goes. The length of the house part and the width of where we have the garage was where we had wanted it in case we ever wanted to have a pool or if we want to go ahead and build it now. If we enclose that back area we have no yard at all. I hope that's clear. If not, let me know!

Babs- That's a really smart way to use your parking area. So, it can be an extra patio, when you're not parking there? That's great! :)

Yes, I wish I had more pictures of this area in New Orleans. It really has nice character. When I have time this weekend, I'll post my friend's that she did like that. It works nicely and functions wonderfully and looks nice as well.