I like this one much better. I didn't comment on the other one.

The kitchen is a little wonky with the pantry in the middle of that cabinet run but I am sure the kitchen forum could fix that no problem!

I like that you found another plan with the laundry next to master bedroom. Nice feature.

As for trimming it down, could you use the dining as a study and then rework that side of the house turning those 3 spaces into two bedrooms? Maybe you could lob off the back so the facade isn't affected?

This will make it easier for people to review.

{{gwi:1415780}}

This will make it easier for people to review.

{{gwi:1415780}}

edit: really weird, the plan showed up and then it disappeared.

Here is a link that might be useful: Filmore Design Plan F1668

This seems to be the new vogue plan. Variations have come up a few times. There are a lot of nice details in this particular version to like. But the big standout for me with this plan is always that the living room/kitchen will almost certainly be dark - too few windows on just one side, hidden behind covered porches. Do you like having to have your lights on all the time?

Maybe something like this? I posted this on the kitchen forum, too. Very rough, but it might help :)
{{gwi:1415783}}From Kitchen plans

This plan reminds me of my plan which I have seen a lot of lately looking around the internet. I think it has to do with the side entry attached garages. All of the new neighborhoods in our area require side entry. Nobody want to see a garage door from the street. I don't get it but it's the rule in our new place so we are building something very similar to this.

Based on someones comment from this site we swapped the master closet with the utility room and reconfigured it so we could vent to the outside. I also agree that if you don't care about the formal dining room to make it the study and rework the bedrooms and bath to save square footage. If you moved bedroom 2 to where the study is and fix the bathrooms you might could add a window to the side of the great room. It would limit your space for a tv on the wall so I'm not sure if that would work.

Also, I'm not sure about walking thru the breakfast room to get to the master. I guess it depends on the size of your table.

As for the kitchen, I would extend the pantry to the end of the kitchen wall and move the door down. That would make your counter space uninterrupted and who couldn't use more storage. You might also be able to use some of the space under the stairs for your pantry.

Good luck

I agree that this is a better plan. I also agree with Caben that this general layout is "the hot new thing", and we're seeing it in various forms these days.

Suggestions:

I like the great room layout, and placing the fireplace in the corner does allow for an obvious TV placement. However, I wonder about moving the fireplace to the other corner so it'd be a focal point as a person enters from the front door. It wouldn't affect your windows.

Speaking of windows, with this room being wider rather than deeper, these great room windows are an improvement over the last design.

I love ceiling beams . . . but having them in the great room, the kitchen and the breakfast room will be, I fear, overkill. Too much of a good thing. I'd suggest keeping the ceiling beams in the great room . . . but going with a plain ceiling in the kitchen and breakfast room. It'll give a visual separation between the two rooms. And I'd make the "last beam" extra-large, a stronger separation between the two rooms. Seems visually right.

You've mentioned budget. Ceiling beams are the kind of thing that can either be budget-friendly or a budget buster. You can choose simple wood "fake beams" or bring in custom this-and-that.

The kitchen is greatly improved, and this is exactly what I was thinking of in your last plan -- I said you could have a good-sized island . . . if you didn't also have cabinets around the whole perimeter. I totally agree with the posters who say that the pantry is ill-placed, but I think L-Lass has given you an ideal answer in moving the pantry to the end of the kitchen.

Still on the subject of the pantry, I'm thinking that the space beneath the stairs is just closed-off space? If so, extend the pantry into that space. It may not be as convenient as the pantry itself, but storage is storage. It might be the ideal spot to shove plastic storage boxes (i.e., with Christmas decorations or other things that you don't need to access often). Or this might work out to be an under-stair china cabinet open towards the breakfast room. EIther way, I wouldn't just close off all that space. You're paying for it -- so use it!

The breakfast room is small, yet you're asking it to do three things: 1) serve as the only exit to the patio, 2) serve as the hallway to the master bedroom, 3) hold a table. I don't see expanding it as a realistic option -- the space doesn't seem right, so here's what I'd do: 1) move the door to the spot just between the great room and the kitchen. This'll allow the door to serve both rooms. 2) go with built-in banquette seating. This takes less space and will allow you to set the table closer to the back wall.

You say you need to cut down on square footage. The master bedroom seems to be the place to do it. I'd flatten-out the back wall, and I'd reduce the closet (this would allow you to bring the master bath in a bit, which would give you a completely flat, inexpensive-to-build back wall).

I do like the function of the garage entrance. The negative: The laundry is remote from the secondary bedrooms; however, since you don't have children yet, this won't be quite the issue it might be for another family.

Last thing: I'd orient the study door more towards the secondary bedroom hallway, and I'd use a standard door instead of doubles. This would allow it to "match" the other bedrooms. Sure, you intend to use it as a study, but you've said you're looking at this as a relatively short-term house . . . and the people who buy your house might want it as a study, or they might want another bedroom. If it's set up as more of a bedroom, potential buyers can see it as a study OR a bedroom. You would also need a closet, and since you're using this as a study, I'd leave off the doors and insert shelves. This concept opens up options for future buyers. It won't help or hurt you today, but it may help in the future.

Still on the same topic, I'm going to disagree with L-Lass for once and say that I would not add the other bathroom. Bathrooms are the most expensive square footage in a house, and you're thinking about budget. It's just the two of you, and even when you have children, they won't use the bathroom for a couple years . . . and then their needs will be minimal for quite some time. I wouldn't go to the expense, not when it's something you don't need at this point. Instead, I'd turn the J&J bath on the hall so that it's a simple, open-to-the-hall bath, which could serve all three bedrooms. I'd keep the back-of-the-house location, which keeps the bathroom a little more private.

Actually, do you need two secondary bedrooms plus a study? Given that you don't have children yet, and you're looking at this as a short-term house, why not skip the study altogether? Use one of the bedrooms as a study, then you'll have the other bedroom to use as a nursery.

Thank you for the detailed reviews. We met with our builder yesterday, and unfortunately the plan is 9' too wide to fit on our lot with the setbacks. :(

So ... we heavily modified our original plan. I've posted the revised floor plan in this thread

Here is a link that might be useful: Back to the Original Plan ... Sort of ...