I like a lot about this plan - the flow, etc. But there are somethings that I do not. There seems to be a lot more open space than I'd think anyone would need. The entry is very large, and the layout of the master bath seems weird. Lots of open floor space in Master Bedroom. The kitchen is a concern. I would hate that island - I couldn't reach across it, and the space between the sink and the island seems too big, but i can't read the dimensions.

I like the laundry/powder/mud arrangement - I might put the door to the porch in the mudroom instead of the laundry, so people aren't walking through there. (or are those windows?)

What is your family size, area you are building in (climate) etc?

Andry. thanks for your imput

1.the space between the island and sink is 7 ft

2. yes those are windows in the laundry room not doors

3 We are a Family with 3 girls 11-8-2 and we are building in Iowa

Is that the fridge on the right angle in the kitchen?
Could you maybe post a close up of the kitchen?

In general, your kitchen, as I can see it, is dysfunctional (sorry). 7' is too HUGE an aisle. You've disrupted your best countertop for prep (between sink and stovetop) with what I think is the fridge, etc.

I'd take a close up of your kitchen over to the kitchen forum for some much-needed help. They really are experts and will get you a great functional kitchen!

As already mentioned, you have generous (wasted, expensive) spaces in unusual places. Are you at all concerned about budget or efficiency of space? We can help you pare down, if that is a goal of yours.

Yes please help we do not want to waste space/money

we do want a large kitchen because that is where we gather with friends most of the time.

Have you tried laying out furniture in the great room/dining room and master bedroom? It seems to me like all three of those rooms are significantly larger than you would need (i.e. if you made them each a 1/3 smaller, they'd still be huge, IMO), but I don't know how you plan to use them, so I might be wrong.

Also, your laundry room couldn't be farther from all the bedrooms. Have you considered putting it in the basement, so it's close to the kids' rooms?

Tons of wasted space. Anything beyond a 10x10 seating area is too large for humans to feel comfortable having a conversation. With a media room elsewhere, you don't need such a large great room. Unless you are planning multiple conversation areas. And then if you are, the proportions are wrong for that.

The dining area could seat an entire Viking ship's crew. The kitchen would mean that you needed roller skates and still you'd be worn out at the end of even a basic meal. And you'd have to use a mop to clean the island unless you are the family of 7 footers that the home's layout would suggest that you are! :)

The many jogs and depth of the home mean that this will be expensive to construct. For the size of the home, you'd expect to see it on an estate sized lot where a side load garage would be able to be done. If the lot matches the house, then you definitely need to get rid of the look of being a garage with a bit of living space attached by doing a side load. If the lot's width isn't enough for a side load, then at least pull the garage back from the front plane of the home so that you see the HOUSE first. And find your way to the door.

A really big issue is that this appears to be a single bedroom house. You will not get a bank anywhere to finance something like that. A 3 bedroom would be the minimum needed above grade. NOT in the basement. Above grade. If you wanted to built this, you'd have to be a 100% cash build.

I agree with all of the comments above....

Further, the garage area is huge and will dwarf the rest of the house, esp since the garage is proud of the entry area. I'm not sure what the front facade will look like as even the entry porch is lop-sided.

I also would not want my master br essentially opening into the foyer. In a one-story plan, you really want good separation between public and private spaces.

I'm also not a fan of sending guests through the mud room to use the powder room....

As Annie says, the garage dwarfs everything else and will overwhelm this house. Is this what is really important and essential to the concept of this house?

It seems so odd to see a house for which the garage may be over 50% of the constructed area.

Good luck on your project.

I'm having trouble the sizing of everything on your plan. If you have it on your computer can you take a screen shot or convert it to a picture and post that so we can see it better? What are the dimensions of your great room and garage?

I'm with the others: Lots of wasted space here, and this house would come out with an over-sized, too large for comfort.

As an example, let's talk about the kitchen. You say that you tend to congregate in the kitchen, so you want it to be BIG. That's a typical first-thought, but it probably won't get you the kitchen you want. Imagine you're cooking, and your guests are seated at the island. You're going to put out some snackies and drinks -- almost certainly on the island. So you end up doing your prep on the cabinets next to the kitchen . . . your guests are not only seated too far from you across a giant island (too far for comfortable conversation, that is), but you have your back to them. Give up the idea of BIG and focus on how you want the kitchen to function. Once you know what you want to accomplish, then you can lay out a much better plan. But never confuse BIG with better.

To illustrate the problem: My current kitchen is HUGE, but it's not functional, and I hate it. FYI: I didn't choose it; I kind of ended up here - not a story worth repeating. Although I have miles of countertop, my storage is all in the wrong places. I have workspace a-plenty . . . but I always use the same little 3' section because only one portion has really good lighting and is oriented towards the family room, where everyone else is. Unfortunately, that 3' spot is also the most convenient spot for dropping mail, keys, etc. so it's always cluttered. For no particular reason, I have a desk inserted in the middle of my cabinets. My refrigerator is against a wall, so the door won't open all the way, and I can't open the doors all the way to remove the shelves for cleaning -- yours will be the same, if you do that corner thing that's in your plan. My kitchen is a modified galley design, and my cabinets are about 5 1/2 foot apart, and it's too far for comfort --- yet I don't have enough space to set up a different configuration of cabinets.

Another negative of an over-sized kitchen or bath is that you may find yourself "priced out of" the nicer finishes. When I re-did my countertops about eight years ago, laminate was my only real option. Anything else was simply too expensive. Likewise, with approximately 80 square feet of backsplash, I was stuck with choosing something simple and cheap. As we build this new house, I'm looking at smaller baths and a smaller kitchen . . . but that means I can afford the nice glass tiles and granite that I want instead of the cheapest thing offered at Home Depot. It's true of other rooms too: Replacing the carpet in my 27' family room was over 3K; hardwood was prohibitively expensive.

I see the same mistake throughout your house plan: BIG spaces, but lack of function:

- Your shower is extra-long, which means it'll never feel warm in there.
- Your master bath is huge (and expensive), yet most of that space is going to walkway.
- Your laundry room is wide, yet it doesn't really give you good function. Imagine yourself pulling clothes from the dryer: You pull out a couple items, walk over to the countertop to fold them . . . get a few more items, walk to the countertop to fold them. Instead, plan an aisle of 3-4 feet and place the countertop across from the washer/dryer. This requires less space, and you stand in one spot: Pull out clothes, pivot and place them on the countertop. Fewer steps.
- Consider the location of your laundry room: From the master, you'll carry your baskets through the entryway, around the giant island, through the dining room and mudroom . . . and then you'll carry them back again. AND by placing your laundry room so far out of the center of things, you're running expensive plumbing lines an extra distance. You'd do well to cut down the size of the master bath and place the laundry room in some of that space . . . AND stack your upstairs bath near the staircase, somewhere close above your master bath.

I also agree that the garage will dominate the look of the house.

2400 square feet for the first level. I have 2400 square feet total, and we have two rooms that're NEVER used. We do have one less daughter, but the concept is still valid.