Am I reading right that all your guests will walk through your mudroom (locker area/freezers) to enter your house?

And, that you have no window in your master bath area (generally, do you have a reason for the window restriction on the East side?) Many people would question why you are wasting a corner on a closet (a space without windows).

It looks like your master bath can function as a guest bath for visitors (since you have the 2 doors to it). Is there a reason you want/need the second 1/2-3/4 bath on the main level? I might think about reworking that mudroom/entrance/bath area so that your guests can enter the living space without trompsing through your entire mudroom. And, maybe, even put the laundry in this general vicinity (and the extra bath nearer to your master bath, if you need it). Hearing a little bit more about why you set it up this way might be helpful, to me.

I love raised DWs, and like the setup you have there. Just be careful that your "buffet" counter isn't too shallow.

The door to the "office" space severely limits the amount of counter workspace in the kitchen. There must be a better way to use that corner.

You need a larger piece of paper so you can show where the door out of the office goes and where the garage is, etc. You also need to show the thickness of the walls, print the notes more legibly and show the direction of the stair.
A switch-back stair is awkward in a small house. Ironically, such space wasting stairways are often the result of open plans.

What's on the second floor?

There's a few things I would change in this plan.

I would re-configure the MB bath by changing the tub. I would eliminate the door from the closet into the bath and have the tub going across that wall. This would allow for a larger walk-in closet. The linen closet could open into the MB. The MB door could be moved down the hall in line with the stair wall so the entrance to the bath is off the bedroom. I do think the MB is a tiny bit small. Ours is 13'x13' and is just big enough to have a king size bed. You could bump out the MB wall into the living area to get a few extra feet. I'm not sure what that little "nook" is in the living area but you could eliminate it to add more space to the living room.

I would eliminate the 2 piece bath entirely. I would use that space to make the office/storage space bigger. I would have all the lockers and the freezer/fridge in this room leaving a more "formal" entrance for guests. I would close off the door from the storage room to the kitchen and use the door into the powder room door. This would leave a nice long wall in the kitchen where you could have a long run of cupboards/counter. Your plan does not have many upper cupboards. Only the few on either side of the stove.

Our house has stairs configured like those in your plan and I really like them.

Good comments...I'll address in order...

Kirkhall - yes...all guests will enter through the mudroom. We will be in the country and don't expect to do formal entertaining, just family and close friends and such. The door off the dining room will allow for another exit, but I prefer to have everyone come in one door- with no confusion as we have in our current house - especially the kids. I will have windows somehow in the master bath, just haven't gotten that far yet and agree the the corner is wasted on a closet, but wasn't sure how I could rework the plan to get the closet that I desired without using that space. DH works quite a bit in the shop/garage (attached to the mudroom) with friends stopping by, so the bathroom in there will be used primarily by him and the kids. Great tip about the "buffet" counter width...is there a width I should shoot for?

Renovator8 - I agree the door to the office does limit counter workspace. I will have to take a look at it again. With this plan I do have twice the workspace (on the island) that I have in my current house, so its hard to think I will regret having the office tucked away where I can hide some of the clutter that now litters my kitchen. What type of stair is less of a space hog? Straight? I could have it narrower, but I would like it to be a bit wider since I think it feels a little more roomy. I will try to post the upstairs and garage later today...the upstairs will house 3 bedrooms, a large bath and a TV room/play room.

I'm finding this is all relative - Looking at the floor plan it looked so big to me (but only in comparison to what we have now). I think it is just fits the way we live better. If I wouldn't have GW to bounce things off of, I think I would have even incorporated some poor designs that I just thought were "normal" :) In our current house, on almost the same square footage, we have 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, living and kitchen.

Hi there! I feel like, with 1600 sq ft first floor, you could make a much better use of your space.

You have lots of little "secondary" areas- the office, the mud room, the away room, the laundry room, the half bath. If you can combine these into one or two rooms, you can have a much bigger kitchen and master bedroom, which I would expect with a house that I can assume will probably be in the 3000 sq ft area with the second floor. If you make your kitchen bigger, with lots of storage space, you won't have to worry about stuff cluttering it up.

Some examples from Houzz.com of multi-purpose rooms:

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If your guests will use the 1/2 bath, I wouldn't worry about giving them separate access to your Master bath.

I would really rethink not having a "Main" entrance. I know you probably won't use it, but the next person who buys your house will surely want one. You'll have a difficult time when you (or your children, if you stay there for the rest of your life) need to sell it. Your close friends and family will know which door to use.

I'm working on a similar set up as you. One bedroom on main floor (it's a guest for me) and as few corners as possible. Trying to keep it around 1600 sq ft. If you check out my photobucket acct you can see a couple of versions I've been working on. My latest version hasn't been GW approved yet; I'm having it drawn up by my designer and will post that much nicer looking version when I get it from him! ;) (Would like to find a way to get rid of the long entry way, but at least it's giving me lots of storage space.) I think you should be able to get to my photobucket acct by clicking on one of the pics above.

Good luck! I'm jealous that you get to use your dad as a GC. Finding one you like and trust is half the battle!

One more thing, don't skip windows on the north just because of the heat loss thing. Save some room in your budget for a couple of expensive triple pane, efficient windows for the north. You are so lucky to have 40 acres to look at- enjoy the view!!!

And of course, since it sounds like you live somewhere around Iowa or the Dakotas, make sure you leave room in your budget for really good insulation for the entire house.