Kate,
Your home is going to be gorgeous! I love the Shingle style, so this will be a real treat to see yours come together. Thanks for sharing your drawings! I am wondering though - what about a closet in the bedroom closest to the playroom?

thanks luckymom23, i'm having a built-in closet installed in dd's bedroom; drawers, hanging space, shelving and a roll-out trundle for guests/sleepovers.
also, there is a coat closet just past the main entry under the stairs.

Your home is beautiful! I love the exterior. It actually looks similar to mine. What is the width of your home? Does your garage side load or is it a courtyard entrance?
The second story perimeter area is one of the coolest ideas I have seen!! What a neat use of space! Did that add a huge cost to this house?
comfortdog

I like your elevation and floorplan. BTW is there a closet in the right bedroom that connects to the Jack and Jill?

Great house....awesome exterior...What size is your kitchen...it looks exactly like mine. I am curious if you have a kitchen design yet. I am struggling with placement of appliances, etc., as I do not have a lot of wall space as one side opens to great room and we haven't decided whether to leave it open or put stools on one side with maybe a two-sided countertop and perhaps additional cabinets on other. The other wall has a very large picture window with a window seat. So it looks like refrig., dbl ovens and one small hutch-like cabinet on one wall and cooktop (48") with hood and cabinets on either side on the other wall leaving the dishwasher, trash receptacles and farm sink in island. I have had 3 kitchen designs done and have to say I haven't found one yet that I LOVE...maybe to picky...I do have a good sized walk in pantry (very excited) so it definitely reduces the #of cabinets we'll need...My kitchen is 24x18...Thanks....

Lovely elevation and floor plans --

I'm concerned that your kitchen work flow is too large though. From fridge to sink to range and back has got to be 40 feet... Either putting your range in the island, or swapping it with the sink and adding a prep sink to the island would make for a much more useable kitchen.

I'd also try to square up that one tunnel-likle master closet. I just can't imaging feeling comfortable in a space so long and skinny.

Really a lovely plan. I love the exterior and think it will look fabUlous with the Nichiha shakes.

My one concern would be the Master bedroom. I can't read dimensions, but the space seems a bit oddly divided with the L shaped room (although it may be so large that the L portion becomes a sitting area or something) and the really long closet. I would almost think you would want to move the closet into the "L" of the room and open up what was the narrow closet into the room. However, you very well may have plans for that space.

Two toliets in the master bath? :) Why didn't I think of that?

I'm with Sweeby...The main 'players' of your kitchen are VERY far apart. Lots and lots of walking around the island to get things from fridge to prep to stove. You might consider posting that part of the plan on the kitchens forum for detailed advice. Separating the area into zones will work better than spreading everything far and wide. Bigger isn't necessarily better.

We have a similar 'jack and jill' bath setup that we share with our boys. Ours has a shower in between. I like it.

What entrance will the kids use when coming in from playing? (Of course, I'm not sure how many there are or if they're still the ages to have dirty boots) Do you have a closet where you need it for family use, especially for outdoor/yard activities?

That is quite a house. Gorgeous elevations.

Can you post any perspective renderings? I'm concerned about the topmost gable on the right of the front. I orthographic, this looks like one gable too many. But elevations aren't reality. To be sure, one would have to view a rendering from the sidewalk POV.
I also noticed that the sun room's gable roof should be shown on the front elevation, peeking out over the shed dormer, but it's missing. So is the backside of the highest gable on the rear elevation. Makes me think these aren't cad drawings, but hand-drawn. Does cad make mistakes like that?
Nice house. The kitchen is really spread out with a barrier island. But adding additional fridge drawers or tweaking the layout, as I am sure you will do, is going to take care of that.
Robert A.M. Stern would be proud!
Casey

thanks all for the lovely comments! i'm just now getting around to the questions/comments as i've been busy bargain hunting on ebay. (picked up a beautiful chandy w/ matching smaller yesterday ...see below) for just under $200 including ship!

comfortdog: if anything, the gallery seems to have reduced cost as it reduced the square footage. we're thinking of popping holes in every ceiling. ;^)

lyfia: the closet for that bedroom will be a built in so i didn't want any surrounding walls. it won't be a walk in or a reach in. the drawers and cubbies will be exposed.

canobielake: i have a rough plan for the kitchen which seems to change daily... see below:

sweeby: thanks for the tips and yes, the kitchen is large. and i'm working with it to hopefully use as an advantage. i have a good idea where everything will go and feel comfortable with the size. the house will be used for a lot of entertaining and we will be here for many years. while the architects plan shows only general placement it's not at all what the final layout will look like. the fridge and freezer are the thermador freedom towers and they will be separated so the fridge is closest to the range (all 60" of it) on the opposite wall. there will be at least one prep sink in addition to a beverage fridge and two dishwashers. the 12' wall closest to dining room will house a desk, wet bar (there will be a sink) and baking center. i've spent a good two years working it out so far so hopefully it will operate as intentioned. you will see a LOT of me at the kitchen forum a LOT more as the planning develops. i'll be the one begging for help! about the master closet: i also have plans for that area which has somehow grown on me. the rear of that space wlll at some point serve as a cedar lined closet. until then we will use it as a bowling alley. if you think i'm kidding, just ask my four and five year olds!

jaymielo: the small space at the end of the L is a small sitting room. as for the two lavs, it was the one of the first things i thought of! we've been married for fifteen years. i know what goes on in the bathroom when dh is there. i have no need to spend all of my time with him, if you kwim!

rhome410: the kids (as well as dh and i) will use the mudroom entrance through the garage. there is an entrance to the garage from the back yard as well. there's also a small secondary powder room right outside the mudroom. for dirty clothes a stackable washer dryer will be housed inside the mudroom closet. we plan eight feet for cubbies which will include open space for hanging and also drawers and open shelves. there is also another six foot fun of cabinets for additional storage: cleaning supplies, extra pantry and just plain stuff.

this my bargain of the day. a six light chandy. i bought the matching four light as well:

Here is a link that might be useful: cool chandy

I love the elevation drawings too. Really pretty house. I also love the gallery idea. Very cool. I would also be concerned with that master bedroom closet. I had a long narrow one once and it was difficult to see the clothes. When you walk in, the hangers stick out quite a bit. I can't read the dimensions either but make sure the closet is wide enough to handle the hangers protruding out. I'd rather have a more square or rectangle than a long one. And I assume the bed would go opposite the fireplace. Is there enough walk room between the two?

Good Luck, this is going to be a fun one to watch. I hope you keep us updated with photos! ;c)

This probably should wait til you're on the kitchen forum, but I have to ask: No walk-in pantry? I'm having a little trouble getting used to the size of our kitchen at 16 x 19, even with a family our size and many of us working in there at a time. I find myself wishing I'd designed for a more efficient workspace (modified galley, rather than square) and a much larger pantry. I separated one of my all-fridges from the other all-fridge and all-freezer, and I'm not sure yet whether that was a good idea.

Brilliant jack-and-jill bathroom! I love your entire house, but that bathroom is inspired.

Our previous house didn't have a pantry, but it did have tall pantry cabinets with narrow depth shelving that unfolded on one side of the SubZero and a pull-out pantry cabinet on the other side. I found that arrangement to be one of the most convenient we've ever experienced. I hope you'll share your kitchen pictures when the house is completed.

Lovely. Is that a screened porch I spy to the right of the kitchen? Where are you building?