Im sorry guys!!!!! haha im new to this ill get a hang of it QUICK!

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1426757}}

Here is the exct house just modified

Maybe it's a Deep South thing, but don't y'all ever have closets in the foyer?

worthy- to answer your question As in many other places some houses do have them and some houses dont.

worthy - Coat closet? In the deep south are you kidding? All we need is an umbrella stand at the front door, don't suppose you've ever been to Louisiana or Mississippi. lol

futuremogul - You've chosen a beautiful home and love the floor plan. Wish I could give you some good ideas on working in that 1/2 bath. I'll look at it a bit more and will be sure to post if I can come up with anything.

1. add a few feet to the garage depth, and make the doors as wide and tall as possible. Even if you don't drive huge SUVs, the wider doors and more space makes getting in, out and around cars easier and will allow you to place storage cabinets in the garage. And with side load garages (unless you have a corner lot, the wider doors make parking easier. We opted for 3 seperate doors (8'tall by 9' wide) over the double door (8' tall 16' wide) to make it all easier.

2. Basement? If yes, the stair entrance is extremely awkward. If no, then if your ceiling height is tall, 10+, you could try putting a half bath under the stairs.

3. I like the master layout, very efficient. But the entry seems odd, sharing a hall with the front left bedroom. How would you like to move it's door to the other side of the Living Room fireplace and the master door on the other side? You could make the closet and bath in that room more spacious or make a coat closet just inside your master?

4. No pantry for the kitchen? You might want to have a kitchen designer look at this and really see if there's enough storage.

Good luck. Before you decide to GC the project, make sure your comfortable understanding all the steps and how install everything. You don't have to do any of the work yourself, but you won't be effective managing the work if you don't know how it's done.

We just finished our owner/build custom home in december. We are also 'almost' empty nesters.. one out, one back home, and a 20something still here, so we built our home for the way we live.

Prior to building we also looked at every home plan out there, I think, and never quite came up with the perfect one. We ended up going to an arcitect with our list of must haves, a stack of plans with what we liked circled and what we didn't like crossed out and he came up with a perfect plan.

This is more costly than buying a stock plan, but your going to need an architect anyway to stamp the plan locally. If your 90% happy with the current plan, an archetect might be able to tweak it for not too much extra $$.

My 2cents on your layout. The one thing I wanted in my new house was a washer/dryer in the master closet. It is THE best thing I ever did! 95% of the laundry I do, comes from the master bed/bath. I noticed your utility room is about as far from the master as possible. You might consider adding a stackable in one of your master closets. We have a 2nd floor laundry for the other bedrooms.

{{gwi:1420701}}

The bathrooms set up is strange for that size of home. You definately need a more convieniently located 1/2 bath. Usually BR 3 & 4 would share a jack & jill. One possibility is to take the walk in closet in BR 4, make it a 1/2 bath, and do a closet bump out for that BR into the garage.But that space would also be great for a walk in pantry.(My 2nd must have, which I also love)

Another option, for a small 1/2 bath - is under the stairs, right off the kitchen. Is that a closet there now? That, I think would be a great location. You might be able to slightly reconfigure that back area with the 3/4 br and bath.
I think like the other poster mentioned, there should be some hall closets somewhere. Especially by the back door.

Overall I think the layout is good, with nice size rooms.

A few reflections on our 3 year process~ it was way more time consuming than I ever imagined. For my husband it was almost another full time job. He was onsite everyday, for anywhere for 1-4 hours. Someone HAS to be able to be availalbe at any given time. Something always comes up.

Try to have as many of your selections, and there are thousands.. decided on before you break ground.

Especially in these times.. thoroughly check out all you subs.. many are 2 nickles away from going under. I speak from personal expierience on this one.. after giving our 1st cabinet person a 50% deposit he went out of business. We lost $$$ and time.

I love our new home and the process, while exhausting was worth it.

Good luck!

don't suppose you've ever been to Louisiana or Mississippi

This week I was finally able to dig out Santa Claus from the snow piled in front of the house. So, no!

The only thing I would add to what others have said is that i would take out the rest of the wall between the foyer and living room. Right now you have to walk through the living room or dining room to get to the master. If you took out that little bit of wall, you could use the back part of the living room to get to there easier.

My opinion remains the same. I'd scrap the plan and find something else. That exterior shot you provided of the house completed looks like the architect, builder, and home owner couldn't agree on anything so they just threw everything at the house and unfortunately, everything stuck. Sorry, I just don't like it. The chimneys, the dormers, the ultra-steep roof on the garage...the house is just trying too hard. It will not be an inexpensive house to build...I really think you would get more for your money if you had something designed just for you.

I like your plan! It's interesting and different! The only thing that I think that would bother me is the distance between the garage and the kitchen. (Think of having to haul groceries 25+ ft to the kitchen!) Just a thought-switch the locations garage/utility with the secondary bedrooms and then perhaps you could add a 1/2 bath across from the utility?

I have to say, I don't care much at all for that exterior as shown in the photograph. Somehow that roof-line combined with that white entry section at the front with the two round holes and the columns reminds me of a scarey halloween character. The round holes are his eyes. The columns are his teeth. LOL!

Thank heavans the elevation drawing doesn't give the same impression since it uses a totally different style doorway, etc.

As for the interior, since you say bedroom 2 is going to be used as a study/office (and maybe occasional use as an extra bedroom by overnight guests??), you could swap the closet and bathroom and make the bathroom a 3/4 bath with a small shower. This bathroom then could be your 1/2 bath for use by guests. I doubt it would get used much otherwise.

That would then allow you to make the vanity section of the bathroom between bedrooms 3 and 4 into a jack-and-jill arrangement if you wanted to. I'm not usually a fan of J&J because it is too easy for one user to accidentally - or purposefully - lock the other one out. But, since your kids are almost grown and unlikely to do that on purpose - and since they may not feel quite as much of a need for privacy in the vanity area as opposed to the tub and toilet area, so might never bother locking those doors. If so, a J&J would probably work out fine. Here are sketches showing what I mean.

marciab10- i do agree that the bathroom layout is bit strange.. i like your idea of making that closet into a half bath and pantry as well..Funny you mention having selections picked and ready.. way ahead of you there :)

dixiedoodle- thank you for you oipinion and the house is actually a builders personal home...
did i mention we have lake views!!

superchick- thank you, ive never thought about lugging groceries from the garage.. im am not sure as to whether it would bother us but who knows.

bevangel- Haha i see what your talking about and i does look like a scary thing .. im not to crazy about the myself i love whats on the elavations also i want the exterior to be a stucco over brick type i believe that would look really nice ill try to get a picture up of what i mean.. Wow you amazed me with the plan change of the bahs i do agree about that 3/4 bath not being used as much. But the jack-and- jill im open to doing that because our youngest (16) will have bed 3 and he wanted a entrance into the bath from his room and i dont think we would hve to worry about other side he wants to make that his video room (maybe we'll see)

i am also aware of the exterior doors in my sons room but i dont think it will be a problem, besides he thinks its "pretty rad" and it also makes him feel a little bit older kinda like he has a mini apartment i guess.

This may be a little off topic but here is house in our area that i love the architecture is very different but i sill like it somewhat(not trying to advertise)

Here is a link that might be useful: love interior

sorry for the large upload..

My first impressions are:

Do you really want to build, heat/cool and maintain a 5000 sq ft home for a couple with one child at home -- one who will be leaving home in two years?

How long do you plan to live here? Would something smaller and all on a single floor prove more useful for more years?

The exterior elevation is peculiar.

There's not enough space in the kitchen 'eating area'. You need at least 12 X 12.

You have no powder room, none for guests and none for family use. (The powder room in our back hall -- between garage and kitchen -- is the most-used facility in the house.) What bathroom will be accessed from the LR, DR, Kitchen or Den?

I don't see any linen closets.

Many rooms have only one wall with a window.

I *do* like your MBR and bath -- just like ours! LOL

Chisue- we are willing to heat and cool the house mostly the main level ...also this will be our forever home our home is our home and we host many family gatherings and social events at our current home. And linen closets aren't really a "must have" we will just build cabinetry which will do :) .... We love our master layout haha I just love the balance of it. And thank you very much for you post!

I need to amend something: I disliked the photo with the stucco 'turret'. I like the elevation you posted with the floorplans much better. The video of the existing house has a nice elevation, too.

I'd still prefer a single-floor home for a 'forever' home. You aren't old enough yet to realize how daunting stairs get and how much you'll hate cleaning space that's not used on a day-to-day basis! LOL If you plan to use only the main floor, better have a way to close off the upper level (door at top of stairs).

Please do consider where you want closets, more windows, and most important: a powder room. It's much easier to 'remodel' with a pencil than after the house is built.

Chisue- I take it your older then 40+ LOl and I do understand what your saying and we would probably downsize to at least 3500 sq.ft. The only thing is when we host events we have anywhere around 75 to 150(or more) people... We love the look of the front of the house, the master layout, the kitchen and den and dining room. Maybe we can make the house a little smaller. DH really wants a media room upstairs and that bedroom I think we can do without. Maybe have it unfinished space? Or not such a good idea? we also bought gas lighting (4) the vulcan from legendary lighting 2 medium for front and 2 small for garage side of home... I do believe I am rambling anyhow

Worthy, you are so funny. We have closets in the South. I have one just past my foyer. I didn't realize people in the South didn't have them. LOL Have to have somewhere to hang the dogs' leashes.

Worthy!
This is really interesting.
As someone that has lived in both the North -Calgary and South Houston
You are right - When you live in the "South" you don't need a hall closet
- just a couple of hooks by the back door. However when you live in the
North a front hall closet is great.

futuremogol ~ Unless you are unfortunate to have an accident whammy you, the 40th and 50th decades of life are easy; the 60th makes you aware that things are a-changing; and the 70th has a way of sneaking up and setting you down, hard. 40 year-olds who have been full-time companions to 60- and 70 year-olds may have an idea of what it's like to not unfold when standing up, and have hips/knees that slip out of joint midstep, and not be able to curl fingers and pull open doors at the same time. Or, more inconveniently, curl fingers and not be able to let go of the knob, lol.

Seriously, when I was 40+ (and had been a full-time caretaker of an elderly person for a decade), I really thought I knew what being that age would be like. Boyoboy, was I wrong! The goldie oldies can tell you their stories, but until you are actually there, it's the difference between VR and real life. The seventy y.o. folks who happily bounce up and down steps without holding tight, are in the vast minority... I actually don't personally know any. And the 60 y.o. who happily vacs and dusts a lot of unused space is either an employed housekeeper or needs to get a life. [yep, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.]

Squeezing 75-150 into the shown space sounds like a nightmare, not a party. Get out your graph paper, draw the outlines of the rooms, block off the probable furniture, and see how much floor space remains. You might crowd 30 people in there, but it won't be pleasant. OTOH, I don't particularly care to be jammed into a large group, even [or maybe especially] if they are relatives, so that is probably influencing my viewpoint. But even packed like sardines, humans need 2 square feet of floor space, or 4 square feet if they are breathing; and I don't really see that much space in the plan presented.

OK, now I see what we're dealing with: You've bought exterior gas lights for a house that doesn't exist. This reminds me of the time I spent a looonnng time putting together an outfit to go with a pair of earrings. LOL

Chisue- haha that sounds about right but in our minds it does! Lol were I guess really ready to build .. Next week we go to the banks and etc.. We may start early can never be to sure :)

We are currently GCing our first home. It should be done in a couple of months. Someone else posted that it was WAY more work then they had expected and I would like to second that. It is like a second FT job for my husband. A guy we met who is a GC said it like this: General contracting is mainly babysitting and cleaning up after your contractors. The might what to think about what your knowledge base is on home building. You are the only person who will REALLY inspect the quality of the work your contractors do so it's a lot of pressure. The city will inspect it to insure it meets code, but that is all. It's also hard to figure out every tiny thing its worth spending the extra money on. We have spent countless hours researching the "best" way to have things done and what is "typical" for things you don't even notice in most homes. After not seeing my husband for 6 weeks straight I just wished the thing would burn down (ha!ha!) If you can afford it and you aren't just looking for the experience I would hire someone. It's not worth the time you'll miss with your family. Not sure if you were really wanting an opinion on the GC, but thought I'd share my experience.
As far as the house plan goes: We hired a draftsman. It was cheap and worked great. It only cost us $1200 (in IA). You can usually find one at a local lumberyard. They will have all kinds of ideas on how to work the plan. Here are some recommendations: Walk-In pantry in the kitchen. Since you don't have that much area on the upper level it might not be worth the cost to add a second story vs. sticking with a ranch. The stairs cost quite a bit and the hallway will be unusable space you're paying for. We started out with a 1 1/2 story and ended up with a ranch. If you have a walkout basement (not sure if basements are common where you are) you can add another level without much cost. Walkouts with open staircases are popular out here right now. It might also be nice to have 1 huge room instead of the separate living room & den. It would also be nice for large family gatherings to have a place where everyone can be together. Lastly; our draftsmen convinced us to separate our laundry and mudrooms. He said many women complain about doing laundry where everybody's shoes have been. Let us know what you come up with when it's all decided. I love to see peoples floor plans even though mine's already done!

Because the front elevation photo shows a cone shaped hat, two big eyes, a little nose with a handlebar mustache, and a big gaping mouth, I thought it was meant to be a joke. You should hire an architect if you want to avoid tourists taking pictures of it.

You should be able to fit a half bath under the stairs.

We originally had a coat closet in our plan but it was lost during one of the many redraws. Now we realize that we could easily have fit it in by shifting the half bath. Oh well, too late now! So we're going to put an armoire in the entry for jackets, bookbags, etc. We're on the gulf coast in MS, and while we don't need coats, we do need jackets for our 2 months of winter.

LUCKY! I was checking the mls today as usual.. and the exact house we are wanting to build has appeared again...

front

well we are for certain we want to build this house but with our own taste. and i am so exicted to start bulding. and get the final changes made to the homeplan :)

I like the exterior of the MLS listing way better than the other exterior picture you posted. The interior looks beautiful also..

I don't know what the housing market in your area is like, but in so many places existing homes, especially luxury homes are selling for WAY less than the cost to build new..

While I love my new custom home we designed,(but we started this process in 2005) if I had a crystal ball, and we would have waited we could have bought a number of homes, not 100% to our liking, but certainly 80++%, for significantly less than we have into our new build. Have you gotten the prices for the build yet? I'd certainly keep an eye on that listing to see how low it goes~

btw, on another thread you commented on my master bath, looking at your floor plan, my layout is very similar to yours, except the shower/toilet areas are reversed and my door to the master BR is on the left end. We have one big master closet, with the entry between the two vanities.

Good Luck!

My personal advice, if you have no knowledge or experience being a general contractor, you have no business building a home of that size for your first......you had better hire someone who knows what they are doing or you are in for a rude awakening~~~~

Or better yet, buy the one for sale and do some up-dating to your taste.

phoggie,

we just finished being GC of our new home build, total custom over 5000sf, with no prior gc experience.. With the exception of bad timing with the economy,(not being able to sell our old house) the whole process went extremetly well.
Now we had previously built 2 semi custom new homes,(with builders) and were onsite everyday, are business owners, and have many friends in the trades.. it was very time consuming, but we planned for that.. and are very happy with the outcome.
{{gwi:1426778}}

Phoggie- I appreicate your opinion.. but we are fairly well educated in the building area.. with my father being a builder i grew up around it and many friends of ours have built homes ranging from 2800-6000.. we are currently living in a home which we did not GC but bought in the early building stage.and the house on the MLS doesnt quite match our taste and at 800,000 we should just build and have everything we want that house was build in 2002 so it will need work.

Marciab10- I love your house! whose was your archiect? might i ask where you are located?