Is there a wall between the dining room and foyer/bathroom? It looks like maybe you just have a support post at the corner of the dining room so that the room is open to view. If so, I would definitely NOT like the location of the powder room! I really wouldn't want to be eating dinner and glance up directly into the bathroom because someone left the powderroom door standing open. Plus, my experience is that guests seem to prefer using a powderroom that is tucked discretely around a corner or down a hallway away from view.

If you want your home to be handicap accessible, be sure that you have room in the garage for a wheelchair ramp leading from the floor of the garage up to the entry to the house. The ramp should have a slope not much greater than 1 inch of rise for every 12 inches of run. (In commercial setting the 1/12 slope is mandated but since this is a residence, you can get away with making the slope a little bit steeper but if it gets too steep, it won't be easy for a wheelchair bound person to use. You also need about a 3 ft "flat landing" at the door so make sure your garage floor isn't poured more than about 7 to 14 inches lower than the first floor level. BTW, I understand why you slid the door into the garage down into the mud-room a little way but, if you ever need to install a wheel chair ramp, it would be better if the door were in the corner of the garage instead of offset from it.

Any room or closet that you want to make wheelchair accessible needs to have a wide enough door (32" minimum) for a wheelchair to get thru. Accessible bathrooms need to have a 5' diameter circle of clear floor space so that a wheel-chair can get turned around in them.

How exciting! We also owned our land for a number of years before building, but not as long as you have had yours. Do you already have your elevations?

Which areas will you want to make wheelchair accessible? It does not look like the mudroom and laundry room are as it would be difficult to turn around. The same goes for the powder room. The turn into the master bedroom looks like it could be tight. The master bathroom also appears too tight for maneuvering around in a wheelchair.

Just wanted to say...I love the screened porch! :)

I don't understand the doors on the stairs. Can you help me with that?

Bevangel: Thanks for the perspective of the view toward the powder room from the dining area. We originally had the elevator and powder room flipped, but moved the powder room toward the front entry since it could be too easily viewed from the living room. I did not want the powder room in the back hall either. What I thought I would do was have a credenza or entry table with some tall pottery or plant on it in that space between the entry and the dining since there is no space along the wall for a welcome. Do you think that would make them visually separated from each other?

We had just reworked our kitchen and I also just realized that the door from the garage would be better served if it opens directly into the elevator hall. Glad someone else felt that way too. I had not thought of having a wheelchair entering through the garage, but was planning on the front entrance being the accessible one. I like the idea of the flat landing too. I have one in my current house and love, love, love it. It is so nice when your arms are filled with groceries and you do not need to reach way up to open the door.

Thanks for the 5' info. You think in those terms for awhile, but then make a change and all past sense flies through the window!

dekeoboe: We do not have our elevations. The builder is working on them as we speak...rather type.

No one needs a wheelchair now, but don't want to have to move if one of us needs it down the road. We are starting by having the elevator and the doorways wide enough. Not all rooms will be wheelchair accessible. The builder is double checking the measurements. We could take out the bench and landing zone if need be. There may not be a turn around for the laundry, but may be able to back out?

The basement master will have a roll-in shower and will be set up for a current guest in a wheelchair.

We just added that turn into the master so you don't walk right into the master bedroom from the living room. Maybe we should reverse that change.

lavender lass: Thanks.

kirkhall: We were talking about how to close off the upstairs when we don't have company so we aren't heating and cooling the upper floor when not in use. We put them in both places. I figure they'll let us know what code is. Going upstairs, you would open the door on the landing, but coming down, you'd be on a step. That could be awkward.

Thanks to all.

Where the powder room is currently located, it is possible to draw a straight line from the center window of your living room, thru the open door of the powderroom to a point in front of the toilet without any walls intervening. It is also possible to draw a straight line from the lower left corner of your dining room thru the open door to the powderroom to a point on the left edge of the sink without any walls intervening. Anyone standing at any point between these two lines has a straight in view of the powder room... not good.

I think I would switch the elevator and powderroom back but put the vanity and toilet against the foyer wall (instead of the stairwall) so that the door into the powderroom is across from the kitchen wall and next to the door to the basement stairs. This way the kitchen wall will block all views into the bathroom except for someone standing in the hallway itself. (Yes, there will be a tiny section of living room where someone could see into the powderroom is the door were left open but all they would be able to see would be the open powderroom door itself and the blank wall across from the fixtures.

Some drawings to show you what I mean by the above message. The first shows your current plan. At every point in the pink zone, you would have a view into the powderroom. Basically if you can draw a straight line from one point to a second point without going thru a wall, then you have a view from the first point to the second point. To fully block the view into the PR from everyone in the dining room and living room, you would basically need to build a wall (or put tall furniture) all along the green line.

The second drawing shows the PR switched with the elevator as suggested above. As you can see, the basic viewing angle would include the right hand half of the living room and the kitchen. BUT the kitchen wall blocks off almost everything except the points in the hallway. And, if you look closely you see that, for the small section of living room that has any view at all of the PR, the only PR points that are actually within view are the PR door and the blank wall beside it. Much better I think.

The 5 ft clearance circle is not necessary in a bathroom if there is a 36" wide T-shaped passage and you appear to already nave that. What is more important is the clearances at the latch side of swinging doors, avoiding offsets in entrance halls and space for diagonal or side transfer at the toilet.