Are you sure you are working with a licensed, experienced architect who produced this drawing?

This is really a sort of site plan outline drawing and not a floor plan at all. There are aspects of it, such as the "stairs" that are not even complete. This plan raises more questions about professional competence than it answers.

Good luck with your project.

Virgil-You're right. It was my ignorance is using the right terms. We are definitely using a licensed architect and it was sent to us as a site plan.It's reaIly my excitment of actually seeing a building placed on the property after trying to imagine it for so long. Probably jumped the gun in posting so soon.

Squaring off corners is easy enough to do later... I'd be more concerned with stair placement, lack of entry hall (you walk into dining room upon entering) and such.

An ocean view -- how wonderful! I understand why you are so excited to be starting the process.

I am a rank amateur on floor plans compared to most people on this site, but these are just a few things I notice about this plan that may cause you headaches: the kitchen is far from the dining room (imagine carrying platters of food across the great room); the kitchen is far from the garage for carrying in groceries; no closet near the front entry for guests' coats; the mudroom seems to be offset from the garage entry (will anyone go in there to take off their muddy shoes?), and there doesn't seem to be much closet space in or near the mudroom -- you'll have to walk the whole way down the hall to hang up your jacket. The sitting area for the master bedroom also seems large -- how do you plan to use that space? If it were me, I would use that space for a larger bathroom or closet instead.

I hope some of that is helpful. Good luck with your house!

Could you flip-flop the master bedroom to the back of the house and bring the craft room /mud room /powder room to the front? Here's what you'd gain:

- Orienting the master to the back of the house would allow you to have a sliding door into the back yard, perhaps directly onto a small private patio.
- It'd get your master bath closer to the powder room /kitchen sink, and keeping your plumbing close together is a way to keep costs down.
- It'll remove your tub from the front of the house, which can only be a good choice.

Why all the angles in the kitchen and the craft room? It's an expensive building choice, and it'll require expensive custom-built cabinets in the kitchen . . . that'll hold less than standard cabinets.

I also agree with the above poster about flip-flopping the living room and dining room. Bringing the dining room closer to the kitchen is a good idea.

Thanks for the input. We received some more info today from the architect-the entry will actually be between the two floors(as of now-so I think there will be a landing(and perhaps a closet?) with stairs going up and stairs going down). We won't be using that entrance-it will be mostly for guests. The master is in the front because the lots across the street are wooded and can't be built on(and probably never will be due to the slopes and lack of water-too long and complicated to explain-has to due with water restrictions and a building moratorium in the town). This is California-lots are small and the house behind us sits 5 feet off the property line-not a whole lot of privacy back there. We tried to get the house moved as close to the street as possible as it actually has more privacy than the back(there are a fair amount of trees between the zoning envelope and the street) and would put more space between us and our neighbors. The sitting room is supposed to be more of a sleeping alcove-aka "snore room" as my husband and I both have snoring issues :( . We wanted a space that one of us can go off to when we're having a "loud" night. Our mud room is placed similarly in the house we're in now, so we are pretty well trained in getting shoes off there or leaving them in the garage. I'm not wild about the long hallway, or the dining room being so far from the kitchen and I too question the efficiency of the kitchen cabinets-things we will discuss with the architect over the phone and in emails and in more detail when we meet with him mid May. I think its going to be challenging doing this from the east coast, but so far he's been really good about keeping in contact with us and following up on questions we might have. The angles in the kitchen and craft room are to give some ocean view to those rooms- we also talked about having a small courtyard in that area-it's a bit more protected from ocean breezes( the temps there range from the 40's in winter to mid 70's in summer-80 is considered hot hot hot! Quite a change from where we live now.) Again, this is very very basic and I'm sure we'll be changing things-also not sure where doors and such are going just yet too-and closets are something that need to be clarified. Thanks again for your comments.

So you're building a split foyer style house? Are those common in the area where you're building? It's a homestyle people often have pretty strong opinions about. In my area, split foyer homes are often considered low end-- it doesn't look like you're planning a low end home, so I'm not sure I would want the entry to be in the style of an inexpensive house.