hi there! i've been lurking lately too - i'm an old GW user from our first build 5-6 years ago but we're starting over in a new city so i thought i'd throw some lurker love your way.

i think the plan is great. the way your foyer opens into the great room reminds me of my very favorite space on houzz in portland. i'm linking to it below. i'm assuming you want people to throw out ideas and play devil's advocate to point out things maybe you hadn't considered? so here goes:

1) do you have a nice view off the back of the house? and is your porch going to be covered with railings? i ask because the view when you walk in the front door is going to be directly out onto your porch. that might be intended and ideal if your porch layout is beautiful. if it's not, i love walking in through the front door and seeing a beautiful fireplace straight ahead. so you could flip the fireplace to the back wall and have doors flanking it out to the porch.

2) i can't tell what that projection is on the exterior wall off your office/bedroom. i'd just make sure you have a nice spot for windows to let some light into that space.

3) if budget is a concern at all, a private entrance full bathroom in the office seems excessive. also, if there's a chance you'll ever add a pool, you might want easier bathroom access from the outside so might be worth considering relocating that full bathroom somewhere more like where the pantry is?

4) looks like the kitchen is a great size, so i'd just make sure you have plenty of space between the angle where it hooks down and the back run of cabinets. looks a pinch tight right on that corner. we're making sure we have at least 4' around the island and for any hallways and walkways.

5) i like the look of all the separate cabinet runs, and we had that in the last house we built. BUT, i found the detached cabinet runs just collected junk and were never used for "kitchen" functions - prepping, cleaning, eating etc. they were clutter magnets. again i can't read the dimensions of the kitchen, but with all the pantry storage you probably don't need the extra cabinets. have you thought about removing that wall and keeping the kitchen open to the dining room?

5) i would try to get at least a small linen closet into your master bath close to the shower.

best of luck as you get started!!

Here is a link that might be useful: [Portland House I Love on Houzz[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/cottage-in-the-trees-traditional-portland-phvw-vp~396027)

I like your plan, but I'm not sure it's ideal for your stage of life.

Will you want to go upstairs for 2 am feedings when you have another baby? Will your 3 year old be comfortable sleeping alone upstairs?

Maggie and Zone4, thanks so much for your responses.

First the easy reply: Zone4: Stage in life thinking! I love it. My wife already thought about that factor and the upstairs will have at 3 bedrooms, each with en suite baths. One of the bedrooms will be a bit bigger and have dual sinks in bathroom to make it into a peudo-master for now. When the kid/s are old enought, we will come downstairs and the room becomes a guest "suite". We will probably also put one bedroom in the basement as another guest room.

Maggie: Thanks for the houzz link, it is great. I really like the visual of the front door, foyer, great room, back porch.
1) The back yard will be terraced down from the left side of the plan to the right with woods and a small swale on the far right of the lot which we would have a view of from the master bedroom. The back porch will be a nice area.
2)View from office/bedroom will be to the terraced backyard. Decent window for light, check.
3)We have the full bath in the office/bedroom for a possible mother-in-law room or father room (One of our parents) We wanted a bedroom and bathroom with easy access from the garage.
4) Will make sure there is enough room between island and the cabinets near the double oven.
5) The cabinet between the dinning room and the kitchen will be a furniture grade piece sort of like a buffet so we can put food out and have i accessed from both the dining room or the kitchen. We can also store "china" type things there...(oh joy!)
6)Linen closet IN bathroom...thanks!

I have attached a sketch of the home on the lot superimposed on the home that is already there (tear down) to give people a better feel. North is the top of the image. Front door faces south.

Thanks again,
Mike

I suggest flipping the layout of the powder room off the foyer. In your current plan, guests walking in the front door will have a view of the toilet. Put the sink and toilet along the left wall for the best sight lines, or along the rear wall with toilet on the left and sink on the right. This may cause more bathroom noise to be heard in your great room but you can add extra insulation or an extra layer of drywall in the powder room for soundproofing.

Kas4: Thanks for the suggestion! I would never had thought about that. Not so zesty looking straight at the toilet when you walk in the door!

outswing door on master WIC.

Also, any chance you could get your master closet entry to laundry room more centered on the laundry room wall? It would give you better wall area for future cabinets/folding counter in there...

I can see why the office has the separate bath--I assume that is where you'd put your elderly folk; but they will have no place, other than the bedroom, to be their relaxing place. Really consider how that will work out. Most of the time, an elderly parent still wants some space, not just a room. And, their bathroom should be w/c accessible, which I am not sure that is.

Also, I think it odd that the pantry is on the far end away from the mudroom. Most of the words on the plan are too small for me to read, but I would consider the pantry where you have the mudroom wic? or the closet across from the stairs. And, where is the fridge?

What is your climate?

KirkHall: Thanks for the feedback.

1) Centering the master closet on laundry wall is a great suggestion. We have the closet entering the laundry so my wife can exit the bathroom and then closet in the AM without having to go back through the bedroom. (She leaves about an hour earlier than I typically get up ;) It also allows her to spill over into the closet to hang more things to dry since she doesn't machine dry many things.

2) Will definitely work to make office bath WC accessible. Thanks for pointing that out. We have thought about the parent with no other place to go, but by that time, we would probably put in an elevator and they could have some quiet time to hang out in the basement, or since my wife and I both work, they could stay on the main level during the day.

3)The mudroom closet is for jackets, shoes and stuff...the pantry is a big away from the garage entrance and I will see what we can do to make access easier. The fridge is labeled REF along the left side of kitchen near island.

I have attached a linik to the plans in pdf from with a few more mearurments and hopefully the ability to blow it up since I can't seem to get the picture of the plan attached any bigger.

Try this:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ig4fiw3q304t891/Prelim%20Plan%20with%20measurements.pdf

Thanks,
Mike

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to Plans