Sounds so lovely...a new house on the hill overlooking your farm! We have 8 kids and homeschool, too, so know the challenges of really using a home, 24/7.

As far as your plan, it'd be nice to see some measurements.

Do you not even have a master bath? I think that would be a big mistake. Our last house was built in the early 60s, so didn't have a master bath either, but it was right outside the door, not across and through the house. I think you need at least a powder room in that end of the house.

I worry about the living room being the walk-through area to everywhere else. I much prefer plans where entries allow you to go to other rooms without going through a particular room. To get from one side of the house to the other, the living room becomes a highway. (Think of the kids path from the library to the bathroom and/or the kitchen) I also wouldn't want guests to have to go through the kitchen to get to the dining room. I know that family meals are likely to be a bigger consideration for you, so maybe that's a compromise you're willing to make.

The kitchen: It seems to be a HUGE space, but bigger isn't always better, unless it's carefully planned. I'm wondering how you plan to 'outfit' it...What sizes and types of appliances. The kitchen forum is the best place to post your kitchen plan for great, specific advice.

I LOVE your family entrance area...the mud room, laundry room, with easy access to the bathroom, kitchen/pantry, and the stairs...and that both back entrances open into it. Very nicely designed.

I'm not sure what to think about the laundry situation. That's a fabulous space for it, even though it is far from the kids' bedrooms. We put our main laundry upstairs, and plumbing for a small set downstairs. But in our last house the laundry was in the basement and yours will be easier than that, since it's close to where you can tend to it throughout the day. It has enough counter and other area so you can set up individual baskets for sorting folded clean clothes, then make each responsible for transporting their own things. (When they're all old enough, of course)

My brain isn't coming up with an answer, so I'll ask: What's a GSD?

I think I would move the front door over towards the LR area and use that space in the MBR to put in a master bath.
Also if you want a laundry shoot you could utilize the linen closet on floor 2 (near the stairway) to put one in there?? I would put in a "dumb waiter" type of laundry thing........to be able to send the clean basket up to the 2nd floor : ) When the kids come up, they just need to pick up there basket and put it in their room. Same goes for sending down the dirty laundry.....on there way down stairs. I'm sure with 4.5 kids, any little bit helps.
About the bathroom towel bars........how about using glass doors for the shower/tub and having them on there......no wasted space either.
Have you considered 2 sets of W & D for the amount of laundry you must have, it seems that your Laundry room is big enought for 2 sets of front loading?!
You may be able to use the space under the stairs to put in a very small half bath, not sure if want more than just a small area for toilet and sink : )
Have you thought of putting in your built-in china hutch along the long wall entering the DR?? What currently is going there?
Not sure if any of these suggestion will help, just figured I'd throw some out there and see if it leads to other ideas too.

It's too bad you can't work it out to drop the laundry into that linen closet area of the bathroom below. It would be much easier than carrying it if not directly into the laundry room.

I like your laundry, mudroom etc set up. You'll love how it works with lost of kids in the country!

I like the craft room too!

I think GSD is German Shepherd Dog.

Gotta ask, 4.5 children??? Does that mean you have another child on the way or is that .5 child a reference to you DH? LOL!

Seriously, if you're pregnant now, you're going to wind up one bedroom short by the time your house is built - unless you're planning on some of the children doubling up. Personally, I don't think having two kids share a room is that terrible a thing but if you're going to do that, you might want to make whichever room will be shared, a bit bigger than the singleton rooms.

I see a lot that I like about your plan - especially based on what you've told us about your family - and I LOVE the front facade. I do have some questions/suggestions tho.

One thing I notice is you seem to have an awful lot of square footage devoted to hallways. Wonder if there might be some way to reconfigure to devote some of that hallway space to uses other than just getting from point A to point B? Like, is it important to you that your upstairs craft room be a separate room that the kids don't have to walk thru all the time? If not, I'd consider taking out the north wall of that room and incorporating the hallway into the room.

Also, you mentioned home-schooling your kids and it is not clear where that activity will occur. Library looks too small for workspace for 4 kids...especially with built in book cases all around. And, if your family eats all meals together, you probably won't want the kids doing schoolwork there... too much constantly having to clear away the schoolwork in order to set the table for lunch/dinner. So my guess is you're planning to use your "craft room" for a classroom anyway so it might as well be open to the kids.

Alternatively, the space where your laundry room is now would probably make a great classroom area - if you could just find a different location for the laundry room. And, personally, I would look really really hard for a way to move the laundry room UPSTAIRS. With 4 kids, lugging laundry back upstairs is gonna get real old real fast! (In our current house, laundry room is downstairs and all bedrooms upstairs. Lack of a laundry chute isn't the big problem... just gather up the laundry in pillow cases and toss it downstairs! BIG problem has always been getting it all back UP the stairs! So, new home currently being built has the laundry room upstairs where 99% of laundry is generated.)

Closing in the space between the two back bedrooms upstairs is a great idea. Maybe you could find a way to make that space into a laundry room? How high are your ceilings downstairs going to be? I ask because I count 22 steps and I think that is rather more than you will need even if you're planning on 10 ft ceilings. Fewer steps would mean your stair-case wouldn't need to be as wide (east to west) so you might be able to capture enough space to allow for direct access to the extra room instead of having to go thru a closet.

If not, I would recommend that you at least consider moving the two A/C units back into that space between the two bedroom and put an extra washer/dryer in the space where you show the A/C units now.

The front facade of your home is beautifully symmetrical so I'm wondering what you're planning to do about matching the windows in the master bath to those in the dining room. You've mentioned that you want to "take advantage of the beautiful views" from the dining room but I don't think you're going to want the world taking in the views of your master bathroom. LOL! Have you thought about what the differences in windows will do to the symmetry of your home?

Have you considered using that west octagon for DH's home office instead of your master bath? With a door opening off the porch plus one (that can be closed!) going into your bedroom, it would make a great office space AND allow him to have business visitors that wouldn't have to come into your "home" at all. You could then move the master bath back to the area where DH's office is now plus take in some of that hallway space.

Finally are you going to have a basement? (You show a door under the staircase downstairs so I'm guessing that leads to the basement. If it just leads to a closet, I'm thinking you might be able to reconfigure the staircase. If you used an L-shape staircase so that it passes over your office - tuck your desk under the staircase - and winds up in that space between the two bedrooms that you were going to enclose anyway, With a reconfigured staircase, you just might be able to find room for that extra powder room you want.

Oh, one last thing, you don't have a closet anywhere near the front door so someone is going to ask where you plan to hang guests' coats. If you live in a warm state like I do, not having a closet near the front door really isn't a problem since folks only wears coats/sweaters about 15 days a year anyway. But, up north, I can definitely understand that having a place to stash coats of guest is important.

Oh, German Shepherd Dog...Would never have come up with that one.

Bevangel asked a question I meant to, also...Where will the kids do their schooling? And do you have enough storage for all the books, papers, books, art and science supplies, books, games and puzzles, and, did I mention, BOOKS?! They are my personal weakness/addiction...And a lot of school materials aren't all that lovely for displaying on open shelves, as in the library. I'm using our understair storage, but wish I had something much larger and easier to navigate...Similar to your pantry.

It's a good catch to notice the lack of towel rod space. Do you also realize that your kids' bathrooms have no drawers? The only storage is the cabinets. Besides the suggestion to hang towels on the tub doors, you could put rods over the toilets...We put up the dbl rods so 2 can hang at once.

Just noticed where your fireplace is. Is it meant to be functional or decorative? (I suppose you're hoping for both)...But it can't be a very grand focal point where it is...It's kind of jutting out into a pathway. Is there any way to back it up to the stairway wall and change the upstairs to fit the chimney?

Are you working with an architect to design your house?

Thanks for all of your suggestions so far.

I'll try to answer all of your questions.

Yes, there is a master bath- it is in the "blank" space that juts out to the south just like the laundry room. I have considered the window issue. The architect didn't seem to feel that we'd loose the symmetry with different on each one. Once he draws in my windows, I'll have a better idea.

I do want to keep my craftroom separate from the bedrooms.

It is an excellent point about all of the hallways. Honestly, I didn't even "see" all of them until you mentioned it. Hmmmmmmm. I don't like wasted space.

The fireplace is meant to be both decorative and functional. It's location is not ideal to me, but We didn't seem to have a better spot for it. If I put it where the stairs are, everyone's back is to the views out south. We felt that we'd have less through traffic (especially for the "littles" on that side because the only reason for them to be on the west side of the house is the library, and smaller children's books can be kept in the den.

Some of our subjects we school all together in the den. When it is time for individual work, I have the children spread out. I plan a desk spot in the laundry room that can also be used for other things, as well as a desk/landing station in the mudroom area- probably right next to the door to the back. We can further spread out to the upstairs, as our children currently, and will for at least several more years, share space. There will actually be 2 empty bedrooms for the time being.

"Real" books will be in the library. I may possibly store the homeschool books there too, not sure. Teacher books and all the paperwork will go in my little office, as well as most supplies. I'll also have a cabinet over the desk/landing area in the mudroom for more stuff. I've done a dedicated school room with everyone at once, and it just didn't work for us. Separation seems to be our key ;)

While one of the bedrooms will be a preschool/playroom upstairs, there is no current plan for the other one. I also figured I could give up my craftroom altogether if I ever needed to. It does seem to be that I'm missing toy storage space downstairs which built-ins around the fireplace would have given me (I'm whining about that still!)

I did not catch that there were no drawers in the children's baths! Ugggg! I'll have to ask exactly how big those vanities are. I was thinking to have pedestal sinks only on the boy's side....

Yes, GSD=German Shepherd. And Yes, I am expecting #5. Evidently not in time to move in first ;)

No basement. That is a closet.

We're in Texas, so mild winters. No coat closet, although the entryway is large enough to put in a coat rack, I believe.

10 foot ceilings downstairs, 9 upstairs.

For the kitchen, I was planning to have all appliances on the west wall, the rangetop on the north side, with the sind on the east. The east views will be extensive flower gardens, so we like having lots of windows on that side for the kitchen and dining areas. I will certainly be asking in kitchens when I'm to that point!

Very interesting thoughts on the stairs.

Thank you so much for your thoughts so far!! Keep 'em coming :)

Sorry! Above should say that the master bath juts out just like the *Dining Room*- not laundry room.

I need an edit button ;)

I think your home looks lovely, your "back hall" space is great!

As Rhome mentioned- the master bath? We just built a new home on our farm after living for 14 years in an old farmhouse on the property. Honestly after a month in our new home I cannot imagine how we survived w/o our master bath! LOL Our bathroom in the old house was literally down stairs on the other side of the house with a big ole nasty hole in the floor next to the tube. It's like Nirvana to have a master suite. You deserve it. I haven't figured out how to keep the kids out yet though! LOL We have a walk in shower ( another thing I just LOVE) and they like to come and hang out and talk while I shower. ( they are 4 and 7).

We spent a large amount of time thinking about our views, our mud room etc also. We ended up putting a washer and dryer on each floor. ( including the basement).

It is a good call on the towel bars. We have very large windows- which eat up towel bar space. I didn't realize that but we have managed. I would give up towel bar space for windows anytime!

Also like to know if you are planning on a basement.

PD

Which room is the den?

Also, I caught that you seem to be thinking of the kids in terms of the ages they are now (what books they have, what rooms they will access, what paths they'll take around the house, etc.) Traffic patterns, uses of rooms, and probably homeschooling style will change and intensify as they get older and bigger...and when they are all school-age and active. I doubt you'll be able to, or want to, keep them out of half the house by then. Think of them being 9-18, then try to evaluate things. I know it's tough to imagine when you haven't been there yet, but it'll happen fast and be a longer stage than this one in which they're all very young.

The den is the center room of the house with the fireplace in it.

When I mentioned that about traffic patterns, and the children on that side of the house, I was mainly talking about the fireplace. I'm slightly nervous about little ones under, say, 3 negotiating around it to get anywhere. But they won't be in the library, Dad's office, or the master, so I think they will be fine. Older ones should be ok, I would think ;)

I hear what you're saying with having to go through the den to get anywhere. I open to suggestions. It is the way it is only to take advantage of the land.

I figured when they are old enough, they'll let me know where they work best, and I'm great with that.

Is there something else I'm missing, you think? Spell it out for me ;)

Sorry to be 'late to the party'. I have not read the thread thoroughly -- hope my contribution isn't redundant.

Your porches don't look deep enough for real use. Will any be screened? We eat on our porch a lot in good weather and appreciate having it close to the kitchen. Would you use an 'eating porch' on the east side of the house? We have a (much smaller) dog; our porch has a low wall below the screening to keep our Westie from charging through the screening after every squirrel.

Do you have other storage on the farm? The two-car garage won't hold all the family's vehicles and toys.

Although I like large BRs, I wonder if the children's are *too* large, especially since they have walk-in closets. I'm a little worried about the shared bathrooms, too. Another poster wrote that her middle school and older kids got into 'lock-out' wars over Jack & Jill baths. If there were a play area upstairs, could you pare the BRs a bit? (Is that a playroom front and center upstairs?)

I wouldn't like your MBR layout. I wouldn't need dressers in the BR because my clothes are all in my walk-in closet, which is right next to the bathroom -- no back and forth across the BR to bathe and dress.

My kitchen is on the front of our house I love being able to look out and see who's coming up the driveway, and to have the light.

It would help if we could see room dimensions and window placement. Is there a bottleneck between Kit. and DR?

Thank you everyone for your help thus far!!

I'm sorry that I don't have dimensions for the rooms...I keep having to ask the architect every time I want to know how big something is. He's great to work with, so I won't grumble :)

I found out that the children's vanity areas are 6', so that does leave me room for a bank of drawers. I also asked him to make the linen closets in there smaller. They are now 3', giving me 2' (I think) for towel hooks.

I had him change the fireplace to be on the north (back) wall, and I really do like that better. Even though you aren't facing the view, 2 couches can be perpendicular to it, which I think works just fine.

We do have lots of extra outbuildings and barns for other vehicles and such, so that's not a problem.

The porches are 8'. In talking with you guys, we all thought adding a 16' square to the back porch would make a wonderful eating area.

I did try to flip the stairs so that they then came out facing the den. I really didn't like the way it came out. We worked for months trying to make the flow (particularly the back hall) work for our family, plus incorporating what we want to see of the farm....if I change the stairs to a whole different location, I'm almost starting from scratch. I'm going to miss the design element of stairs, but it works fine...and I'll save quite a bit of money which I'm sure to find another use for :)

I'm still considering the upstairs washer/dryer. What you all say makes since....but I line dry most of our clothes. The older 2 children (9 and 7) are able to carry their clothes upstairs by themselves, so I think we should be ok. I know our laundry room is large, but it also doubles as a workroom for our many projects that we have :)

Oh, and we don't have window placements in yet. I'm trying not to be impatient!

Thanks again!!!

I really like your house! Sounds lovely and on a farm :-) We live in Texas out in the middle of no where! I LOVE it. Although I have discovered many new bugs that I never knew of. *sigh* I guess they were here first!

I think you have gotten great suggestions and I really have nothing to add. I did however see in a model home once where the jack and jill bathrooms were a bit different each bedroom had the sink on their "side" and they could shut the door to the bathroom and just have their sink. Does that make sense?? I am so tired so I do not 'hear' myself coming across right. It was a neat set up and I remember thinking it would be great if it was a brother sister set up or sister sister for that matter!

Anywho, good luck with everything and I can't wait to see your plans finalized!

Kel