First, I looked at the pictures on the link, and I immediately noticed that this was a Sarah Susanka plan. She does put in the coolest little details, and what I really like is that her functional spaces seem to be "just right" -- the bookcases in the stairwell are the best detail in this plan! -- and, to me, that's the reason to build a house yourself: To have the functional spaces well proportioned and designed for your lifestyle.

I would be concerned about one thing: You have a living room and a parlor, but you'll have no acoustical privacy between the two. A person who wants to read quietly in one room will hear the TV in the other room.

Closet: Since the laundry (which is pretty big) and the master closet back up to one another, what you're describing would be pretty easy to accomplish. I think I'd move the washer/dryer over to the exterior wall (so the dryer could vent directly outside -- easier, safer), and then you'd have plenty of wall space for hanging things /bins.

Two drawbacks: This is a rather unique choice, and if you ever resell, this could be a drawback. On the positive side, since this "family closet" would be near the master bedroom, which would not hurt resale as much as if it were elsewhere in the house. AND if you have children, I can't imagine it'd be convenient for them to come downstairs to fetch clothes before showering.

Master bath: Without having mapped it out on graph paper, I do not think you're going to be able to have two bath entrances as you described -- not unless you're using a very small bed. With this layout (great bedroom windows, by the way -- you'll have wonderful light) you're going to have to place the bed on the wall against the bathrooms -- it just can't go anywhere else. What bed size are you using? You could always go with small nightstands. And if you go with a small bed and small nightstands to accommodate the two doors, I fear the furniture may feel out of proportion. This is a math question, and I don't have all the information to complete the problem.

The master bath space isn't all that big, and although you say you're fine with two SMALL master baths, that does add up to a good bit of space. I wonder if you could do kind of a jack-and-jill thing: Each of you gets a small room with a sink and a toilet . . . and then they both open onto another small room that houses the shower. Jack-and-jills are tough to do right, and they can end up with excessive doors that'll always be an aggravation.

Also, to bring up the same point: This is very taste specific, and the master bath is a huge selling point for many people. Obviously you're building a house so you can have things just as you want them, but this could be a potential resale problem. I know, I've brought up resale twice in this post, which seems contradictory after my first-paragraph comment about function for your own lifestyle . . . but a house is an expensive proposition, and you have to walk a fine line between "exactly what I want" and "I might one day need to sell it" . . . and your closet and bath ideas are not typical at all. Proceed with caution.

Laurabeth--I googled family closet and was surprised that this seems to be almost a "movement" among those with large families. Lots of blogs, pics and pinterest boards. I can see why. My boys bedrooms are on a different floor than my laundry room. Just because the laundry gets done doesn't mean it's easy to get them to put it away. This concept eliminates this step.

So...does this really work if their bedrooms are on a different floor (like yours) and they have to come down and get their clothes, go back up and take showers?

As far as your floor plan changes...why not incorporate part of the master closet into your LR and keep part of it in the master? I think it's important that the master bedroom retain closet space.

I totally see the purpose of a family closet, for my family at least. With two sons and DH, it'd be so much easier to have all their clothes together. Especially when one approaches the next older one's size, or when they are the same size. Heck, I'll even borrow a tee shirt or sweater from them. And half the time their jeans are in the LdryRoom washed, folded, and waiting, anyway! And, as the wardrobe mistress, it'd be easier to see which clothes aren't getting worn, what's outgrown, what's damaged. And it hopefully keeps clothes off the floor of the bedrooms.

Could you add a laundry chute from the left hand bedroom upstairs?

In your plan, you could totally do this. Put the washer dryer on the exterior wall, flip this master closets to the left side, and add a door from the laundry. Or, move the MBR door to the left of the closets. The walkin closet could be incorporated into the his'n'hers baths. I can imagine a nice size shower in between, with a door opening to each side. Doable?

Are your kids still young? If so, I'd think about how this will work when they're older, possibly playing sports (meaning more clothing changes) and potentially less willing to walk through the living room, dining room, and kitchen to change clothes.

Maybe we're high maintenance, but we change clothes a few times/day. For me: workout in the a.m.; work clothes; after work clothes for walking the dog/relaxing/going out; something to wear to bed. Kids dress for school and change for after school or evening sports, then change again after showering after the sports. (Trust me, you wouldn't want my 15 y.o. son to stay in his basketball clothes after a workout.) And my 17 y.o. DD sometimes (OK, frequently) changes her mind once an outfit is on.

I totally get that it would be so nice to put clean clothes away right near the washer and dryer. But I only do laundry 2-3 times/week vs. changing clothes every day, so for me and my kids it's more convenient to have our clothes near where we change vs. near the laundry.

The family closet clearly works for you now, which is great. I would just encourage you to think through how it will work when your kids are older, have bigger clothes that need more space, and might need to change throughout the day; it would be great to have some flexibility in where they keep some of their clothes. Or at least some privacy if they're going to be changing in the laundry room (e.g. out of school clothes into sports uniforms.)

Thank you everyone! That is a very good point about the parlor MrsPete. It will be my piano room and we are going to close it in with pocket or french doors.

The family closet works great with small children, but the kids will have closets in their bedrooms and are welcome to keep their clothes upstairs when they are older, if they so choose. I have been doing this for 6 years and it definitely works for us and saves tons of time. Pull clothes out of the dryer, toss into the appropriate person's drawer that is right behind you, close the drawer- DONE! And we spend up until bedtime together in the family room, so before you go up to bed just grab your clothes, its so easy!

Thanks again. I will post the plans with all the dimensions tomorrow. Maybe that will help you, help me. :)

French doors into the parlor are a perfect solution, and all the windows around the area will send plenty of natural light though them. Don't miss the "pass through" (poor word choice because it's up too high to actually pass anything through, but you know what I mean) beside the fireplace. I love that detail, but it will also mean loss of acoustical privacy. I'd vote for putting in a piece of glass. You'll still have the look of "openness", and you can still set a sculpture or something in front of it, but you'll have quiet.

I don't disbelieve that the family closet is a bad idea; in fact, it's kind of a first cousin to something that many of us want in a house: The laundry adjacent to the master bedroom (or near the kids' rooms, or some variation).

The real question is, If you sell this house at some point in the future, will a potential buyer recognize the concept and be interested . . . or will a potential buyer just think it's a house with oddly proportioned laundry and closets? I'm not arguing that it doesn't work for you or that it's not a good idea -- I'm just pointing out that it isn't something that fits in with the general public's idea of "a nice house".

I do see that you have closets in the upstairs rooms, but they're very minimal. This is a large house with high-end features; a potential buyer would expect good-sized closets in all bedrooms. If at some point in the future you sell to an empty-nester who's looking at those rooms as guest rooms, I think you'd have no problem . . . but if I came through with my two teenaged girls, they'd want more personal closet space.

Does that matter? I don't know. I don't know whether you have a young family or you're about to retire. I don't know how firm your plans are for staying in this house.

Incidentally, I don't wash or put away my kids' clothes -- around age 10 they started doing all their own laundry, including the transporting it to/from their rooms and putting it away. My mom handled it the same way when we were kids: Because there were five of us, we were each assigned one day a week to wash our clothes (including towels and sheets); if we missed something, we had to bargain with the other kids to get something through the wash. And the machines were Mom's on the weekend.

Sorry I got hung up on the family closet thing; there are lots of things I like about this plan.

I like that there's an outside entrance to the mudroom, without going through the garage. This will make it easy for kids to come in from outside and use the powder room or take off their shoes, etc. It will also be nice if you have or ever will have a dog, for letting it outside. I also like the closets in the foyer; it seems lots of plans skip those.

I'm curious about how the house will sit on the lot. I love the big screened porch and can see how that would be great to face a view; ditto the wonderful windows in the DR and LR. There's also a lot of yard space behind the garage - is this where you anticipate the kids will play when they're outside? Not sure if the garage faces toward the street, or if the screen porch is the 'front' of the house. In any case, this plan will let you take advantage of views in a couple of directions. If you have acreage that lets you situate the house however you like, I'd recommend thinking about where the sun will be at different times of day, keeping in mind that the deep eaves and porches will keep parts of the house dark or shaded at certain times.

How would you feel about moving the door to the laundry so that it opens to the hall rather than the kitchen? This will give you a longer wall and eliminate some foot traffic in the kitchen. Also, I think that's the refrigerator in the bottom right of the kitchen, with a little wall next to it. I dislike fridges next to walls... it's hard to open the doors all the way, which means it's hard to get the drawers all the way open. If the wall is shorter than the box of the fridge it's a non issue, but I don't see much point in the wall there anyway. I'd rather just frame in the refrigerator with a side panel of cabinetry. Also it's a little bit of a distance from refrigerator to sink to wash off veggies, etc. You might want to consider a prep sink in the island. In any case, post your plan on the kitchens forum for really good layout advice. They'll help you get the most functionality out of your kitchen.

Cool house! It will be fun to see your progress.

Just wanted to say, I can imagine living in this house! Maybe a couple of tweaks to suit myself (I'd move the MBR door so you don't see it from the front door, and maybe add a back hall from service entry to kitchen, etc.), but gotta love the parlor, the big screen porch, and how the kitchen is not so visible from the living space yet not shut off. Love Sarah Susanka. I went to a Susanka open house nearby, and my friend and I did our little critiques but in the end would move in tomorrow if we could!

So right Mrs Pete! This is a very expensive build per sq foot. We will lose no matter the choices we make so I figure ill just do what I want and worry about kicking myself later if we ever have to sell. But we do plan to be here forever. We are building next to family on 100 acres so I suspect it will always be a part of the family. If not, I'll lose. Oh well... ;)

Chicagoans, We are building on top of a large hill with views in every direction except out the back. So the kitchen window will be the only one without a pretty view. The front door will face north and screened in porch west. Do you think that will be ok?