For those who missed my initial post here's a copy of it:

Hi Everyone!
I love this site and I've learned so much here that I want to hear your opinions about our soon to be new house! :-)
I'm so exited that we finally have our floorplan finished! We like it a lot and we're very happy with how the designer and architect have worked with us. However, there are a couple things that I would like to improve, if possible. We are a young couple with 2 kids: 7 and 5 y/o.

Things I need you to help me review:

1.The mudroom area. I technically got what I wanted, which was space for cubies, a sink and a broom closet, but it all seems so cramped in I'm not sure it will be functional enough.

2. The laundry room. I just want to make sure I'll have enough space for a wall mounted ironing board cabinet, a full size steamer and counter space for folding and space underneath it to line up two rows of three laundry baskets. I originally wanted at least 6 feet of counter space....not happening... :-(

3. The staircase. Now, please tell me if I'm being a little crazy about this... I always envisioned coming up and down the second floor through the right side, the side next to the great room. Not till yesterday did I realize it's drawn the opposite way! For some strange reason this feels unnatural and weird.... why? am I being nuts? please tell me if so... lol

The house is 3,626 sf and that's already pushing the limits, so increasing the size is not an option....

thanks in advance! :-)

Here's the upstairs :)
{{gwi:1443506}}From Cottage house plans

sunny yellow
I have a couple ideas see what you think
-slide the guest bath over to the outside wall and gain a window in it.
-put the pantry in its place, opening to the kitchen where the sink is.
-sink goes in the island looking out thru the dining to the windows rather that than looking at a blank wall.
-fridge moves over to between the pantry alcove and the guest room alcove
-now put a closet and sink where the pantry was and leave the little mud cubbies all by themselves because that really was too cramped.
Upstairs
-put the W/D under the window front loaders could give you the six feet of counterspace above them I have that nowand it works well.
then maybe you could swap the long laundry for a shorter one and switch the stairs to the way you like them.
I think you have the room just need to tweek a little.
Seems like the garage is huge and youre giving up prime under roof real estate for that garage alcove.
Just my thoughts

And, please, do not keep an inswing door on your Master Bath toilet room.

You have the room to make it a safer outswing door.

Lavender- thank you! :-)

ppbenn- can I put a W/D in an outside Wall? I've always thought it was not possible because of pipelines or something.....

Kirkhall- thnx! I'll tag that door right now!

I like the plan! I think the idea of putting a sink on the island is a good one...but I'd make it a prep sink. I'd also put the dishwasher on the other side of the main sink. If you want to dress that area up a bit, put a plate rack, over the sink.
{{gwi:1447238}}From Kitchen plans

The fridge is in a good location (especially with the prep sink on the island) but I'd move the double ovens. The desk area is nice in theory, but often ends up being a catch all. I'd put the double ovens at the end of that run and make that a baking area. And, switch out the pantry door, for a pocket door, so you don't block the hall.

The microwave can go next to the fridge, either undercounter or on a shelf above the counter. Or, you could put it in the island...or by the double ovens for a snack area, near the pantry. Hope this helps :) {{gwi:1447240}}From Cottage house plans

I am of opinion that pocket doors in high-traffic areas, such as pantry, can be a nuisance. What about bi-fold louvered doors, or some type of sliding barn-door? Something easier to open and shut being the goal.

I am curious why there seem to be a great # of diagonal walls, doors, angles throughout? Is this a style preference of you or the architect, or something necessary to make the floorplan work? Did anybody else notice this besides me...not saying its bad but it just seemed a bit unusual. As a traditionalist, I would be interested if any architects or designers here could say whether that is commonly seen in traditional homes. (sunnyyellow may not be going for traditional which is perfectly fine).

HATE the diagonal walls that force the kitchen into an odd space wasting shape, as well as waste a lot of the garage space and make it non functional as well. Those things do nothing to add any "character" to the home at all, and are only adding problems into the build. Angles of any kind waste space, and using so many of them here make a lot of the home's square footage not be accessible or useful. And you pay for that square footage. But you can't use it. Square everything up.

Yes, your mudroom is absolutely too cramped. And, with the bench seat tucked back into a corner like that, I doubt that anyone would ever bother to use it. Mud room cubbies/benches need to be located where everyone walking to/from the garage walks right past them. Then they naturally become the place that all the junk gets dropped, shoes get kicked off, etc. In your design, your desk is going to become the spot where everything gets dropped.

If you want a door between foyer and the mudroom (and I would), I'd suggest putting a wall between the current pantry and powderroom and putting a pocket door in that.

I like ppbenn's idea about sliding the guest bath over and claiming that garage alcove for "indoor" area.

I understand the concept of having an alcove/hall between the guest bedroom and kitchen to provide a sense of privacy - but the alcove doesn't need to be anywhere near that big. Friends of mine have their MASTER bedroom opening off of their kitchen nook and their alcove/hall is only about 16 inches deep. It just sets the bedroom door back far enough for a sense of privacy. If you made the alcove smaller and slid it down toward the dining room, and then used the space that was opened up by sliding the bathroom over to make a closet for the guest room, then you could make the kitchen as wide as the dining room which would give you some nice options for redesigning the kitchen AND the mudroom area. Maybe something like this... (I haven't shown kitchen appliances but I think this gives you as much or more counterwall space as you had before so it shouldn't be too hard to fit the appliances in. AND, your kitchen counter space isn't broken up into multiple pieces.

As for the staircase, I don't think you are at all crazy for wanting it the other way. With the staircase switched you could have an open railing on the first flight of steps up so that the staircase would be open on the greatroom side. As it is drawn, you have no choice but to have a solid wall on that side. That will make a huge diffence in how the staircase FEELS. Open and airy versus being an enclosed "well". Problem is, if you turn the stair the other way, you're forced to make your laundry room even smaller than it is now. What is your roofline over the study like? Would you have any options for turning the laundry room sideways and tucking part of it into the "attic space" over the study?

Lavender - I also like the idea of the prep sink on the island, leaving the cleaning zone separate. You also gave me food for thought about the desk area.... I guess I'm so used to always having a desk area in the kitchen that I never even considered eliminating it. Probably with the use of laptops nowadays, it wouldn't hurt getting rid of it. That would solve the microwave dilemma, how do others feel about not having a desk area in their kitchen?

Sowega - You're right, we were wanting a little more modern floor plan, we just wanted something open with Dinning room in the back of the house, not the front. We definitely did not ask for all those angled walls! lol I guess it's just the architects style....but I do agree there are too many angles, specially on the second floor!

hollysprings - I hear ya....my first impression was the same... I tried to persuade him to square the kitchen off but apparently that was making it too much bigger.... but the odd thing is that it started growing on me and now i even like it! I'm looking forward to see how that angled wall will look...I think it will look pretty.

bevangel - wow! that's a huge change! it'll take me awhile to sink it all in now... lol

I do like the idea of moving the bathroom, but couldn't add that space as closet 'cause we're trying to stay firm on not adding more sf.

I really would LOVE to switch the stairs... but OTOH I don't want to give up laundry space...I don't know enough terminology to name what the roofline will be, but I do know that I can't build over it! lol

Your reason NOT to move the guest room closet is ridiculous. Bev didn't change your exterior dimensions at all. And, she took out a jog in the wall by making it straight across. This should not cost any more to build than what you had proposed.

If you can't add square feet because of some HOA requirement, well then...you can guess what I think of that. It is illogical to say no to a good redesign just due to square feet (and finished square feet at that...the footprint/roof is the SAME!)

Pushing the bathroom over and making what was garage space into closet space wouldn't cost you a drop in the bucket. To get the extra square footage, all you would need to do is build one extra 5' long section of non-load bearing wall. Your already building all the expensive parts of the square footage (foundation, roof, three of four walls) And, you get to get rid of one closet door and the cost of hanging it and trimming it out. Of course, if you move the bathroom you would be adding a window in the bathroom. But overall, this is VERY cheap space to capture and a change that I would definitely consider to be worth a few hundred extra bucks. Especially if you decide you like the changes it allows to kitchen and mudroom.

Do you have a drawing of your front elevation you could post? What I'm suggesting doing is bumping the laundry room out so it fits UNDER the roof that goes over the attic. Whether it could be done depends on how tall the roof is. If you could bump the left wall of the laundry to the left by 2 or 3 feet (even if that section of the laundry has a lower (and slanting) ceiling, you could move your washer/dryer to the left side and put the sink and folding table on the right. Then you could switch the stairs.

And, BTW, I just realized that in the design I sketched, you could get rid of that bearing column that is currently straight in front of your front door by moving it to the right, adding a second bearing column at the edge of the stairs and then squaring off the pantry. To get from the front door to the kitchen, one would either to take the back hallway past the powder room and thru the mudroom, OR go thru a corner of the Great Room. But I think your front entry would look a whole lot better if that column were NOT the first thing you see upon entering the front door.

Sunny- You'll get lots of great suggestions on the forum, but ultimately, you need to choose what will work best for you and your situation :)

Yes SunnyYellow I have my W/D on an outside wall in PA and my relatives in SD and MN do also makes the dryer vent better also. I have a 6X9 ft laundry now its on 2nd floor next to my Master bath and with the front loaders with the counter on top it works great.
Its not big at all but neither is this house and its ONLY for laundry and cleaning supplies not mudroom.
I'm liking Bevangel's ideas!

kirkhall - i'm obviously very naive at all this and what would cost what... it is a good idea and I will present it in our next meeting with the arquitect next sunday.

bevangel - we still don't have the drawings for the front elevation, they're still working at it.
I will also suggest the idea for the laundry room upstairs,I like it, and I would hope it works, cause I really want to switch those stairs!

of course, if they tell me all these changes would cost too much, I guess I'll have to work with what I have.

I found a picture that gave me an idea if nothing else works. ( sorry, not sure if I found it here or in Houzz) maybe we could take space from the pantry and closet and do something like this:

What do you guys think? that way the mudroom will just be for that, muddy shoes and cleaning storage.