And another.

With all the doors to the balcony in bedroom 3, plus the room door and closet doors - you end up,with no space for furniture. If you want the balcony accessible, how about just 1 door, and then large windows.

If you moved the closet in bedroom 4, that room could also have access to the balcony. It would be nice to add a window the the top wall.

Similar problem with the dining room. With all those doors, you've essentially removed 3' of dining room space just to accommodate the door swings. Maybe large windows. And one door.

There are absolutely no windows on the right hand side of your plan. Even if the view is crappy, an additional window in the MBR would allow additional natural light. Also, if you swapped the closet and laundry room with the bathroom, you could add a window to the bathroom.

Speaking of MBR closet - 6'4" isn't really wide enough for a walk in closet. You need to dedicate 2' per rack of clothes, which leaves you a 28" wide aisle for walking. Pretty tight.

I have concerns about bedroom number 2. I guess it depends on how you plan to use the room. I can't imagine giving that room to my teenager or my toddler. Which is pretty much my issue with all the bedrooms. They are not equal. If you have 3 kids, how do you decide who gets which room. The room with the balcony? The room next to the garage?

Lastly, unless you drive subcompacts, the garage will be tight. SUV's and minivans are around 17-18' long. Pick up trucks longer. That leaves you about 3' of clearance to walk around vehicles, lift your tailgate to unload, etc. Which means you have absolutely no storage room in front of the vehicles. And you are in danger of needing to walk outside to get around vehicles.

Somebody really likes exterior doors!!

In addition to the door problems pixie lou mentioned, the breakfast area will be hard to use due to the door. Consider moving the door to great room.

I guess the garage area is small and if both you and your hubby work, then you guys might need two cars and I don't think you'l be able to fit them in comfortably.

I do like the porches and the overall openness of the kitchen / living / dining areas, and I understand your intention of efficient spaces. But I'd have to agree with pixie_lou and dekeoboe on their comments. I also see spaces are too tight in the master bath and laundry. The tub with that step really encroaches on the floor space for both sink areas. You don't really need a step anymore for tubs and can just sit on the tub deck and swing your legs around to get in. Or consider a freestanding tub and you could add a shelf behind the tub against the wall and sink cabinets for bath "stuff". And I don't have complete dimensions but that shower looks to be very small at 36"x36" or smaller. And with the hall closet on the back side, you won't have room for a seat. The master closet door from the bathroom does not allow for hanging space that is indicated on the plan, but would be shallower shelving. This location would also need additional room ventallation (or additional in the closet also) to prevent excess humidity for the clothes. The closet door could be relocated to access from the bedroom and you might have more room for hanging clothes.

The laundry room's width of 5 feet will be too narrow for a washer and dryer to open the doors and have you stand in front of it. A front loader is aprox 31" deep and unless you have a recessed dryer hose, that will be away from the wall an additional 4". So that will only give you 25" from the machine to the wall to open the door with no space for a person to stand in front if it and have to really squeeze yourself in to get in and out of the area. If you had a top loader instead you would gain about 6"-7" but would still not be clearance to stand in front of it to use it. You could put them against the narrow back wall instead but then you would not have room for anything else.
You do have a nice opportunity to have a pass thru or open up a cabinet between the laundry room and the master closet since they share a wall. Many would consider this proximity ideal.

I would also add some windows to the second floor to the backyard in the Bedroom 4 and Bathroom 3 or on the side over the tub in a high window for a tub/shower. And I like the idea of moving the closet in that bedroom to gain a door to the balcony. Or a window at least if not a door. The balconies are a major feature of the house and you should have as many rooms as possible have access to them.

Along that note, you may prefer the formal Entry two story ceiling but you would increase your usable space upstairs if you enclosed that area and made it a game room or a library with a window seat out the front that could also have a door to the balcony. Or you could have a second bathroom with a sitting room or a complete second master suite upstairs in that space with a larger closet. Or even just walk in storage instead a ladder attic access. Lots of choices here.

I also wonder about the placement of the window in the front upstairs bedroom with the chimney from the living room below. It may not be right above it, but it appears that the chimney would be too close to have a nice view from that upstairs window. I'm also wondering what the design style is and am curious if its a Craftsman or Prairie style with the shape of the front porch sides or columns (?) and the layout of the fireplace with flanking bookcases. If so then maybe you could add some clearsastory windows above them for more natural light.

But I have no idea of your family size, lifestyle and needs, lot size or restrictions (maybe a reason for no windows in certain areas?? But typically you can add windows but just not clear glass so a frosted or glass brick or similar). Or any other details so I'm just guessing and throwing out some first impressions here. Maybe you can just expand on this plan to allow for a little more space and clearances in those too tight areas. If you can, that would be to your advantage. Or maybe you have the lot size and setbacks are such that you need to stay within this size. If so then reworking of several areas with clearances in mind are in order. You could use space saving appliances and fixtures like a stackable washer/dryer, smaller bathtub or no tub at all to allow a larger shower, etc. there are some nice qualities with this plan, obviously or it would not be your current favorite. If I had more information I could give some more specific suggestions.

Hope you can work your plan a bit to get what will be more functional and livable for you!

It's a really long walk down long hallways from the garage to the kitchen (think groceries).

With the garage door entrance location almost your entire front yard will be a driveway.

What was it that attracted you to this plan? Who will be living in it? And, in what area of the country?

I can expound on these points as they relate to you (or not)--
This plan is not a very young-family friendly plan.

This plan is not a harsh-climate friendly plan.

This plan is not particularly great for an active-teen family plan.

And, as pointed out the garage is presently large enough for 1 standard car and a few things, or 2 very compact cars with no extra things.

When we know more about your lifestyle, we can be more helpful in our critique.

Great suggestions and feedback from all. We have our nine year old son, myself and wife that would be living there. We really like the idea of just having one door going to the balcony and front porch and the rest windows. Adding some more windows to the master bedroom along with bedroom four is a great idea as well. We also want to eliminate the bathtub in the master bedroom since we only want a shower. We have an SUV and car so the garage would be tight and are considering adding more width to it.

"the wife" ??? That is the first thing I would change .... good luck on your new build though.

I don't like it. Too far from the garage to the kitchen, through a twisty-turny, narrow and dark hallway.

Laundry room is tiny and unusable. Too far from the master bedroom.

Dining room is too far from the kitchen. I can see problems arranging furniture and traffic patterns through the foyer/dining room/living room/breakfast bar/breakfast nook into the kitchen.

The kitchen looks too tiny to be user-friendly. It's definitely a one-butt kitchen. Can the refrigerator door open?

The organization of the spaces seems awkwardly forced into a narrow plan that makes too many compromises. If the lot is wide enough to accommodate a wider plan I recommend you find one.

Others have discussed the other issues, but I have to mention that those porches are too narrow to be of any use. Even the back porch, at 6' 6" is marginal. About 8' of depth is the minimum. It looks like the front porches aren't much more than 5' if you factor in the columns.. You would have to sit sideways in a chair.

just have to agree with mushcreek porches too narrow

dining room is pretty small (for family and guests) small group would be ok

usable upstairs space seems quite small for the amount of square ft

The first thing that grabs me about this house is the over-abundance of doors. Obviously you need enough doors, but extra doors just for the sake of doors runs up the price of the house, cuts down on usable floor space, and (in the case of exterior doors) cuts down on your energy efficiency and raises the cost of a security system. I can see several places where your plan could benefit from a decrease in doors:

- The dining room and Bedroom 3 are obvious -- as other posters have said, they'll have little space for furniture placement because of these doors.

- You have only one child, and even if you have more children (or guests), you're only looking at two bedrooms sharing the upstairs bath -- I would not compartmentalize it. No need, and it divides a person using the toilet from the sink. No chance of getting some natural light into this bathroom?

- Next the door in the breakfast room -- you definitely need this door! While you have 9 single doors and one double door to access the front portion of your house, this one door is your only backdoor access. If you're like most of us, most of your outdoor recreation will be in the backyard, so this is actually quite minimal. And to access it you'll have to maneuver around the table /chairs to reach it -- not so easy with a plate of steaks for the grill. I'd eliminate the door in the breakfast room -- make it a window instead -- and replace the right-most window in the great room with a single glass door (or maybe a gliding patio door). You'll never put a piece of furniture in this spot anyway, and it'll give you easier access to the back yard, either from the great room or the kitchen.

- The master bath is relatively small, but it contains FIVE doors! It will not be an attractive room. I'd lose the linen closet /instead install a nice set of shelves just inside the master closet and let those shelves serve as your linen closet; this also eliminates the problem of the doors banging against one another. Actually, though I like the idea of a closet in the bathroom, I'm not sure you have the space to pull it off here -- you just don't have the square footage in this bathroom. Then I'd lose the toilet closet; I hate them in the best of circumstances, and in this bathroom you just don't have the square footage to pull it off.

This isn't about doors, but it's still about the master bath: Overall, this bathroom is trying to cram all the features of an over-done, bloated master bath into the space that would allow for a more simple bath. If you cut down to a standard tub, a no-closet toilet, one good-sized vanity with one sink, and the shower . . . each item can be functional and comfortable, and it will all fit nicely. Do note that the tub, jutting out into the middle of the room as it does, will be super-difficult to clean; you'll literally have to get into the tub to reach the back portion. And if I were you, I'd flip the master bath and the closet -- this would put the closet in the interior of the house and move bath to the exterior, where you could have the tub against the wall with a bit window above it.

The master bedroom is generously sized at 16x16. You definitely want the 16' wide, if you have a king-sized bed as most people seem to have these days. However, that allows a very generous amount of wasted space at the foot of the bed . . . I'd steal that space, which will be essentially just walking space . . . and put it into the bath and closet -- I'm sure you'll never be sorry that your bathroom and closet are a comfortable size, and you'll not miss empty space at the foot or the bed.

I'd also open up a door (or at least a pass-through) between the master closet or bath and the utility room. Think about how many steps you'd save if you could walk straight from the closet the laundry -- rather than through the kitchen, around the stairs, and down the twisty hallway.

- Back to doors: I'd lose the doors to the utility room. Just increase the size of your garage entrance, and this'll give you more room in your laundry /casual entrance. With that open space, you can turn the washer/dryer 90 degrees so the dryer can vent directly outside -- always a plus. At the very, very least I'd lose the doors on the closet opposite the washer/dryer -- instead, go with open shelves, which will be more convenient. You don't need a closet inside a laundry room, which really IS a working closet, anyway.

- The one extra-door I would not remove is the extra door in the bathroom next to the garage entrance. This one makes sense: It allows the bathroom to serve both the bedroom and the garage entrance.

Okay, enough about doors. I do see a number of other things that could be tweaked -- lots of ideas, some of which are in conflict with one another:

- Positive: Its footprint is fairly close to a rectangle, making it more affordable.

- I don't like the garage poking out in the front of the house. However, I don't really agree with other posters that it isn't big enough: Just yesterday I was outside measuring how much space our cars require (we have no garage), and with all the space in a three-car wide driveway, our two cars are actually parked in roughly a 20x20 space. If you drive normal-sized cars and you plan to JUST PARK, you're fine. If you also intend to use your garage for storage, you may need more space.

- I don't like that when you arrive home, you must walk through a long, dark hallway (move your closets to the interior wall, add windows on the right-hand wall) and then around a wall to reach the kitchen. I much prefer a pantry RIGHT THERE for my groceries. Since your kitchen is fairly far from the garage entry, I don't see a good solution.

- I really like an L+island set-up in the kitchen. It's highly space-efficient and practical; however, in this case, your refrigerator and wall ovens are eating up the entire "short end" of the L, leaving you with a deep, dark cave of a corner that will be unreachable. I'd ask whether you're really going to use the double ovens (most people don't). If you go with a standard range, you'd add 30-36" of space to that counter, allowing you to reach into that corner -- perhaps it'd be the spot to place a catty-cornered microwave.

Also, it's not a large kitchen -- and I don't think you have nearly enough storage. With the corner blocked off and the island storage gone to the sink and dishwasher, I'm thinking you'll have about four base cabinets and three upper cabinets actually available for use. This is very, very little. One option: Forego the typical island stools and install cabinets on that side of the island; this'll give you as much food storage as a small pantry.

- Sight lines matter, and the most important sight line is the one from the front door. When you walk in the front door, you'll see the corner of your island and the edge of your breakfast room. I don't really see a solution.

- Your dining room will look great right there by the front door with all the natural light, but it is uncomfortably far from the kitchen. Imagine how many times you'll walk back and forth to set the table, carry the food, bring it all back to be washed. Also you have no wall space for a china hutch or buffet.

- The back porch is too narrow for real use. If you're thinking it's sort of a step-off to a nice-sized deck or patio, then you're golden . . . but if this is IT for the backyard sitting, grilling, eating area, it's grossly undersized.

- The great room looks very nice. Since the overall look is Craftsman, I'd definitely go with short, squat windows over the built-ins flanking the fireplace. More natural light is always welcome.

- I would look at bumping Bedroom 2 to the exterior wall. This would make it slightly more private. This would also put the garage entrance "closer to the action" and would eliminate the twisty hallway.

- This plan shows winder stairs, and those pie-shaped stairs are hard to maneuver, especially if you're carrying something. It's so easy to change this to a square landing at the turning-spot. You still get the pretty, turning staircase, but it'll be so much easier to walk up. I would also add a window to that stairwell -- right at the landing. It would make the stairs both safer and more pleasant.

- I like the above poster's suggestion to move the upstairs bedroom's closet so that BOTH upstairs rooms have balcony access.

- I like the above poster's suggestion to harness the area above the entry for a game room or reading spot . . . though with only yourself and one child, I don't know that it'd be money well spent.

Overall, I think this house needs some significant revisions to be made acceptable. Someone else said "Too many compromises", and I agree. No house is going to give you every detail that you want, but this one delivers too little.

If you must have the porch doors, maybe consider doing them as real french casement doors, with very narrow rails and stiles, no bigger really than window sash., and of course, with two leaves per unit, then the intrusion into the walking paths is halved, and you get that very romantic look I presume you are after. Of course, that drives the price way up, with twice as many hinges and special hardware.
The plan is very ambitious, trying to do a lot in a small footprint; you may have to trim back the wish list to make it livable.
Unless it's really subtropical, maybe scale back the 2nd floor ceilings to 9ft from the indicated 10ft.
Casey