It is difficult to discuss residential elevators without first limiting the choices because there are 5 or 6 different types, not all manufacturers make all of them and they have very different design requirements, advantages and disadvantages. A hydraulic residential elevator can have a cylinder and piston BELOW ground (centered in the shaft) or ABOVE ground (centered or off-center and to one side of the shaft) with cables (roped). This type of elevator requires a machine room that might be required to be next to the shaft or located remotely. An electric motor-driven, roped, counter-weighted residential elevator can be gearless with cables (traction) or it can be geared with a chain neither of which require a machine room and the motors are at the top of the shaft often increasing the required headroom. It could also be a motor driven drum type in a machine room nest to the lowest stop. The shaft size of the electric motor driven and the above-ground hydraulic models is often similar since a counter weight assembly and a piston assembly take up about the same amount of space (7 to 10 inches). So, to help you without writing a design manual we first need to know the manufacturer and the specific kinds of elevators you are considering. A plan with overhead and pit limitations noted would also help. As I often ask, why is your architect not taking the lead in resolving these issues? No offense intended; I'm just curious.

I haven’t read through all of the comments so there may be some overlap but a few details I noticed… Reach in closets should be larger than 2’. Kudos to your draftsmen for at least accounting for the drywall and adding an inch, but particularly your coat closets, when you get bulky coats in there the sleeves stick out and take up more than 2’. A minor thing but honestly I don’t think you’d regret giving it an extra 4-6 inches. With the guest coat closet placed there, you have a large grand foyer but you walk in and face bi-fold doors that probably aren’t closed all the way or are coming off the tracks. You have this nice stairwell but it is completely walled off except for the bottom 4 steps. I would try to open that area up and bit and remove the closet so you can see something better than closet doors when first walking in. I only see one area for a mechanical chase on the first floor and it looks a little small for water, drains and HVAC ducts. On the second floor will your ducting be in the floor or in the ceiling? If ceiling you need a continuous chase from first floor to second. If vents are in the floor on the second floor, anticipate having a bulkhead on the first floor to accommodate ducting. Upstairs bathroom – I grew up in a house with a separate room for the sink and then a tub & toilet room. Some probably find it a little awkward as they don't know “how” to use it and they closed both the doors but in a house with 4 kids (1 boy and 3 girls) I’m pretty sure having the sink area that everyone could use WHILE someone was in the toilet/shower was the saving grace in our house. Plus, that bathroom also has a lot of wasted space as is, I’d rework that and the laundry. Master bathroom, I’m guessing that’s a freestanding tub, it looks like a pain to clean around. You’d have to either sit in the tub or stand in the corner to clean back there. The mudroom is large but the layout doesn’t look very efficient at all and it functions more like a hallway. The island in the kitchen, it looks like there are no cabinets under it? I don’t see a lot of storage other than the pantry and the pantry style dish storage. I’m sure it’s been said to review it with the kitchens forum :) 4’ for the upstairs hallway seems wide, especially since you have the second stairwell so it’s not the ‘prime’ access to the bonus room. I would bring it down to 3’6 to match the stairwell. I’d also consider switching bedroom 4 and the bath/laundry area. The sitting room is a little awkward, I can see a chair going in here or there for a person to read in, but in my house it would turn into a chair full of laundry too quickly. Plus no one would read there because it would be right down the hall from the open bonus room (I’m guessing that is a play room.) The closets in the shared girls room… will they fight over who gets the bigger one? The closet in bedroom 4 needs to shrink a bit too, the door frame will be right next to the wall there. On the front elevation, do full height sidelights instead of the windows. Get chunkier columns in there. Spread the 2 garage windows (or at least see if that looks better). Back elevation, reconsider the column placing. You’re stepping out a French door smack into a column and looking out a kitchen window into a column.

I don't know how many time I have threatened this - but we really do need a fast source for a t-shirt that says "CUSTOMER" on it in bold lettering. You are going to spend a LOT of money on something that is important to you. And with your wheelchair - your house, and the VALUE it can bring to your everyday living, is HUGE. It should INSPIRE your architect to make this meaningful for you - not get annoyed when you want adjustments. I think the breezeway would encompass a rather significant redesign as you have the master behind the garage instead of the garage being the only depth (and therefore easier to simply slide over and create a breezeway) Not to say this can't be done - OR that you should settle for anything less than you have wanted / dreamed of - just that it's more work than the pretty simple stuff she's wigged out about already. Deep breath.

When folks design their own homes, it seems to be really common for them to create "fat" houses. We see it all the time here, so you are definitely not alone in your mistake! :-) Homes that are more than 1-2 rooms deep (yours is 3-4) tend to be very dark, and frequently have massively huge (and expensive) roofs. Most folks find neither of those things desirable. ;-) I agree with Naf... You either need a person of design talent (like a good residential architect, home designer, exceptional draftsman, etc.), or you need a bit more time to study design principles. For example, because the back of your home faces west, you'll want to completely redesign with that in mind. West is downright brutal here in Texas, I tell ya. My dining room and back patio are west, and holy smoke it's awful from a little after noon until dark, from April to October! The doorknob is too hot to touch, I have to keep the patio hosed down for the kids, and the inside is really unpleasant... And covered porches don't do as good of a job as you'd think, in blocking the sun, as I understand. Anyway, good architects do that kind of stuff -- and more -- all the time, so if you decide to go with one, you shouldn't have to worry about too much. :-) Definitely consider it!