You are going to have a lovely home when everything is done! It's so open. It would be helpful to know how you will be using the home, do you have children that need to be considered, is there a second floor?

Just a couple of thoughts. There seems to be alot of room when you enter the house from the garage. Would you gain any space by stacking your washer/dryer? Could you then add some lockers in the laundry room or put in some closets for the pantry.

Or, would it ever make sense to put the W/D in the master bath somewhere? And take that room off the garage as a combo pantry/mudroom.

Very nice concept. Could we see the second floor?
I am not sure about the location of the powder room. Is nicer if it were closer or in between the garage entry and the gathering room/kitchen.
Could the 2 stairs be unifed?
Definitely for resale value you want the garage in the same level and not in the basement.
The masterbathroom is ok, I actually like that is kind of square shape and not a triangle or an odd shape. The master closet could be a bit better. I love when the first thing you see in the master is the vanities and mirrors.
If it were my master bath I flip the jacuzzi and the shower. Is nicer to see the jaccuzy next to the vanities and when you enter the bathroom makes a nicer statement and wen you move the window you will be abble to see it when you enter.

Mudroom depends on area of the country, if you're in a snowy area, then you should making the laundry and hall closet one big room, open concept with laundry and mudroom bench/hanging area.

Pantry is an issue, you really don't have many cabinets in that kitchen for storage. The small run of cabinets on the exterior wall could be turned into full height pantry cabinets... if you don't mind losing the small amount of counter space.

The MBath doesn't seem weird to me. Explain?

Your DH is right if you shop big. I usually shop on the way home from work for 2-3 bags at time instead of the 10 bag once every 2 week thing.

Lose the linen closet in the Master Closet. Use the money saved on the door for a cabinet to hide the linen in.

Post your kitchen in the kitchen section. I'm not convinced that the island won't look odd with it being so unbalanced. Have a cabinet retailer draw it all up and see some 3-D views of it.

Your plan reminds me a lot of the Garrell and Associates plans. They have several very similar, some with the mudroom, although I do recall that they don't have the best plans for mudrooms and pantry locations. Gorgeous homes though.

Personally, I would not put my garage in the basement. I wouldn't care for the inconvenience, nor the possible fumes coming up into the main floor.

I really don't think your masterbath is an issue other than the fact that I personally wouldn't want to go into my bathroom to get to my closet, but that is just me. I know a lot of others like that feature though.

It is going to be a beautiful home! Good luck!

I don't like the location of the powder room. I feel like it is uncomfortably close to the butler's pantry, which I consider a food area. I don't mind a secondary toilet off a kitchen or laundry, but as your only guest facility on the main floor I think it's a no-no. Especially in a home of this scale.

I would remove the closet marked (19) and put an exterior door there. I would incorporate the powder room space into the laundry room and call this the mudroom. You could fit a powder room under the formal stairs in the entry area or reduce the size of your closet to fit a guest toilet.

I would prefer the dining room to be slightly shorter and squared off at the corners and open only to the entry hall with just a swinging door for access to the kitchen. This would give you a grander, better proportioned gallery, especially since your great room is not huge.

I feel like given the size of the kitchen, the eat-in area is unnecessary. I would prefer to extend the gathering room just a little and perhaps use the eat-in area as covered outdoor space.

It's going to be hard for me to be objective here. There are so many things I'd do differently. But...here goes:

Do you want such a huge MBR? What will you put in there besides your bed, bedside tables, a bench? Won't you dress in the walk-in closet?

The master bath does have a lot of waste space in its center. The toilet room will be dark (no window). I'd dislike winding around that maze of a closet, and I wouldn't like to be using the bath while DH wanders through the bathroom to access the closet -- or the reverse. The closet location blocks all possiblity of having more windows in the bath. (Do you really want only ONE?)

Office/Study: If it had a closet it could be used as a BR should the need arise. What will arise is a need for the occupant to use a bathroom, but where?

I'm not a fan of open DRs. They feel like furniture showrooms to me. You welcome guests to the foyer: "And on your right please observe our dining room suite." If the DR is enclosed, you have a 'ta-da' moment when guests enter and see the table, set for dinner.

That's a very awkward location for a back stairs. Can it be moved 90 degrees and run between the laundry and kitchen?

The garage absolutely needs to be ground level, not only for groceries, but for all the stuff that lives in a garage -- bikes, toys, sports and garden equipment.

I dislike an interior kitchen, even an open one. Upper cabinets are lacking.

I'd hate the lack of a large laundry/back hall/powder room/closet-cum-pantry between garage and kitchen. And I'd want *windows*. (Do I see a basement laundry room? Laundry chute a possibility?)

The powder room off a butler's pantry is probably not to code. Located there, it really doesn't serve any area of the house to best advantage.

I'm not crazy about two 'bumps' for Gathering Room and Eating Area. They are both decent in size though.

Wow, I'd be off to an architect ! (I am soooo glad we've already built! LOL)

Might you be able to add a landing to the back stairs. A long straight run like that can be a killer.

Borrow a pair of crutches and then practice [carefully] taking bags of groceries up -and trash down- stairs. There are no guarantees that you will never break a leg, so find out now what it's like. After over 3 years on crutches [knee injury, broken ankle, re-injure knee, etc.] I can guarantee that the 4 steps I have are four too many when you are balancing on crutches with doorkey in one hand and groceries in the other.

However, the garage can go downstairs if you design the driveway so that there is a level entry to kitchen, permitting one to unload the car before putting it away.

If one puts all the clothing into the closet, what else [besides the bed] will go into the 15x25 room?

Remember to have *at least* four feet between oven and whatever is facing it. That's a safety issue to prevent bumping anything when you are getting a hot dish out of the oven. Yes, do take the plan to the kitchen forum.

I can't really tell, but if there are clothes hanging on each rod in the MB closet, is there enough space between them for you dress? Me, I need at least 4' to put on a long-sleeve shirt.

There are a lot of nice points about the plans, but there are a few things that need to be thought about, too.

Definitely move that powder-room! I think you could tuck a really lovely powder-room under the winding staircase where you currently show a closet (door #10). Use the space where the powder-room currently to put in additional cabinets for your butler's pantry. With at least one floor to ceiling cabinet for brooms/mops, the butler's pantry could also serve as a storage pantry.

Also, your house design is big enough that I'm going to go off the deep end here and presume that you're not exactly strapped for money? So, instead of that second staircase down to the basement, have you considered putting in a three-level elevator (basement to 2nd floor)? Since your basement will be a walkout, I think you could get away without having a staircase down to it because, even if the power goes out, anyone down in the basement could still get out of the house easily. Of course, you would have to check code to see if a staircase down to a basement is required.

Home elevators are the next big thing and are actually surprisingly affordable. They also take up less room than a staircase and since it looks like you plan to have a second kitchen downstairs, groceries are going to have to be lugged up/or down stairs regardless of where your garage is. An elevator would solve that problem and also solve any concerns about someone on crutches or otherwise disabled not being able to access certain parts of the house.

I also really don't like your master closet design. I would probably just divide the entire space between the master bedroom and study just about in half with a vertical line (running about where the door to the toilet room is) then I would arrange the bathroom on the left side (where all the exterior walls are so you could have more window) and the closet on the right. BTW, I have to ask - do you really want a 12 foot long vanity for your two sinks in the master-bath? I don't really want to be elbow to elbow with my DH while he's shaving in the mornings either but I also wouldn't want to need a telephone to chat with him! LOL!

Here is a link that might be useful: Home elevator web site

Thanks everyone for your insight. You all think of things I never would've noticed until it was too late. I guess my husband wins this one and we'll stick with the garage on the main floor and as I suspected, the 1/2 bath definitely needs to be moved! Perhaps we can remove the linen closet in the MBR closet and place a 1/2 bath there (thanks bevangel!). I'm just wary of taking away any closet space. Right now, it's just the two of us though we're hoping to have children in the next year. We do entertain a lot for work, and we also wanted to have extra space in case our parents need to live with us at some point. I really like the idea of a stackable washer/dryer. The only problem is that when I "tested" it at Lowes, it was a stretch for me to reach the dryer on top. I'll ask the archictect about putting it in the MBR - I saw this set up in another plan & liked it. I do have a few questions...

chisue- thanks for your candor! Excuse my ignorance, but what is an interior kitchen?

Is there a way to use some of the MBR space for the bathroom and make the closet larger?

meldy nva- thanks for the advice on the kitchen. I'll post on the kitchen forum as well. I like having a decent kitchen but I'll admit that I don't cook much. DH says I'm more into aesthetics vs. functionality. My main concern is having a good microwave :).

Oh, and here's the 2nd floor. Thanks again for everyone's input. Any ideas are much appreciated!

I played around with your bathroom area.
For the kind of house yours seems to be, the walk in closet must have an island.
I do not vote for the powder room by the master (for privacy and on the other hand because is better by the kitchen/gathering)
I traced over your picture (I wish I had a pdf or a Cad file). The only exterior wall that I moved a bit is the dining room one.
Hope you like it!!!

I love the masterbath & closet!! Thank you so much! That also addresses the issue of having a separate closet entry! I've played with this floorplan so many times and never came up with anything even close to this. This is fantastic!

I am happy to help! Pay it forward :) (one of my favorite movies)

I do not have exact dimensions because is hard to see some of them but the shower seems to be minimum 8' long whicj will allow you to have a walk in without a door. Between the shower and whirlpool you can put a glass but make that wall at least 12" thick so you can have space for stuff by the whirlpool. You need a seat in the shower (shown)
If you want more room in master bath and walking closed you only need to extend/align the wall to the masterbed.
where I lovated the niche, you can convert it to a linen closet with doors to the little hallway to the bath and walk in cl. or you can have both, a niche and a linen closet.

I think your masterbedroom should have a sitting area specially by the back door. You are having a porch or at least a deck at the back, right?
Under the window by the vanity you can extend the countertop, have a seat, a base cabinet, or leave the space so you can put a nice chair

Marthaelena has come up with a good plan for your master suite! I seldom 'sit' in my MBR; decide if you'll use that space or just have to clean it. Plan windows to keep it private from the Great Room.

With a house this size -- and all family BRs separate from the master -- will you have live-in help? Where would you put future children as infants? You may want to think more about how this plan works for a family with children. Gosh, you could ask your mom for her thoughts! LOL

Bevangel's idea for the elevator makes even more sense if your parents may be in residence.

An 'interior' room has no outside walls and...no windows. You need a lot of light in a kitchen -- plan plenty of lighting. As a working couple you probably only use the kitchen at night, but that will change with children in the house.

Where are you building? (State) Could you provide elevations and a compass (which way is North)?

I really like the change to the master bathroom suggested above, but I don't like the change to the symmetry of the master bedroom area. Pushing the sitting area to the side just throws it off, IMO. I'd keep it the same as before, but I'd look into ways to define the area...see thru fireplace, columns, etc. Also, if you decide to put the toilet room up against the wall of the office, you'll need to make some precautions for noise transference.
Looks like it will be a pretty house!

Thanks Chisue!

Shamrock, I forgot to mention that your could have a glass block window in the shower directly across where you enter the shower. Some people locate the mixer valve in the inmediate wall to the left (between the toilet and shower)

dixiedoodle,
The proposed sitting area is to be exactly in the same proportion of the eating area making it more intimate/cozy and proporcinated with the purpose and from the elevation point of view will be perfectly symetrical (with eating area). She can always keep the master as it was.
You are right on the toilet comment. Depending on space, the toilet could be placed againts closet wall.

I understand the exterior elevation proportionality perspective, but my comments were regarding the interior space. The proposed design really throws off the proportions of the interior space. In regards to making the sitting area of the master bedroom the same as the eating area, they are two different spaces with two different purposes...they do not necessarily need to match. However, inside an individual room there absolutely should be a sense of flow and symmetry. And, anyways, there is no way for the current plan to ever be completely symmetrical on the rear elevation due to the wing on the right hand side. A better design would be to make sure that the lengths of wall space between the eating area and the sitting area are complementary...rather than exact mirrors.

Marthaelena - I'll definitely "pay it forward". That's too funny - I tell people that all the time and it's one of my favorite movies as well! My husband LOVES the closet and can't believe that we never thought of this. We're definitely going to change our masterbath & closet. We may leave the bump out as it was so we don't have to have the plans re-done, and also it gives us a bit more space. I do like that your design gives us an extra bit of wall space.
Chisue- I agree about marthaelena's design- love it :)! If we're fortunate enough to expand our family, the baby will sleep in our bedroom and then upstairs one he/she gets older. We won't have a live-in maid. My last bedroom was very large (similar in shape to this one) and I used the entire room. I truly loved it! I am very pleased with floorplan and really like the open feel, and now I'm quite pleased with the MBR closet & bath. I agree with you and other posters completely about needing to do something with the 1/2 bath and cabinet space.

Thanks again for everyone's help!

Oh, and dixiedoodle, thank you for the idea of the columns - we had that originally (and I loved them) but DH removed them. I'm adding them back! I love the idea of a fp (I saw one between the bathroom and MBR in a model home) - what do you think of adding one on the wall between the tub and the bedroom?
bdpeckcharlotte- I looked at upper vanity cabinets last night. Were you thinking of one that goes between the sink on the vanity?

We talked to the builder last night about the changes, and now DH likes the bathroom so well that he wants some sort of TV that projects into the shower. I told him I have to draw the line and he doesn't need to spend THAT much time in the bathroom (no offense against anyone who may have this feature)!

shamrock_71,
Make your hubby happy! is just $1,000 more LOL,
Now being serious, my hubby wants a small tv, too - we went to Vegas and in the hotel bathroom (Whynn?) they had a small tv projecting to the whirlpool. It was hard for mee to get him out of the tub haha while I wanted to go shopping/walking - I do not gamble. The tv was even with the wall, meaning they built some kind of a square niche.
I do not know what is it about men and TVs :)

dixiedoodle,
Could you please take a look at my plan and comment anything you see? thanks (it is posted as: help is apreciated, I think)