I was unclear about the 2 rooms on either side of the main foyer. One on right appears to be a living room? And other one maybe an office or laundry room? Not saying either are good or bad, I just needed more info.

One thing that jumped out to me was upstairs you have the 3 secondary bedrooms sharing 1 bath. With multiple kids and potential guests, that could create some issues down the road. I'd see if there is room to add an extra bath up there. If not, at least make that 2nd bath into a jack/jill type setup with double vanity, separate bath/shower, etc..

The den seems a bit tiny for me, but with the TV mounted it could be just fine.

Kitchen looks generous and pretty good. I personally do not care for a pantry (and corner one at that) in the middle of your cabinet run...I think it's an awkward look. I also don't prefer how far away it is from the den, but I respect your personal preference there. I think there might be ways to minimize noise without making the separation so far, but others on here are better than me at those suggestions.

Those are the things that jumped out to me first. Overall looks nice and it appears you've put nice planning into getting what YOU want, which is of course the main priority. Good luck!

It looks like you're off to a great start, and I agree with Sowega - it's nice to see how much thought is going into what you want, and not hearing about what will be good for resale, etc.

The form of the exterior is nicely done, and I would just consider squaring out the corner of the porch off the reading room (getting rid of the post aligned with dining wall and pushing outer post back to small reading window wall). I like the mix of materials, but it might work better (and be easier on the budget) to only use the stone on the first floor and use the clapboard on the second story, and maybe mixing it up with the shingles on the gables. I agree with breaking up the two garage bays, but would probably stick to one type of siding for both, since the offset wall and gable seem to break them up enough.

On the inside, the dining room entrance seems like it would give an odd view from looking out into the rest of the house (half stairs, half desk), but this might not be of too much importance. Because you will be hosting parties and lean toward the more traditional, I wonder if a larger reading room could morph into a formal living room/library, and possibly move the fireplace here (built in bookcases on either side?), keeping the sunken living room as a more private, casual area for tv and family time.

Upstairs, I would consider a tub in the common bath for bathing future children unless the master tub works for your needs. With the current roof lines, it looks like there's no place for a window in the hall, but I would try for one if possible.

Ditto on the tub issue upstairs and the pantry interrupting cabinet run. Without children, you don't know how that is going to be. You might love to bathe them in the master bathroom but here is what I see - having to put away the rubber duckys each night because they clash with what is a grand master bath.

Obviously 1 bath upstairs for 3 bedrooms is not normal south of the border on a new house. The debate is usually between 2 or 3 baths. This issue has created some animosity on this forum in the not too distant past. I do think since you are just starting out in adult life, you can't really imagine what having kids will be like particularly teenagers. I'm sure you have thought of the bathroom situation - here is just one more vote to have another bath up there.

I really have issues with the amount of windows blocked by furniture.

You have no dresser in the master bedroom and not a lot of room in the master closet for one.

Your living room is quite dark with those rather small windows.

Orientation might be nice - where is North? Since you are in a predominately heating climate, some amount of passive solar design gives free heat year after year. I certainly don't see any of that and maybe you don't have an option because of nearby structures.

I have issue with the pocket door into the master bath. I just think they are awkward for everyday use but you might not close it that often. I am thinking though for bathing in the winter just to retain heat. Such a large bathroom makes more sense in the South (and by south, I mean southern US), because it will tend to be cooler. A warm shower won't warm that space very much. Obviously easy to correct with supplemental heat but there isn't a lot of options to quickly heat a larger space. You can keep it warmer all the time but it is really nice to be able to heat it just for bathing.

Walking in from the main entrance may put you in a small closed in (ie very dark) foyer when those doors are closed. Not something common in these parts. No matter what, when you enter, you are facing a dark area. What is common (around here) is to look at stairs but in a well lit open area. Here it will be pretty dark. One of the advantages of open floor plans is the abundance of natural light scattered around the house. Here your center hallway is dark.

Sorry - I never offer praise and rarely suggestions. There is plenty to like but hearing that isn't nearly as helpful.

A transition from stone to shingles part way up as wall is awkward for two reasons:

1. Historically solid masonry and wood framing were two incompatible structural systems that had to break at a floor line in order to avoid losing resistance to lateral forces so in traditional terms it looks odd.

2. Using a modern hybrid wall system stone and shingle cladding can be attached to the face of a wood framed house so the structural wall is the wood studs and a change in cladding can occur at any point on the wall but because the two claddings are of different thicknesses, either the studs must become larger behind the shingles or a setback is created at the transition. Such a transition is awkward looking and difficult if not expensive to flash properly.

So, I recommend changing materials at the floor line where the floor structure can allow the shingles to project enough to be proud of the stone cladding or continuing the stone full height with no breaks. The same advice goes for the cladding change part way up the garage wall.

The use of large truss framed hipped roofs with small front facing cross gables represents the mixing of design traditions very similar to the change in cladding materials. I apologize for singling out your design for criticism but it truly saddens me that this design approach has become the standard for developers, builders, and internet plan mills.

I don't understand the program for the living spaces and the odd diagonal openings seem awkward and difficult to trim but the plan looks fine.

(1) consider swapping the mudroom bench with the washer/dryer,

(2) in your current house, do your guests like to hang their coats in a closet? if not, that foyer coat closet might not be necessary,

(3) when you entertain, do you ever watch TV with your guests (movie night? super bowl party?) if so, your living room can only accommodate 4 right now. once you have kids, you will mostly entertain other families with kids, so that living room will quickly become way too small for a family of 3 entertaining a family of 3.

(4) your banquette design is good for a banquette (you can get into either seat without having someone else move out of the way).

(5) do you plan on eating family meals in the kitchen or in the dinng room. once you have kids, you may often have your two children plus a child's friend over for dinner, which your kitchen table can't accommodate.

(6) When I entertain, I like having my guests hang out with me in the kitchen--but it looks like there isn't room for that in this floorplan. Something to think about based on how you entertain.

(7) what is the purpose of those two chairs in the study area? who will sit there? when? it might be wasted space.

(8) is that study for you and your wife? two children? i personally hate sitting back-to-back with someone--just make sure that configuration suits your lifestyle.

(9) i personally wouldn't like how the stairs come up into a wall facing away from the rooms you will use the most. we currently have a 6-month-old and I LOVE having a short distance between my study/tv room/master bedroom and the nursery. Any greater distance and we would have a lot more sleep issues because he'd get too worked up by the time I got to him.

(10) do you always shut the door when using the toilet? if not, consider a pocket door into that water closet.

(11) I see you don't have a closet door into the master closet. intentional?

(12) your two kids will share one bathroom. If possible, I'd personally want to turn that bathroom into a divided room with the sink/vanity in a separate compartment so one person can use that space while the other uses the shower/toilet.

(13) Is the only way to access the basement through the tandem garage stall?

Thanks for the comments so far. Keep 'em coming! I'll try to answer all your questions or concerns.

Sowega

- To the right of the foyer is a combination office (two computer desks near the front) and reading area (with built in bookshelf). To the left of the foyer is our mudroom/laundry room, there's a bench below the window and two areas for storage to either side of the window (including hooks for jackets). The washer, dryer and laundry chute are at the top of the room, near the hall.
- Will definitely consider flipping the shower to a combination bath/shower.

mvjc

- Good idea with squaring off the porch. Makes that area more usable too.
- Roof lines don't permit a window in the upstairs hall, but one of those solar tube lights could work to add some light to the area.

david_cary

- Yep, agree with the rubber duckies thing in the master bath. Will look into turning the shower into a combo unit.
- You're absolutely right, we don't know what it'll be like to have kids. We might be getting older, but we aren't so far removed from our youths that we forget what it's like to have to share bathrooms with siblings. Your vote is counted nonetheless.
- As for the windows being blocked by furniture, the window dimensions reflect this. Most furniture (if not all) will be below the casing of the windows.
- Living room windows are narrow but will be quite tall (possibly not the right dimensions on the plan) to bring in as much lighting as possible into the room. Forgot to mention the orientation. Front of the house will face N-NE. This gives us almost much sun to the rear of the house. We're on a nearly 1 acre lot… so passive solar heat will come into play for areas to the rear of the house as well.
- Master bath door will probably be a sliding door (not necessarily a pocket door), but the issue remains of heat retention. Plan is to get some in-floor radiant heat to keep everything toasty in there.
- Doors in the foyer leading to main hall will be of the French-door glass style. This is more of the traditional design that not only seperates the foyer from the hall, but that will come into play during our winter months (as an extra weather break from the outside).
- Hey, it's all constructive. Thanks for sharing your views.

That's all I can tackle now, will post back tonight with more. I'll also have an example real exterior picture that will hopefully answer the questions pertaining to the house cladding.

I do have some concerns.

1. I would not like to have to walk through my laundry area to get to the "mud room". I would also not like to walk through my laundry area to get into the house. (We have to do that currently now.)

2. That will be quite the trip when unloading groceries, etc. Lots of turns.

3. Taking up 2 walls of living room with fireplace and tv really cuts down on seating options. That will not be comfortable if you ever have adult guests over or if you have children.

4. I'm not fond of the kitchen configuration. Take it to the kitchen board and you should get feedback.

5. Quite an imbalance upstairs with a huge master bath with lots of wasted space and having the other 3 bedrooms share a bathroom with only a shower stall and single sink.

I like your exterior...very pretty. Despite the fact that you say you've designed everything with a reason, I will give you my personal opinion on a few things. I'm not an architect or designer like others on the forum, I've just built many custom homes so opinions are given from my experiences.

I once bought a home that had a stairway that started in a hallway, and ended facing a wall. It was an absolute nightmare getting large furniture up or down those stairs. Try imagining getting a king bed, large dresser, or sofa up and down your stairs, especially the basement. We could not put a sofa in our planned family room in the basement because there was no way we could get a sofa down. It was a real disappointment.

I know you intentionally planned your family room far from the kitchen, but personally, I wouldn't like this. We often have popcorn or a snack while watching a movie, and the kitchen is just too far away for us. Maybe you're planning all family activities will be in the basement? If you're trying to get away from the noise, consider the laundry room is steps away. Is this where you will entertain guests. Pretty small and dark. It would make sense to me to swap the family room and the study. My DH's study is not always neat because he works from home, so I didn't want it to be the first thing you see when guests enter.

The entry to the family room is 42" (I assume after trim?). Is this wide enough for a sofa? The sofa you have drawn in the room doesn't look like it will fit.

We also have a small master bedroom, and I find it adequate because we have a very large closet with island dressers. Just consider where you will put a dresser. Is there a window in your master closet? Elevation doesn't match floor plan. If so, that minimizes your closet space. Nice big master bath! Have you considered a walk in shower with no door (hate cleaning those things!). You definitely would have room.

Love your kitchen! I usually don't like corner pantries. Often people put them in small kitchens with little counter space, and the door swings right into traffic areas. However, your kitchen is large enough, that it probably works OK. It's a long trek bringing in groceries.

I can see beautiful glass doors on the interior of your entry. Great space for a northern climate.

No windows upstairs on the entire left side? A window would lighten the hallway a bit. But again, I really think you'll find your stair configurations difficult to get large furniture upstairs.

Is there a tub for the children to use upstairs? Little children love playing in the bathtub.

If you like to host food and drink parties, will you always stand around the kitchen, or sit at the dining room table? Again, the family room seems just too far away and too small for many guests.

Two desks in the study, and another in the kitchen, just steps from each other? This is a personal dislike, but desks in the kitchen, especially those visible to the formal dining room, are just a collection point, and not usually very neat. At least in my house.

I like a sink in my laundry area. You definitely have room for one.

Great storage upstairs. Consider where you will put cleaning supplies, vacuum, brooms, etc downstairs, too.

We built a home years ago with a big workshop for my husband. He rarely used it because he had to haul everything up and down stairs. If you don't have a walk out basement with the ability to exhaust all the dust and fumes, you may not like your workshop down there. Just some feedback from our experience.

Good luck with your plans. Keep us posted. We all love to follow along!

It looks like a large home, built for two people who entertain others for dinner. That's not a bad thing, but the 'living' rooms look like they'd have a difficult time hosting more than three people, at a time. When you have the two children, is there a basement family room planned? Will you only be able to see the kids from the kitchen, if they're at the banquette? Have you considered opening the kitchen to the family room?

That little jog in the living room/office makes it difficult to change the space, if your needs change. If the desks were not built in, then you could make that the living room at some future date and the family room a play room. Where do you plan to have all the kids' toys? High chair? All the other 'baby stuff'? There will be a lot! :)

I think the kitchen, dining room, and master suite look well planned...but the future kids' needs don't seem to be met, at this time. Think about how the space will function with a baby and toddler...two elementary kids, and then teenagers. Flexibilty is essential for a 'life time' home, so I'd rethink the living spaces a bit. Just my two cents.

2 things that jump out at me--
1. Where will your little ones be when you/your wife is prepping food? Little ones need constant supervision. Either they will be right underfoot (and totally bored), or they will be playing...where? I would think the most logical place would be in your dining area, though there couldn't be a dining table there. Don't underestimate this age/stage of life. It lasts many years (longer, the more kids you have, but even up to 5 or 6 years with just one). They like company. And, they need supervision. The kitchen is too closed off with sightlines to no good play space.

2. On that same note, where is the play space? Again, kids want to be where you are. They will not be upstairs playing for several years if you are down stairs (think; maybe 6 or 7 yr olds to do this). You don't have a good spot for them to play inside.

And, the thing that jumped out immediately for me has been mentioned a lot: your should be removed from a hallway zone--especially a zone that will have a lot of mud, potentially.

I'd take a second look at the "L" shaped closets that you have upstairs. The corner space in those is lost for clothes storage. I'd look at changing the master closet to two runs parallel to each other and reducing the closet depth to a straight run in the two kid/guest bedrooms.

Downstairs seating/entertaining space seems oriented to family, not visitors. That may be a lifestyle choice, but as one who grew up in very tight quarters, where entertaining guests was nearly impossible - I question the layout.

I’ll continue addressing comments...

Renovator8

Here’s the inspiration for the look of the exterior. Definitely not traditional in this respect, but we like the transitions between materials.

{{gwi:1450641}}

minneapolisite

2 - Good suggestion, cause in fact nobody really like to put coats away for a short visit. What would you do instead... hooks? On the other hand, it could be the location for storing coats during the off-seasons.

3 - Agreed. I think having many guests over for TV will require a dedicated entertainment room in the basement (which is planned down the road - but not as part of the initial build).

5 - Every day meals will be held in the kitchen. Exceptions can be made to accommodate guests (pull up a couple stools to the island for kids and their guest, or move to the dining room for larger or simply more formal events).

6 - I will bring this up with the kitchen forum people, however we thought we’d be able to entertain to a certain extent in the kitchen. While food prep will be mostly limited to the left-most and lower edges of the island, we thought having people hang out in the upper and right edges of the island would work. Granted it’s not a huuuuge island, but I think it’s far from being tiny.

7 - We both like to take some time out, find a comfortable chair and sit back with a good book. So, intended audience of that room (at least initially) is us.

8 - I’m a computer guy by profession and my wife runs a small (very small) e-commerce business part-time. In our current house we have our desks side-by-side and have no problems with this setup.

9 - I’m not sure I completely understand, but the wall at the top of the stairs is indeed unfortunate. The original intent was to have a railing open to the family room below. Unfortunately, the roof lines would limit the opening so much so that we thought it would just be an extra expense for little visual payback.

10 - We don’t currently have a separate water closet, but we’re fairly open with each other. A pocket door would work well here, but we’ve been told that they’re often a pain to use and have tried to limit their numbers.

11 - Intentional. Initially there was going to be an opening at either end of the walk-in, but we’ve closed that off and removed a window to allow more shelving/hangers. (this explains the slight discrepancy in the 3D view)

13 - In the hall under the main staircase going to the 2nd floor, there’s a door leading to a basement staircase.

Guess I used some different characters that the forum doesn't like on my last post.

joyce_6333

1 - Not sure if this helps the situation you're describing, but the left side of the staircase is railing. I imagine most large items could be lifted over top of the railing if need be.

2 - Good call on the family room hallway. 42" seems like it's cutting it close.

3 - We had planned on having a sink in laundry area, but realize we never really use our current one. A utility tub will be available in the basement.

As for all the other commenters...

It's obvious we need to think a little more about the early years of having children (something we're not familiar with).

If you have a follow-up to my responses or have something that hasn't been touched on yet, please feel free to post away. THanks again for all your comments.

Quick question for you all... we agree that the walk-in closets should only have a rail for hangers along a single wall, but would the walk-ins in the secondary rooms require doors? I know with kids (particularly teens) that the closets could be messy, but aside from that benefit, wouldn't the doors be in the way 98% of the time?

I've seen teens use curtains, strings of beads, a sheet or blanket (like a curtain), long decorating strands of silk flowers, etc. etc. etc. :)

I'd change out your walk in (not deep) closets to simply reach in closets. Then, you don't have the concern about doors in the way (do bifolds, or full-clearance bifolds, or french doors on the face).
LL is also correct. It can be a place to express some personality in their room.

The "inspiration" house contains some common design mistakes and visual awkwardness that I have learned to avoid after designing buildings for a very long time. As the Malachi brothers say, "If you don't like the free advice you can get your money back."

Potential water leaks:
Trim below a window should be avoided unless it is a "sub-sill" that projects outward to add an adequate "drip" and allows the jamb trim to rest on it. To add an apron trim similar to the jamb trim (like a "picture frame") invites water to roll over the short sill of modern clad nail-fin windows and be drawn into the wall through the joint between the sill and the trim. Many modern builders do not appreciate the power of capillary action and mistakenly think caulking is adequate to permanently seal this kind of horizontal joint. The only way to avoid this problem without deleting the flat trim is to install flashing that starts inside with an upturn behind the frame and extends under the bottom of the window frame and down the face of the wall sheathing and over the top of the second course of shingles so water can only damage the trim and the first course of shingles rather than enter the wall and cause far worse damage. My brother-in-law was the manager of a 94 unit condominium complex on the ocean. There were leaks under the windows causing a lot of interior damage. They were going to replace the Andersen windows until I happened to visit him and point out the problem with the sill trim. That was in the 80's but this bad habit still persists.

Visual structural contradictions and inconsistencies:
The heavy running course of stone above the 2 car garage door appears to be floating without any means of support while the short lightweight roof overhangs have strong brackets and the supports under the small entry portico and small roof overhangs are huge battered (tapered) stone piers. Modern trends like to ignore function but these contradtictions appears inadvertent rather than intentional.

Visual complexities:
The change from stone to shingles creates a strong horizontal visual design theme that is intentionally interrupted by the shingled bays. These bays would be less harsh and more effective if they were less hard-edged and more monolithic so I recommend deleting the corner boards and wrapping the shingles around the corners.

My apologies to Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers, who are in reality Tom and Ray Magliozzi.

Click and Clack - those guys are great. Thanks for reminding me about them.

I met them at an outdoor promotional event. They are very friendly but much crazier in person. Ray (Chuckie) is singing and wearing a wig-visor; Tom is helping out on the drums. They'll be there again in a month or so.

Here is a link that might be useful: Chuckie's auto-bio

Some responses to the items I pointed out earlier...

2 - Foyer closet--I personally prefer hooks + a bench BUT now notice that you don't have a coat closet in the mudroom area. As it is, you will probably hang your 'current season' coat on a hook in the mudroom and store your 'off season' coats in the front closet. Since your foyer closet is so close to the mudroom, I think this will work! :) The foyer does have a spot for a bench which I think is ABSOLUTELY essential (unless you want your guests to wear their shoes indoors at all times.)

3 - Depending on your lifestyle, having space to have guests over to watch TV is nice when you have small kids. It's hard to get out to see a movie and/or friends, so inviting friends over for a movie kills two birds with one stone. We were never 'TV people' before our son was born. It is amazing all of the small ways a person's lifestyle changes when a baby arrives! I'd suggest talking to other parents in your lives (your own parents and your friends who are parents) to try to get an idea of what your life will be like once children enter the picture.

6 - Is there seating room at the island? I know guests can get a little uncomfortable (both physically and socially) standing around while someone is working in the kitchen. I think seating makes their presence seem more comfortable for everyone. :)

7 - As an voracious reader, I find it unlikely those chairs in the study will be your favorite reading nooks, since the natural light will be coming in at your face instead of at your back. Think about where you gravitate toward for reading in your current home. For me, anyway, during the daytime I like to have natural light from behind or next to me. If it's evening, I like a LOT of BRIGHT light above me (can lights galore!)

8 - I also work on the computer. (I work from home full time as a web developer and stay-at-home mom.) Side-by-side is different from back-to-back. If you both spend a lot of time at the computer at the same time, you'll just want to make 100% sure your computer nook is comfortable for everyone. Don't just think about once you're settled in---thinking about coming/going for trips to the kitchen, bathroom, and nursery. (If anyone plans on working at the computer while caring for the baby, I'd recommend a computer set-up near the nursery, at least for the first year of each baby's life.)

9 - If the stair layout is the most economical way, I'm sure you'll get used to it. I just know it would drive ME crazy to have to make a U-turn when I'm SPRINTING to the baby's room to take calm him down before his 'sleep fussing' turns into real crying. :)

10 - Our builder's opinion on the pocket door to the water closet is mostly that they're a pain to use if they are frequently closed. At the risk of over-sharing, our master bath door only gets shut when one spouse worries the aroma will offend the other spouse's senses. So, for us, the inconvenience of sometimes operating a pocket door is worth the aesthetic of having it out of the way 99% of the time. Again, it just totally depends on your lifestyle. I think our builder charges about $150 more for a pocket door vs. a normal door--it's worth finding out what your builder charges before going crazy adding them all willy nilly, of course. :D

11 - If you're not bothered by it, I think skipping a closet door in the bedroom would be fine. For aesthetic reasons, I'd recommend having any closet areas that are visible from the bedroom be anything but shelving. My husband and I are neat freaks and we both worked retail so we know how to fold and stack clothes neatly...and our shelving still never looks tidy. Hanging looks better by far. (I'd personally have a closet door that swings into the room, but that's just a personal preference, not a game changer.)

Hope that helps! It's all just my personal opinions. We're only in the planning stages too, so I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination. :) (Hope you'll go comment on my floorplan since it sounds like we have similar lifestyles.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Floorplan of my 4BR 2-story Minnesota home

Also, are you planning to access the laundry chute upstairs from within the closet? (Is the little door drawn in there?)
If so, please reconsider. The hallway or bedroom walls would both be better options.