Building on a lake lot usually comes with a whole additional set of restrictions, at least that was the case with our lake home. I looked at so many plans before we contacted the builder but none of them would have ended up working for our lot, the views we wanted to highlight, or the building requirements. Between our architect and builder they were able to design a house that was perfect for us and met all the requirements for a lake build. Because of that I wouldn't get your heart too set on a plan until you have a lot in mind and have researched the building restrictions. That said I do know that I also loved looking at plans and dreaming of what could be in the months before we got serious about the project . We ended up building a two story. Yes - up was definitely cheaper than out. We couldn't have had a bigger footprint anyhow without having to have special variances - and that's with only a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house. We did a unattached garage partly for cost but mainly because it just fit better on the lot. We also wanted to keep the lake views for the main areas so the master bedroom is on the opposite side and we put it downstairs for aging purposes. It's also much nicer having that buffer between the bedroom and the deck area if there are people staying out later. Upstairs there are two bedrooms and a bath. That gives company their own dedicated space. With 2-zone heat we can always keep the temp lower up there when it's not in use. We are so happy with our finished product. I can't wait until the day when we can retire and live there permanently. It doesn't get much better for me than to be able to spend a relaxing day at the lake.

Overall, I like it. A few thoughts: Your garage is angled. Is that a necessity? Angles cost more and deliver little value for that cost. I like the master bedroom and bath. They're good-sized, but not over-done, as so many are. Others have said this, but if you're going to work from home from this office, I'd rather see the doors open up into the foyer. That would mean you wouldn't have to let clients any farther into your house than necessary. Along that same line, you're going to have to provide a restroom for clients, so a half-bath is necessary for you. However, they'd have to walk through your living room and past your kitchen (and a personal desk, where any type of personal information might be left) to get to the half-bath by your garage entrance. While I usually like "back door" baths, I'm not sure it's the best choice for your circumstances. I don't see an obvious solution. I would have no concerns about the children's bedrooms being on a different level, nor do I think you'll have any problem because the main floor only has one bedroom. Downstairs I think you have some redundant spaces. A family room AND a den AND a playroom AND a study. Do you have plans for all of these? Downstairs the single bedroom seems to have the better bathroom, while the two bedrooms are sharing the smaller /no tub bathroom. Could the playroom become another bedroom so that these two could share the better bathroom, leaving the farther bedroom to have the smaller bathroom to itself? Or, could the adjacent closet become part of a larger bathroom for the two twin bedrooms, leaving some of those large, redundant spaces to become storage? Or, do you really need two bathrooms downstairs? Bathrooms are the single most expensive rooms in a house -- if you have a nice big one, especially if it's a "divided bath" with the sink in an outer room, can three children share it?

Surprisingly the inspiration for this house comes from a much less conventionally shaped house here. Thanks benjesbride. Your little house looks great. Very thoughtfully laid out. It looks like the kids had a shared "bed" room and another play room? The most current floor plan comes in at about 1360 sq ft. I was shooting for something more in the 1100-1200 range. I think we could trim off a foot or so in each dimension if we needed to. That fine tuning might wait until we see what our building material is. If we go with straw that will dictate what exterior wall dimensions are most efficient. We also don't plan to frame in conventional closets. The closet space in this plan is more than ample but leaves room to store outdoor gear, quilts (my mom is a quilter so this is a real storage concern), etc. I like your main bath set up. My parents have their W/D in a bathroom and it seems to work quite well for them. I think we would like to avoid hallways as much as possible. With wood heat it will be better to have as many rooms open off the main living area as possible. A second floor might be better for wood heat (I am not sure how that all plays out) but we feel it is worth it to keep the house to one floor. I also really like Ross Chapin. There is actually a development of his small homes near where we will be building. lazy_gardens: One of our children will have to walk a small distance to reach the shower but I am sure they will survive the hardship :) I would love to minimize the distance to the shower for everyone but we decided to prioritize keeping plumbing centralized and having natural light in the bathroom.

We are located in central FL the front of the house faces east, side porch faces south. The western side of the house is heavily forested. Heavily forested still won't keep the west sun from the back of your house. So let me get this straight, the best elevation to allow light and sun in without the extra heat of west and east elevations is south. Yet your south elevation has a closet, a mudroom type entry and a guest bedroom. I'm also in FL. SW FL to be exact. I oriented my house so front faces north and back faces south. I have large eaves (32" wide) that let in the filtered sun this time of year and when I was at my house 2 weeks ago, the outdoor temps were in the mid 90's (before the rains came). Inside the house, even with windows but no insulation yet, there were nice cross breezes and it was actually quite bearable. Sofar we have decided to make the following changes: Move the fridge to the sink side of the kitchen on the outer edge Re-resize the shower to 42x60 for proportionality. Squaring up the roof and adding an open gable over the side porch. And... Rename the "office" to "entry". Yes all good starts but not enough for the overall flow of the house that mrspete keeps mentioning. Im not super concerned about where the towels are hung, we hang them to dry after we use them. We set a dry towel and clothes on the bathroom counter prior to bathing. And in reality unless you have a towel in the shower with you or can reach one from the shower, water will get on the floor. So let me get this straight. You're spending big bucks and/or your hard earned time creating this house for you and the Missus but instead of working out even the smaller details, you just don't care? It's not important for your overall comfort and making things easier on you? What's the point of building if it's not to take what you've learned and make things better for you for now and into the future? As for water getting on the floor, there's a big difference from reaching next to the shower to grab a towel on a hook and having to step completely out of the shower to walk across the aisle to grab a towel on a bathroom counter. One creates about 3 drops of water and the other requires being careful so you don't slip on the wet floor. Thats what bath mats are for. And these are the things that will not help sell your place if you ever have to sell. High ceilings and the elevator shaft feeling I will take into consideration. I love high ceilings. My first floor will be 10' in the main rooms and 9' in the hallways. Upstairs will be 9'. My house is 2870 and the height works with the size of the house. What happens is when the ceilings become too high, it actually then makes the rooms feel smaller. There's a balance between just right and too high. In general I enjoy high ceilings and am a bit more comfortable with slightly higher than average ceilings for the size of the space than usual. I think 10' in the main rooms and 9' in the bathrooms and hallways will work fine in your case. The other added bonus by making the hallways 9' is that when you walk from the smaller space into the larger space, it makes the larger space feel even larger. It's a visual trick Frank Lloyd Wright used in most of his houses to great effect. Im also not too concerned about storage, we really take de-cluttering seriously. To be fair storage for a mop, broom, and vacuum "was" lacking but with the relocation of the fridge we have room for a large vertical cabinet on that "wall of storage". And how about the few coats, raincoats, shoes, etc you have? Even in Central Fl it gets cool. But for mundane "every day" things, asside from clothes and shoes, I cant think of anything my wife or I use that would be put up regularly? Seriously, not poking fun, what are typical items that would be stored that we would need easy access to? Cleaning supplies. Brooms. Mops, Vacuum. Rags, Linens. Books. Hobby supplies. Spare toilet paper, spare paper towels, light bulbs, household tool kit, household sewing kit, your favorite beverages, canned goods, ink cartridges, computer paper, pencils and pens, guns if you keep them, pet food, extra soaps and shampoos, toiletries, iron and ironing board, place to hang wet laundry that can't be put in the dryer, etc. Living in FL you just learn to deal with getting wet. Raincoats help.