Sena- thanks. No silly questions. My sketch is pathetic :) So the main family house would be a modern twist on a shotgun style home. When you walk in you can pivot slightly and go upstairs. Upstairs there is a 4 ft 2" hallway that leads to 3 bedrooms. There is also a family bath, laundry nook behind pocket door with countertop onto of appliances, and a master bath. Downstairs is a living room for socializing, reading, talking. Then the kitchen/dining and behind quality pocket doors that could stay completely open or close would be a den with tv. The den has a walkin closet and full bath too. This could be used in a pinch as bedroom if someone is injured or we have overnight guests with mobility issues. Next to the fridge in between the living room snd kitchen area will be a hidden doorway the basement. This will be a play area and house all the homes mechanicals.. It will not be a walkout. Onto the inlaw suite the MIL wants a induction cooktop snd double oven. It's non negotiable as she is the one who organizes bake sales, takes meals to ithe I'll or grieving families in her church. She also will host atleast 6 people for dinner every other month. Thus why the rather large entry. It actually has coat closets that flank a banquette which can be used to sit while putting on shoes or whatever. But across from the entry there will be a drop leaf gate table on casters. When both leaves are dropped it is only 15" wide. When it is extended the table can seat 6. So 1-2 people at banquette and pull chairs off island and voila she has a proper dining room. However day to day it works great as entry and dog play area (open space for a dog to catch a ball). I guess I'm expecting the yard /courtyard of the houses to be about an acre. That acre would be divided down into MIL own private courtyard. A shared dog area with astro turf and built in doggie composter. AstroTurf that drains away urine. So no unpleasant smells wafting eith the wind. Very safe for the pups. MIL can have a host of container plants to keep her busy on her patio. Then we would have a portion what is left as our own outdoor space and pool. At other houses we've had a pool + house on much smaller plot of land than my imagined 1 acre courtyard. This could be bigger if needed. But I want it to feel like a sheltered unexpected oasis. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll talk it over with everyone. Oh and the kitchen is drawn funky in the apt. We were thinking of something similar to the attached picture to ease the transition from entry/dining/dog area to kitchen. Still unsure if it could work.

I like Holligator's plan...I really like corner pantries (I put one in our kitchen as well!). But, I would definitely move the ovens to the other side. To me, the west side seems crowded. It does make an excellent work area, but a little close--especially if you have someone cleaning up while you're prepping/cooking. If the ovens are moved then the cooktop could move south a foot or two to add some workspace/distance b/w the sink/DW and cooktop. The refrigerator side will still have plenty of landing space. I would still put a prep sink in the island, though, to increase the functional work area to include working on both sides of the island if needed or even on the refrigerator/oven side. One advantage of the island remaining is that it will help direct traffic away from the cooking side. W/the corner pantry & no island, people would probably cut diagonally across the kitchen and possibly infringe on the cooking zone--which could be a safety issue (in addition to an annoyance!). The combination of the end of peninsula opening and island will direct traffic to the east side of the kitchen b/w the DR and Breakfast area. I really like the shape of that peninsula!

In response to you wondefully, thorough post Mrs Pete: - You're using all your exteriors on windows /glass doors, which will allow for wide-open spaces and lovely natural light ... but where are your bookshelves? Your artwork? And you have little storage downstairs. Great point! And we do want book shelves and I have quite a bit of art. But I think once the architect is told that the study and tv room must be separate rooms completely it might bring in some more walls. - Is someone going to live full time in that staff room? If so, it needs to be bigger. I mean, the person'll want to have at minimum a TV and some books for evenings. Staff room is way too small! - How wide is that scullery /laundry room? I'm assuming it's going to fulfill the function of what we'd call a "mudroom" -- meaning, a place to hang your jacket, take off your shoes, children could leave their backpacks. I think it might benefit from a bit more width. Note that when that door opens to the courtyard, it blocks off passage through this room; a slider would be more practical. I think it's 2.2 metres but it needs to be at least 2.4 m wide (I measured our current one we're living in now which we like) - What's your thought process on the Lounge + adjacent TV room? With no doors between, you're not going to have acoustical privacy. I think these rooms might be more functional if they were separated ... how about flip-flopping the TV room and the guest room? - What's your thought process on the Lounge + adjacent TV room? With no doors between, you're not going to have acoustical privacy. I think these rooms might be more functional if they were separated ... how about flip-flopping the TV room and the guest room? Definite no go! TV room must be separate and with a close-able door - The feature staircase isn't going to be much of a feature if it's encased with walls on both sides. I'd think you'd want to open on one side ... maybe to the TV room. Haha! Great point! Wouldn't have noticed that myself. Thanks! - Why go with a hall bath right next to a guest bath? Inch for inch, bathrooms are the most expensive rooms in a new build ... I'd definitely eliminate the hall bath and have guests use the guest bath. As said we are planning to host a lot and so privacy is quite important for our guests. But yes this one definitely is up for debate! Initially I said no guest toilet but now I've changed my mind. I'll let my wife decide! :D - Upstairs, the linen closet is very deep, but that isn't useful. If the door is any indication of the width, you'll only be able to have shelves on the far end, and that's not much storage for such a large room. Yup no need for a walk in closet - Ditto for the study ... if you widen it just 1', you'd be able to include floor-to-ceiling bookcases, which would be useful for a study. This is supposed to just be an open plan desk and shelves in the passage way for the kids to do homework. Something like this - I hate the idea of walking into the master suite and immediately seeing clothing storage. Is that a folding window wall at the foot of the bed? Yet it goes to nowhere? You're planning two sinks, but note that they'll have no storage -- not even drawers underneath. Where will you store towels, toilet paper? Where will you hang wet towels? Note that to close the door in this toilet-closet; because of the door swing, you'll have to squish yourself between the wall and the toilet. This suite needs a complete re-do. Completely agree about walking straight into a closet!?!? Well spotted? Where does that bedroom door go to? I'm not sure about the bathroom sinks but generally they have cupboards underneath them? So storage is sorted. Will double check what his thinking is with the door and the toilet and shower?! Great spot - The kids' bedrooms look nice, but their bathrooms are quite minimal, especially the sinks -- note that, like the master bath, the kids' have no storage at the sink. I'd rather go with one nice bath for them to share instead of two minimal baths -- especially since your teen isn't there full-time. Completely agree. Also we need a bath to bath the toddler. Will cut one bathroom. Although in the luxury end of South Africa the craze is currently all bedrooms to have their own bathroom. So I'm fighting a little bit against the market wishes here. - Overall, I think you're over-bathed. Three full time residents /one part time resident don't really need 4 1/2 baths. I'd focus instead on making the baths themselves a larger /nicer. I'd give up quantity for quality and space enough for hampers and storage. - I'm not into all the double-high spaces, but that's personal taste. I will say this though because you mentioned hardwood flooring. We once rented a lakeside cottage with lots of this very-open double-high space ... and it was LOUD because everything was hard: hardwood flooring, ceramic tile, glass walls. We agreed that it would've been more livable if it had contained some softer materials /something to absorb some sound: carpet, window coverings, etc. I have a feeling this house could fit into the same category. Yup! Totally agree! But I think we need it for more light as south facing houses down here can be very gloomy! And I hadn't thought of the noise. Thanks! Thanks so much for your input!!

I really like the idea of a courtyard to get more windows! OP, I'm not sure if that's ok for this type of structure, or something you'd be interested in, but it would be easy to do with the stairs (for example do switchback stairs and a hall landing, and have the courtyard opposite the stairs. Obviously it would reduce your SF but it might be worth it for the additional windows.