We built an Ahmann house--not this one. We found them to be really easy to work with. They offer help to redesign plans to make it just right for you. Good luck.

brianstreehouse - I'm glad to hear your experience was good! What plan did you build, or what style of house?

This plan fails my test on at least two counts. There's no powder room near the family entry (off the garage, yes?), and the double height great room is both a waste of space and a sound and HVAC nightmare. I don't want a window in a closet either.

chisue - thank you for your input! We'll definitely consider moving the powder room to the back hall, and rethink the second story great room. Is there anything else I'm missing?

This plan has a lot of expense in the roof. Does it need to be so high? I also think there's too little space on the second floor. Everything up there seems cramped, while the double height great room and 'loft' are useless.

A stairway with no landing is a serious invitatiion to an accident, especially with high ceilings making the run longer.

I'd go mad in that interior kitchen. Why is so much outside wall devoted to the pantry/laundry room? (And no windows there either!)

The great room has almost no wall space. Do you really want it so open to the kitchen (odors, commotion)?

I like the general appearance of the front elevation -- sheltered front stoop; not too many peaks or clutter on the front. Our house is a combination of oversized white brick and champagne stucco -- like that more toned-down look over the fake stone, which is so over-used.

I don't like having the master closet accessed via the bathroom! Don't know if this would work, but our master suite is a rectangle. BR on one end; bath on the other. Short hall connects the two w/walk-in closets flanking it.

I'm not sure this plan can be 'tweaked' to suit. ???

Our plan is marked 78698 but it would seem it is no longer available. It is a ranch design anyway.

What matters most is not anyone else's preferences, but your own. If you can visualize your own living in this space, then proceed. For example, we very much wanted all the bedrooms together despite the current trend to have a split area for the master. We wanted the kids close when they were young and needed us in the night, and closer still when they were teens and coming or going during the night--with or without permission, lol. That kind of preference is why we chose to build instead of buying a house off of the market.

Your first step is to really decide what you want. If you and your spouse are on the same page, it will make the whole process so much easier.

Take the advice you get here with a grain or two of salt. Nobody here knows you, your family, your site, your budget, your preferences more than you do.

I prefer the powder room where it is for daily living and for entertaining purposes. If I wanted a powder room off the garage, I would add one on, not move the existing one. That said, we have one off of our garage through the laundry area and it is never ever used. Wish I had followed my gut and taken it out (might do this some day) in order to have a larger laundry.

The double height room does divide a crowd. Some love it, some hate it. True what has been said about noise and heating/cooling. Yet they are popular for a reason as well. Open space, light, and height do give a free feeling and a connection of people who are in various spaces/activities. If you don't care for the open plan or double height, you could get a great bonus/play space by decking over the great room/entry. It would be doable rework. If that is what you are really wanting, there may be a better plan out there for you.

If your plan were my build, I would remove the wall into the laundry and have a large mudroom/laundry area. I see no purpose for the wall since you can close off the whole area with the hall door if you wish to during entertaining.

We also have an interior kitchen. I love it. I would move either the cooktop or the sink to the island. Our kitchen is the gathering space and I love having it in the center of our home. Oversize the windows in your nook and you won't feel closed in at all. If you run a cluttered kitchen, not being able to shut it off may bother you. I figure people who come to my home come to visit us, not our mess....it works for our family. You do have a separated dining area for holiday meals.

One thing we did add into our plan is a walk-in 7 x 12 pantry. I dearly love my pantry and it is my favorite perk in our house. Perhaps you could slide in a mudroom half bath/pantry room by extending the space and simultaneously extending your garage.

Closet, bathroom, closet windows are a personal choice. I do like the closet being away from the sleeping area so the sleeping spouse can stay that way while the other is getting ready.

Make it work for you.

HTH.

Brian

brianstreehouse and chisue - I want to thank you both for your thoughtful comments...you've given me/us alot to consider!

This plan has many features we definitely want...and very few we feel less strongly about, e.g. the 2-story great room.
At our girl's current ages, I'd say that for us, the "up-sides" of the vaulted, open room outweight the "down-sides", though this could change as they get older (and want to play loud music in their rooms!).
As we'd like to stay in whichever house we build for the long-term, the decisions are especially tough...deciding what we really want not just for now, but as our family changes and grows, too!

Thanks again,
Audra

bump

Actually, I love that the powder room is so close to the great room. This is convenient for both guests and homeowners; guests don't have to travel down a long hallway, and the powder room is very close to all family activities.

When I've been looking for plans, we definitely want the great room next to the kitchen. I have never found that odors aren't really an issue. I don't know about commotion though, it's just my partner and I and some dogs.

I've always dreamt of a two story great room, although I'm sure it could be a hassle to heat and cool.

Audra, your preferences are the important part, like a previous poster said. People's advice sometimes helps too, though. I know sometimes when I hear something from a different perspective it makes me think differently.