I'm putting your images into the thread so it will be easier for people to view. You might get more responses that way. I'm no layout expert so I'll let others comment on the plan!

Allie,
The plan has possibilities.
Something that you should know is that it appears all the dimensions include the thickness of one wall (14' is more like 13'-8" +/-) unless the total dimension of the house is not accurate.

The Family Room dimension between the fireplace and the columns is 14'-6" so if you subtract the circulation space, you will end up having a usable Family Room of about 10'-6" (Unless you remove the columns by the island). Adding about 3' to the width of the room will help a lot but it will make your second floor hall a bit longer.
You can place the door to the bonus area, near the bedroom #4 door to shorten the hallway by about 7'.
If you do not need the WIC by the mudroom, you could make the powder room, the pantry, and then place the powder room in the WIC space. You still will have a nice size mudroom.
I'd align the current pantry wall to the (new) refrigerator wall and extend the counter (adjacent to the garage) all the way to the wall. This will give you more room for your drop off area.

I would try to keep the home looking like a home and not do the mudroom in the garage.
About your garage laundry, try to place the appliances against the home wall so if in the future you sell the house, the new owner could easily remove the (commercial) laundry wall.
Do you receive client visits in your office? If so, I'd place the office door at the foyer wall. If you do not receive clients, I prefer the office door off the family room. I do not think the foyer wall is too big, it's a nice wall to place a console or wall art.

Thank you SO MUCH for your feedback and including the plan. I had no idea that they were "shortchanging" the measurements, I just assumed that they were interior dimensions. And a living room of 10'6 long is absolutely crazy when I would like a big great room. Funny how the dimensions show 18 x 18 and that just get brought down by so much! I would definitely have to get rid of those posts if possible. I have seen other houses with spans that wide without posts, so I don't know why these are necessary.

So if I get rid of the posts, and add maybe 2 feet, and use the area behind my island as a walking area, would that be OK? Do people use what is essentially a "kitchen" space as a walking space? I don't know if we are big island sitters with stools sticking out, but I don't want to preclude that possibility either.

My biggest trouble is finding a plan that allows for a "side" room beyond the great room that I can turn into a sunroom, most standard home plans just have a dining room and a study right across from eachother with the foyer inbetween - a square box style essentially. I have looked at literally hundreds of plans (all with 2nd floor masters). So frustrated.

Thanks for the advice of not putting the mudroom area in the garage, you are likely right. I do not receive clients in my office, so the great room side would work fine, thanks for the input.

I think I am more confused than ever. Even getting rid of the posts, I really want a big great room, yet I don't need to expand anywhere else, I don't need a bigger office (shown as dining room) and I don't need the room upstairs either (more hallway...). And I am not sure how I can move the bonus room door as I will have at least a couple of stairs? Also, the door to the new bathroom would be right next to the bonus room, so you have to walk the hall anyway.

Is this a bad plan? This plan below was a second choice. Any opinions on which is better? Maybe I can add a bonus room to the 2nd plan with a bit of rearranging of the upstairs, I don't know. I like that it has a proper hallway so you are not all over the kitchen to enter the house unless you want to be, I REALLY dislike that the window over the stairs is off-set, neutral to the idea of facing the dining area instead of the great room, and the upstairs hallway is nicer (I would likely get rid of a 2 story foyer), except there is no upstairs laundry. Although I could take bedroom 2 and turn it into a combo bathroom/laundry room and use the current bathroom location as a access to a bonus room over the garage. I also liked a side garage in the first plan, this plan has a front facing 3 garage, not thrilled with a 3 car garage facing the road, not typical in my area at all - most homes have 2 at most, or even one, even though they are bigger homes (country location with somewhat lax architectural controls).

2nd level

Allie,
Do not panic. The plan can be adjusted to the dimensions you want, you just need to talk to them (the floor plan owner/designer) but the total square footage will be higher. The floor plan is workable if that is the one you like.
Adding 2' to the living room is ok (removing the columns).
If you add 2'-6" and remove the columns is a lot better. I know for a fact. My great room is 17' wide.

You can see what I meant about the dimensions in the attached PDF. I scaled and measured your plan. The red dimensions are the ones I placed for you to see.

Here is a link that might be useful: Floor Plan

Do you have a sloping lot? This plan is for a sloping lot. Or are you doing one of the variations of this plan and putting it on a slab?

Since you are making so many changes, it would help if you would post the floor plan with the changes you intend to make so we can comment on what your version looks like.

Hi all,

I worked this plan and made the changes (see this post and the post below for the 2nd level). I have moved the main floor bathroom to the left corner and added a pantry to where it was. I have added about 2.5-3 ft left to right as naf naf so WISELY suggested (THANK YOU!!) and I'll live with the bigger hallway upstairs. I have moved the entry closet to the right of the foyer. Upstairs I have swapped the bathroom and the laundry to make them closer to the kids rooms and reconfigured the master WIC.

Any insight would be most appreciated. I had a discussion in the bathrooms forum about my powder room location on the main level, as I was just uncomfortable with it behind the kitchen, and am happy to have moved it AND gained a sizable pantry.

I hope you can read my plans in pencil, if not, let me know and I will redo them darker. I don't have a software for all this, I wish I did!

Second level

original plan for comparison

Original second floor plan for comparison

I like your sketched out floor plan, very workable.

A few ideas for consideration:

1. what do you think of swapping the office and stairs? You would be able to put windows on 2 sides of the office and the stairs could be in a more central location. Also the sight line fr the front door will be more appealing.

2. I would try to make that powder room into a full bath. In a pinch, you would use the sunroom as an extra bedroom. This is always nice in case someone breaks a leg or an elderly parent has to visit for a while.

3. On the 2nd floor, how about putting the master bedroom in the corner instead of bathroom?

This is why I love these boards, THANK YOU pps7, I never would have thought of switching the stairs for the office. It's really something I am going to give some thought to.

Pros: - it really takes a bite out of that loooonnng upstairs hallway and it would provide 2 walls for windows in an office

Cons - on resale, if it is converted back to a dining room, it makes it far from the kitchen area if it is moved to the far end of the house. And also, I like the central location of the office as I work from home and I go from the kitchen to my office, back to the kitchen, back to office, to the great room, to the bathroom, back to office, etc etc all day long. You get the idea. I will also have frosted french doors facing the south great room side of the house, so even if closed, I will get some light from 2 sides. It won't be a bright room though, as there is a covered porch in the plan in front of that north window. That makes me want to move it to the corner of the house hmmm...

I will mention that to my architect.

As for the full vs half bathroom, you are right also, and I know it, but I really struggled to get the room to put in a powder room there, as the plan called for just a closet. Adding an extra 30 or so inches for a bath just takes more space and $$. But, you are right, DH's cousin just had to move her elderly mother into her house and she had to gut half her garage to make a shower area on the main level for her because she only had a powder room and the lady can't climb stairs. 30" doesn't seem that bad compared to what she had to do. And my DH was in a wheelchair for a YEAR because of an extremely badly broken leg about 10 years ago, and we were young couple with a baby at the time, not elderly at all. Luckily our house was/is a bungalow, we would have really been in a pinch. Very much food for thought.

As for point #3, I actually like NOT having the master bedroom in the corner. I don't want more windows in the bedroom. It's bad enough the master faces the south side of the house and calls for big windows. I own a rental cottage which has an almost identical master bedroom and bathroom and corners on the south and east side of the house with a 9 ft patio door facing south. We stay there in the summer and my face is about 3 ft from this huge patio window. Even with drapes, it is just soooo sunny and bright in my face, I keep waking up from 6 am onward grrr. I have pictured it below just for fun. Also, coincidentally, the master bath is almost identical too to this house plan. I designed this cottage master bedroom and bathroom 3 years ago as an addition, and I guess that's why I like this plan I found, reminds me of my cottage!

My cottage bathroom - very similar master bath to this plan