I agree with the above posters: I'm not loving the angles. They're expensive to build and aren't a positive in terms of making the house comfortable to live in. The study is laid out in a nice spot. It'll provide privacy from the rest of the house so someone can read or work in quiet, especially if you're including a door. It isn't large, but it doesn't need to be large. I'd want a fireplace in the family room. The nook /only door to the back of the house looks good on paper . . . but in real life it's going to be uncomfortable to scootch around the table (especially if someone's seated or a chair hasn't been tucked under) to reach that door -- especially if you're carrying something like a plate of food destined for the grill. I'd angle the table the other direction or move the back door to the left or the right. Personally, I'd put a sliding glass door on BOTH the left AND the right, and I'd make that center space that's now a nook into a fantastic window seat; and that would leave the table to turn and use the ample space to the right. What is the empty space to the right of the table? I'm guessing it's a seating area, but that doesn't look functional. Since it's open to the nook and the family room, it's essentially still the family room . . . interrupted by the kitchen table. I do not like the kitchen cabinet layout. So many people gravitate to this type "I want to cram in as many cabinets as humanly possible" plan, but the reality is that it's cramped. Open the refrigerator door, and you're trapped in the "U" -- ditto for the pantry door. Cabinets are one of the most expensive line items in your entire build, and you can have too many. You also need some empty space in which to walk, and you want to avoid corners (and that angle is just a variation of a corner). I'd go with a simple L+island, and then make the current utility room into a large pantry. You could then have the garage entry to the kitchen THROUGH the pantry, which means you'd drop your groceries before ever entering the kitchen. The pantry is by far the cheapest /most efficient storage you can have, which lessens your expensive cabinet bill AND increases your storage. And you won't be short on counterspace at all. In your current plan, how are you entering the house from the garage? I don't see a door. Upstairs Your landing at the top of the stairs appears to be very small. I can't see how you'll move large furniture (like beds) through that small space. Why a second family room upstairs? You already have a separate study downstairs. The two bedrooms that share a bath look good . . . though the walk-in closet for the middle bedroom needs an outswing door. As it is, the door is preventing you from placing a clothes rod on the LONG wall of the closet. The width of the closet doesn't permit rods on both sides, so you're using the square footage of a walk-in and are only getting the storage of a reach-in. I personally would like to see the kids' closets all go larger. The first two kids' bedrooms are generous in size, but a large closet keeps a kid's room clean. I'd give up floor space to increase these closets, and place dressers IN the closets. I agree with the above poster that the two sinks are unnecessary in that shared bath. What that bath needs is storage space -- right now it has none, not even space for a hamper. And as your kids become teens, they're going to want more space for . . . well, lots of things. The third kid's bedroom is oddly shaped and at 8'-something on the short end, not really big enough to function well. Note that the outswing bathroom door is eating into the narrowest portion of this bedroom. I don't think an adult could sit on the toilet in this third bedroom; his or her knees wouldn't fit. And since this closet sort of "pokes out" into the bedroom, about half the storage space is far from the door /difficult to access. This whole third bedroom/bathroom configuration just doesn't work. I'd consider removing this bathroom altogether, which would allow the third bedroom to be on par with the other two -- nice, comfortable sized rooms. You could then place a good reach-in closet between this bedroom and the master, providing some acoustical privacy for both rooms. And let the three kids share the hall bath; three can share one bathroom without a problem (especially if you get them a bit of storage space in that bathroom). On the subject of bathrooms, your plumbing is strung across the whole upstairs, which is a very expensive proposition. If you could consolidate it, you'd save money. On the subject of consolidation, if you move the laundry sink so that it's in line with the washer /dryer, you'll save money by not having to run water in that wall. How will you vent the dryer? I'd make the closet in the laundry room closet into open shelving. More functional /removes the issue of the doors knocking against one another. The master bath has a massive amount of floorspace yet it doesn't seem to serve much purpose -- just empty space. This is a negative for two reasons: Tile is expensive, and a large bathroom can be cold. The bathroom door and the master closet door are going to cause a problem. Imagine putting away your clean laundry: You have a big basket in your hands, you have to go through the bathroom door, close it behind you, and open the closet door. I think you can do a lot better in this whole bathroom /closet layout. I'd consider a small hallway in the spot where you now enter the master bath . . . on one side, the closet door . . . on the other side, the bathroom door. You still have the function of the bathroom and closet being adjacent, but you can enter the closet without going through the bathroom, and you eliminate the problem of the doors. The shower can easily scoot over to where the toilet is now jammed into a dark, claustrophobic closet, and you have ample space to bring the toilet out.

Well, you would gain more useable kitchen space and counter length by eliminating the opening for the pantry as shown, and combining the pantry and mud area with access to the pantry from the corridor connecting the garage. There's just too much diverse circulation in the kitchen area, taking up too much space. Your plans are really quite varied spatially and suggest a strong and enlivening experience inside the house. The plans are quite good I think. Unfortunately, the excitement and sophistication of the interior spaces are well hidden behind the rather Plain Jane exteriors, which conceal any sense of design or uniqueness on the interior. My suggestion is start over on the exteriors and let them be a little less "ranchy" and better suggest some of the excitement of the interiors. Good luck on your journey--exciting times ahead.

I think your house has a lot of potential! I know you didn't initially ask re: the second floor, but I couldn't help taking a crack at it - especially regarding the laundry room & master closet... =) Basically the left-side bedroom gets a large reach-in closet, thus removing the weird bumps in the master closet. The right-side bedroom gets a bit more depth in its bathroom (storage!), and there's 70" of closet on one wall + room for hooks, mirror, etc on the remaining closet walls. The laundry room is a bit more narrow (33” between wall & machines) but no longer has the machines against your master bedroom wall. Good luck - looking forward to your project going forward! =)

Thanks to all who weighed in!! Lots to think about. We did speak to 2 local architects. Sadly, both were way out of our price range for a similar house & their lead time was quite lengthy. We’d love it to be our forever home, but it might not be and adding in their costs (both similar) we’d be hard pressed to recover our initial investment. Snaggy – we’ll have a small closet in the foyer and one in the back coming in from the garage, if I can figure out where to put it. tatts – there will be no bath in the center of the house, unless you mean the guest bath on the hall. Also, the kitchen windows – probably 6-8’ wide - face south. Summit studio – I agree the long, shallow porches on the plan are artificial looking, we plan to shorten the front one & center on the entrance, making it deep enough to sit comfortably. We sit on our current porch a lot. We have mountain views to the south and often have coffee and lunch there. The rear will be more of a gathering space, I hope. We'll cover only a part of it and have a patio for grilling, etc. We get our strongest winds from the W and hope the garage will shield us a little. The rear looks out to the meadow beyond and will have my gardens just off of it.