I know what you mean about the Don Gardner website. Between that one and Frank Betz, I've found a great way to take a short break when I can (as a stay-at-home mom). It's my little escape here and there during the day!
As far as your question - things to think about are...are you sure you won't have any more children (might need the bonus room as a bedroom someday) and will you or your husband want it for your own space - either a 'man cave' or a 'sanctuary room'-as I call it. Or what if one of your parents needs to move in at some point? I mean it sounds like $7k isn't a lot to spend for all of that added square footage and there are 5 of you in the family. It might be worth it to have that extra space. I'm almost certain you will get every penny back if you ever sell the house. Another option (my sister-in-law did this) is to just make sure there is electricity in there and whatever pipes you might need and you can finish it off at a later date if/when you decide you need more space. You and your husband need to sit down and figure out all of the possible purposes (current or future) of that room. Make a list. Also, if you have really little children, would you feel comfortable/safe with them in the basement when you're on the main floor or upstairs? You may or may not - only you know what the answer is. My sister in law eventually had her bonus room finished and it's the kids playroom/media room especially when she's upstairs getting ready or doing laundry, cleaning, etc. If the kids were in the basement, she would never be able to hear/watch them but they are very young. This is all moot of course if your children are older but that's the sort of stuff you need to think about. I say go for it but it's so easy to say that when it's not my budget. Last thing to think about is that I've heard that when you build a house you need a lot of extra cash on hand for things that just come up or things you want changed etc. You may need that money for something else so just keep that in mind if your budget is super tight. Good luck!

Thanks mcfromct.I was a stay-at-home mom for 5 years....the toughest job you'll ever love.
I agree with your rational. I'm also leaning towards just roughing in the bonus room and that at least gives us options. My children are 6-13 but i agree with the basement. Even in a finished basement, i don't know how much they'll want to be down there if we are upstairs.

Hey there-I'll throw in my two cents-
I would definately put the extra money into the basement, since it is going to be daylight/walk out. You can get a lot more bang for your buck. Spend the money on nice trim, built ins, etc... and make it a more livable space. I would imagine the kids will congregate in one area, as opposed to spreading out between the bonus room and the basement. Good luck!

Yes - I totally agree. What a difference a walkout basement makes. Definitely feels like a real part of the home vs. a dungeon. If I was building, I wouldn't have it any other way!
I have also seen some people widen the stairs to the basement and not put a door on it + paint the stairwell and hang pictures in it. Talk about feeling like part of the rest of the home! It wouldn't even feel like a basement then especially if it had lots of daylight...

This house feels really SMALL. Like many Gardner designs, there's a lot of money in roofs, gables and shallow porches -- cute, but unusable living spaces.

Where would you put furniture in that Great Room? There are almost no walls and a lot of 'walk-through' space.

There's not enough room in the Kitchen bay for a table for six. Will you eat all meals in the DR?

Did I miss it or is there no sink and toilet near the rear door (where your kids will presumably enter the house)? Will you cross the house to get to a bathroom?

You will be in trouble if your kids do NOT play in the basement since there's only one public space in the house: the Great Room.

I would not finish a room over the garage. You can always do that if the need arises, and you won't be assessed and taxed on the empty space until you do use it.

I'd much prefer a different, larger one-floor plan, even with only a partial basement.

Wherever your kids play, they need supervision. Young ones don't want to be far from Mom; middle ones and adolescents get into trouble in ways you cannot imagine! Aged parents often can't manage stairs to either basements or 'bonus' rooms.

We lived in a one-floor, 2000 sq ft house for 30 years. There are better plans out there! Try moving some of the 'pretty elevation' cost into liveable space.

We built a Donald Gardner home and just love it!!! We have a bonus room above our 3 car garage and it is one of my favorite areas in our home. It is huge with a high ceiling and wonderful light. The builder did not use trusses, not sure if one is more expensive than the other. We had plans to finish our basement as well, but decided this room was a better option for us. We included a walk out basement to our plan for that purpose, but for now my plants enjoy the winter sun in that area of the basement.
This is a photo before the room was finished. Notice the sheetrock dust still on the floor.

I would contact all your subs and ask them how much additional it would actually be to finish out the bonus room now as opposed to later. We had "future" space above our garage that is now an almost complete bonus room. Just needs paint when I get around to it. We weren't even going to sheetrock it but then my dh talked to the foreman and to sheetrock, bed & tape it while they were there it was like $200 extra dollars, for them to come and do it later close to $1000. So it made sense to do it now.

wow, thanks everyone for the responses.... great ideas. I love your bonus room dragonfly... great light. And thanks to chisue for critiquing the plan... We actually did alter original footplan... added a third bay for garage, made bedrooms, porches and great room larger and moved fireplace to wall with windows to create more wall space and better flow hopefully. We also connected the garage to the house and used that space for half bath, mudroom etc. Approx. sq.ft. 2065 without bonus room.I know it's still small compared to some standards but i don't want a huge house and unused rooms. i like cozy houses with character.

Thanks to all and happy holidays....

I'm relieved that you've already corrected the major problems I have with this house plan. I'd still like to see some separate area (maybe larger mudroom) that can stay 'messy' with kid stuff and still be within Mom's oversight. One Great Room would be too much togetherness, too much of the time -- for me.

If you're not DR people, I'd consider using that space for an activities room for kids or a study/den for adult escape. I've seen DR's with a table in the center and a virtual library on the walls.

I'm not objecting to the size of this house, just feel there is a lot of money going into the elevation. That's a lot of roof and attic.

We built a single-floor house (2900 sq ft) with walk up stairs to a full-height attic. A future buyer can develop that into more BRs and baths by adding dormers. For our use it's unfinished and untaxed. We did that in part because we want small, but the neighborhood, and lot sizes and prices warrant big.

I just want to add that your front bedroom on your plan is the same as mine. This room is used as our guest room. It is a lovely room with the large window.
I did not notice if your house plan had 9" ceilings. I am so amazed at the difference it makes. This was another feature that drew me to my plan. Donald Gardner may be a bit more expensive to build than others, but I found some of the detail in his homes to be very attractive. We wanted a home that had character as well as open spaces. We could not be happier with our choice.
I do not think that 2065 sq ft on one floor is a small home. I would think it would be less expensive to use existing space above or below than to add more square footage to the first floor. When your children are older you will appreciate some added separate space for them and their friends.
Wishing you a fun build whatever you decide that will work for your family and budget.