Here is the planned basement layout.

So it's a walkout basement? Like upstairs, I'd put in a patio door, and square off the upper right corner. Since I scrapped the grilling porch, I'll have to add a deck to the back.

I'd move the closet for the upper bedroom to the wall between the bedrooms, and give that room a bigger window (matching the one upstairs).

The kitchenette seems awkward - I think it would make more sense along the far right wall. I might even put the entrance to the storage room (I assume that's what it is?) where the kitchenette is, and close off the other door to reconfigure the bathroom. Like upstairs, I'd eliminate the double vanity and add storage to the bathroom.

Thank you for the quick response and insight annkh.

We are in Michigan, so we can get the extremes of both winter (below 0 for a few days) and summer (above 100 sometimes). But other years we can be a little more on the mild side with no sub 0 winter days and only a few days over 90 in the summer.

The reason we have two sinks in the second bath is because we will have 2 kids by the time this is complete and an effort to reduce sibling fighting, etc. when they are a little older. We both like the idea of two sinks for them. The storage aspect we felt would be covered by the linen closet in the hallway immediately outside of the bathroom. That being said, I completely understand the more storage point of view, and will definitely consider it for the basement where dual sinks is probably less of a need.

Yes that could be considered a "grilling porch" off the dining room. It would be a covered part of the deck that would extend further off the back of the house. The reason it is situated as it currently is, is due to having something similar on our current house. We like having part of the deck covered. I didn't want to make the mud room/laundry too large so adding the covered deck area in that corner accomplished a few things - keeping a square corner for the roof layout and keeping the finished sq ft a little lower.

Yes it will be a walkout basement. Can you describe how the kitchenette feels awkward? I added it there so that there would be room for a pool table and theater later (both dreams of mine). The far right wall would be where the theater screen would be located in my current vision. You are correct that the lower left of the basement is the utility/storage.

Thank you for your input. I certainly appreciate it.

I think the kitchen downstairs would feel very much like a cave - especially with the fridge at the end. Even if you get a counter-depth fridge, it will stick out into the aisle. It might be better as a straight galley, instead of an L. I assume there will be a MW there, but no stove? What do you see as the function of this kitchen? In that location, it isn't a wet bar. With a MW, you could pop popcorn, but not bake cookies. I'd give careful consideration to the use of the space before committing to anything. A fridge, and even the sink, would be mighty nice to have near entertainment space, but you may be able to get by with a lot less - saving money and space.

I see your point about the covered part of the porch/deck. I'm in North Dakota, so I have a feel for your weather. But I'm also imagining 4 people trying to put on coats and boots in that space. 3 feet of coat closet isn't much for a wintery climate, once your kids' shoes are as big as yours!

My sons are in college, so we've been through all stages. They rarely used the bathroom at the same time, so a second sink in their bathroom would only have reduced counter space. They haven't brushed their teeth together since they were little, and then they didn't mind sharing a sink. Once they got to shaving age, they took turns. With the door locked. If you have girls, I would guess they would need counter and mirror space more than sink (but I don't know anything about daughters).

Re the kids at the sink, I'm with annkh. My boys shared a sink till the oldest was 10, then our next house had a double vanity. They were rarely in there at the same time. Honestly, if they are prone to fighting, this is not likely to be their biggest problem. I think my boys would rather have their own drawer and countertop storage than two sinks. Especially when the orthodontist recommended a water pik for the braces, and it and the electric toothbrush take up space along with whatever grooming stuff they are using. They use only the one sink anyway, farthest from the door, so the one nearest the door just gets,dusty.

Your kitchen, now, has a problem. All the traffic between garage and house goes right through the work center. The refrigerator seems out of the work area altogether. The dishwasher on the end of the island...where are you going to store the dishes? You don't have any expanse more than 24", sometimes you need to spread out. Really good cabinet design might trump a walkin pantry here.

I would flip the kitchen. I'd not want the main walking path from garage (family entrance mudroom) to be right through my work zone in the kitchen (between sink and stove!)

Not a lot of privacy in this house. The sounds from the public spaces will transmit readily to the master. And vice versa. As will sound between the two other bedrooms. The traditional remedy for this is to use the closets and bathrooms as the buffers between the rooms, but that idea seems to have escaped your designer entirely given that the sin is repeated inthe basement.

Every bit of traffic into the house goes through the kitchen work zone. And the zones are all mixed. It's terrible workflow . The only thing worse is the kitchen in the basement with the fridge only accessible after walking through the whole jail cell rather than being on the perimeter.

It's an interesting plan, but a little cramped. A few suggestions...

Also, you could have the front bedrooms share a hall with the master (and use bend back basement stairs) or keep the separation. If you don't have very small children...I think the separation is nice :)

This post was edited by lavender_lass on Tue, Dec 2, 14 at 18:27

I'm not loving the entryway. I never like the "long dark hallway" type entries that recess the door. I don't see why you have a door from the garage to the front door -- typically people who park in the garage live in the house and enter through the casual back door.

What's with the teeny-tiny closet on the right side of the entryway? Does it have a specific purpose?

The kids' bedrooms and closets look good -- but I agree with the others who say that storage IN the bathroom is far superior to dual sinks for kids. Imagine you have a teen girl one day; would she rather reach in to a drawer right there at the sink for her curling iron and make-up, or would she be okay with leaving the bathroom and going out to the hall linen closet? And kids NEVER use the sinks at the same time anyway.

I'd add 2' to the left side of the house so that the master closet could be just a little bit wider . . . and could have storage on both sides.

Your great room and dining space look comfortable and functional. I think I prefer the fireplace on the interior wall where LLass positioned it; however, that does create a potential noise problem in the master bedroom (TV /stereo just through the wall). With minimal planning, you can insulate or gypsum board that wall and eliminate the problem.

The kitchen . . . not so much. I think the problem is that it's so chopped up, disconnected. You'll spend all your time walking from "station to station". It needs a from-scratch revamp.

The casual entryway looks good.

I think I'd lose the powder room portion of the laundry. Your guests can access the kids' bathroom through the hall, and this type of "combo" is always a bit uncomfortable.

I do agree with Holly Springs that -- aside from bedrooms -- you don't have a lot of privacy in this house. However, you're a young family, and at this point sometimes good sight lines are more important than privacy, and you do have the basement for the future.

Oops! Dishwasher should go on the other side of the sink. That will let you unload dishes without being in the middle of your work triangle...in case you have help in the kitchen :)

Also, this is similar, but a smaller version, of the layout on the BH&G Kitchen and Bath Ideas cover, from Jan/Feb 2013. Let me see if I can find a link. (Found a Pinterest picture, with link to Zinio below.)

They have a t-shape island (with stools across from each other) and a prep sink by the ovens. The ovens are where your fridge is, but range is across from main sink (on island) with dishwasher. It's a cute kitchen and might give you a few ideas.

Looking at the plan, I like the fridge better where you have it, especially with the prep sink.

Here is a link that might be useful: Zinio link

This post was edited by lavender_lass on Wed, Dec 3, 14 at 19:43

I like what Lavender Lass did with the kitchen. I took it a step further and moved the pantry to the other side of the mudroom door. It's no longer a walk-in, but a wider reach-in, and it gives an expanse of counterspace in the kitchen.

I liked her idea of opening the bedroom hall. When kids are little, you like to be able to hear them. Now that my boys are older, I like being able to see if the light is shining under the door still at 11:30! This plan still gives you privacy, but accessibility, too.

I moved Bedroom 3 to give that wing more privacy from the foyer and living spaces, and to shorten the entryway a bit. As it was, the bathroom was visible in a straight shot from the hall, not always a nice view. And, guests would see it before they knew where the half bath is. This takes it out of mind. I replaced the linen closets behind the stairs with a linen hutch, makes the narrow passage feel a little more spacious.

In the lower level, you need to do something about THAT bathroom, which you can see from the top of the stairs.

Thank you everyone for your valuable input. This was by no means a finished plan ready to build. I made some modifications to an existing plan and was looking for input before we met with a designer in a week or two. I really appreciate the input and a lot of good things were mentioned that we hadn't thought about and will definitely discuss before our meeting and also with our designer. I will be sure to share our progress as we get to a final floor plan.

Since I apparently forgot to mention it previously, our current child is an 18 month old daughter and we are expecting a boy in March. These will be our only planned children. I don't think I'll be able to not have dual sinks in the kid's bathroom, my wife is pretty well set on that.

I really like some of the changes you all made to the plan, but since this is building a custom home and not a cookie cutter, our budget is limiting the size a little bit otherwise we would run with those last couple of layouts. I suppose that is why we are working with a designer to figure all that out for us.

Thanks again everyone!

Build the house with the better floor plan...and finish the basement later. Plumb the basement bath (in a better location) and finish it when you have more money.

Having a poor layout will NOT make you happy. With one small child at the moment, the other bedroom can be a 'man cave' or den...then finish the basement as you can save more money. The space will be there and you'll have a better layout for now :)

Well I hate to second guess your wife, but if you have 2 children of different sexes, there's no way 2 sinks are necessary in the kids' bathroom. I can't imagine that they'd ever be in there at the same time, can you?

If it were me, I'd much rather have the extra storage space rather than a second sink.

So you can afford to build a crappy floor plan but not any of the better arranged ones? Even though they don't have substantial differences in footprint and square footage? And it's because you are doing "custom" instead of tract? I think you are confused as to what custom really means.

Oh, my! Hollysprings, you remind me of the 'Regina' of the forum! LOL

She's outspoken, but she's also one of the most popular characters on the show! Take care and happy holidays :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to OUAT, Snow and Regina

Yes, build the better plan--the changes aren't that great. If those few changes make that much difference, are you sure that you have enough money to build a house?

Anne

The kitchen flow is major, so without changing any square footage, how about if you move the laundry to the basement, maybe where that bathroom is now, making room for the pantry in the mudroom, and shifting the door up?

Ignore where I opened up the hall to give access to the babies, there isn't room for passage. But if you could add just 2 feet on the left side of the house...

I know I'm "late to the party" but...

Practically the first thing I noticed is that except for the master bath and a tiny window in the combined laundryroom/PR, you don't have any windows facing to the sides of your house. Thus, every room in your home has windows on only one wall. IMHO, this is a huge mistake. Natural lighting is SO important to the overall feel of a room! Designing your home so that major rooms have windows on two wall so that they get natural light from two directions will have a HUGE impact on how "inviting" and "welcoming" your home feels.

In A Pattern Language architect, Christopher Alexander wrote: "When they have a choice, people will always gravitate to those rooms which have light on two sides, and leave the rooms which are lit only from one side unused and empty. Therefore: Locate each room so that it has outdoor space outside it on at least two sides, and then place windows in these outdoor walls so that natural light falls into every room from more than one direction."

This is SO TRUE! And most people don't even realize why they feel so much more comfortable in some rooms than in others. Light from two directions diminishes harsh shadows which, among other things, makes it easier for people to read one-another's facial expressions and thus to communicate. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, consider the difference between a portrait taken where the subject is carefully lighted from at least two sides and one taken of a subject outdoors, under harsh sunlight, with no fill flash.

Houses designed for a typical narrow suburban lots seldom have rooms with windows on two sides BECAUSE putting windows on the sides of such homes would mean they would look out at the neighbor's wall 6 to 12 feet away! Not a great view and, if both neighbors had windows on the sides, no privacy for either of them. Most of the stock plans available on the internet were designed for the typical suburban lot. But, you're building on 3.7 acres! You won't have neighboring houses 12 feet away. You have the opportunity to do BETTER, to have a home that is light-filled and welcoming. I urge you NOT to settle for a made-over suburban starter-house plan.

I have the same issue with that huge front facing garage. Front facing garages are pretty much a necessity on suburban lots where there is no room for a driveway leading to a garage in the back and certainly no room for a car to make a turn into a side-facing garage. But the result is that as garages get bigger and bigger to accommodate more and more cars, homes becomes:

. GARAGEhouse

with the garages dominating the house. Your garage takes up more than half of your front facade. Again, this is a typical problem with suburban starter-house stock plans.

And again, you have 3.7 acres on which to build AND you're talking about building you "forever home." You have the opportunity to do so much better! Move the garage to the side at the very least. Even better, divide it up into a single car garage attached to the house (for the car that is driven most often by whomever buys the groceries and packs the kids around to their various activities) and add a stand alone two-car garage for the other vehicles that sits off to the side or is tucked back behind the house. So MUCH nicer looking AND it would free up a lot of exterior wall space in the house itself for rooms with windows on two sides.

You've also already gotten some very good advice regarding:

1) traffic thru the kitchen area. (It really is not safe for the main flow of traffic in/out of the garage to pass right in front of the stove! And particularly unsafe if you have small children!)

2) twin sinks in a secondary bathroom that is to be used by children of both sexes. By the time they are 6 or 7, there is no way they'll both be using the sink at the same time. And, when your daughter hits puberty, she is going to want drawer space where she can hide away her sanitary supplies, makeup, etc from little brother's (and his friend's) prying eyes and fingers. A drawer or two (lockable) for each of them would be so much more useful than the extra sink. And, if two kids are going to be sharing the bathroom, it is MUCH more helpful to have a separate toilet/tub area from the vanity that twin sinks. With a separated toilet/tub area, one child could be brushing teeth and fixing hair while the other showers or bathes...both with a reasonable amount of privacy.

3) In your area of the country, I would imagine you need a larger entry closet than you have shown. And, where do you intend to keep things like brooms, mops, and the vacuum cleaner?

Finally, I'm not a huge fan of that combined powder-room laundry UNLESS the only people that will be using it are family members. Real laundry rooms often have piles of dirty laundry waiting to go in the wash and stacks of clean clothes that need to be put away. Unless you are a compulsive house-keeper, your laundry room area is not going to always be pristine when guests arrive. (And even compulsive house-keepers usually can't keep the laundry room pristine once they have a couple of small children to take care of.) I would not want my guests having to stumble past dirty laundry on their way to the toilet. Do you?

Frankly, I would start over fresh if I were you.