You've got a nice start!

But first off, yes it would bother me (a LOT!) to have a long skinny "walk-in" master closet! Even with a small window at one end, such a closet will be a "tunnel". It won't be easy to find the clothing you want because you'll always be standing too close to the hanging rod to actually SEE the things that are hanging there. Plus it is an inefficient use of space. You have a 60 sq ft closet and only 30 sq ft is useable space. The other 30 sq feet is wasted on a long skinny aisle. You would be better off building reach-in closets and putting that 30 sq feet of wasted space to some better use. 30 sq feet is big enough for a very nice powder room, or a good sized storage closet. Added to a bedroom, it can make the difference between one that feels tiny and crowded and one that feels very spacious. I'd rethink that.

What kind of roof do you plan to have over your garage. Will it have enough height next to the master bedroom for you to tuck all or part of a walk-in master closet into the garage "attic" space? If so, that would essentially be FREE extra square footage.

As for issues: Have you given any thought to how the front elevation of your home will look? Right now, upstairs you have three double-windows that appear to be nicely symmetrically spaced. But downstairs, you've lost that symmetry by replacing one of the double windows with a single window plus it looks like your front door is off center tho I can't tell for sure. I think that's going to look odd.

Inside, I personally prefer the open railings to the enclosed stairway to the basement because it gives you a more open, spacious look. I might close in just the side of that leads to the garage door so that the bathroom is a bit more private. But, I'd leave the other side of the lower staircase open so that you can see thru from the great room. I don't think it'll be "too much railing" but be aware that stair newels and spindles can get expensive. Also, you're probably going to need a support column somewhere along there so if you opt for open railings, you might need full height support columns on the corners of your staircase instead of just newel posts.

Your kitchen is okay but I'd want a storage pantry. I'd also want somewhere just inside the garage entry to set packages down. If not a full mud room, at least a "drop zone" and some hooks for hanging jackets and things.

The dining area is too small unless you opt for built-in banquette seating instead of a standard table with chairs all the way around.

Upstairs, that tiny little sitting area at the top of the stairs strikes me as odd. You only have room for a single chair in an area that has no windows, no room for a desk, no room for bookcases, etc. What exactly do you envision someone sitting there to do? If you left that area open so that the staircase wouldn't feel "closed in", I don't think you need to worry too much. With a U-shape, the staircase should be wide enough that it won't feel claustrophobic. Depending on the garage roofline, maybe you can put a small window into the stairwell to bring in some natural light. Even if not, I'd incorporate that open are to the side of the stairwell into one of the rooms.

I like that you've made the landing area at the top of the stairs wide. 6 feet may be overkill tho unless you're planning to put a bench or something next to the railing by the masterbedroom door. Otherwise, I'd probably shrink that down to maybe 5 ft wide and make the bedrooms a little bigger.

For privacy's sake, many people try to avoid having the master bedroom and a secondary bedroom share a common wall. Having a closet or bathroom between the two bedrooms helps avoids the problem of children overhearing adults in their private moments. Maybe the two bedrooms could be moved to the front of the house and second bathroom and laundry could be moved back next to the master bedroom and masterbath.

When it is possible to have light enter from two direction, (i.e., windows on two walls) rooms tend to feel more spacious. Unless your garage roof will make it impossible to have windows on the left side of the second floor, I'd move put the three bedrooms all in corner locations so that all could have windows on two sides.

I don't have issues with having a laundry room upstairs. That is where mine is located and I LOVE not having to tote baskets of clothing up and down stairs. People build showers on the second floor all the time. Basically, we had our laundry room floor made like a huge shower floor - with a floor drain. In my 40+ years of doing laundry, often with machines that were decades old, I've never had a washing machine spring a major sudden "gusher" of water. They've always started leaking slowly... a little dampness on the tile... that warned me that it was time to get things fixed. And modern washers use so much less water at any given time that it is not like you have 75 gallons of water to leak out anyway. The only real potential for "disaster" is where the washer attaches to the water inlet. And that is no more or less liable to spring a leak than the water lines to one's shower or toilet. So, check the wash machine hoses occasionally to make sure they're not wearing out and otherwise, don't worry about it.

Just my 2 cents. Hope some bits are helpful.

I have all the same thoughts except that a laundry machine is more likely to leak than a shower or toilet. But that doesn't mean I'd worry about it very much. We don't have a floor drain with a 2nd fl laundry. We do have the code required drain under the washer.

There are of course options for sound control between the master bedroom and other bedrooms since I don't see how to easily change the layout. It just costs money and layout changes are free.

I would hate the closet and 2nd Bevangel's idea. Space isn't free but it is reduced cost.

The dining area looks okay to me but hard to tell without lots of dimensions added.

I'd rework the entry closets/hooks if it were me but that is pretty easy and you may want that arrangement

I have always liked this house plan and it reminds me of yours.

Here is a link that might be useful: home plan

Ditto Bevangel on the MBR closet, the useless upper hall chair, and the desire for more of a 'back hall' with storage.

The dining area looks big enough to me.

Depending on how you want to use the basement and how HVAC would be affected, you could do open or enclosed stairs. You might give the LR a partial or full wall instead of open stairwell. People don't like to sit with open space behind and over them -- and there may be a draft.

The laundry location is a personal choice. I want mine near where I am during the day when I am tending the loads.

I LOVE the house in Archie's link!

This isn't a big house. Could you possibly build on a single level instead?

archies plan looks interesting! will definitely took a closer look after the holidays

ok so i went back to the drawing board on the upstairs, below is an updated plan. got rid of the tunnel closet, added a linen closet, moved the kids bedrooms away from the master, got rid of the narrow seating area at the top of the stairs, made the landing less wide, increased the size of the master bedroom, changed the whole master/bathroom setup.. and connected the laundry room to the master closet. also added a window to the master bedroom, we're very flexible about the garage so we should be able to accomdate the window.

there's just no room for a walk in pantry in the kitchen but beside the stove there is a 36" wide full length cubboard pantry. that will be enough for our needs. the dining nook is 9x12', the same as at my sisters which i find comfortable but what size would you recommend?

we would likely have coat hooks on the wall behind the door to the garage and a little dresser or something along the wall for keys, mail, mits, etc.. and we could easily put some hooks on the wall inside the garage as well and space for shoes and a bench/shoerack but that wouldn't be a closed in room. a mudroom would be nice but we'd probably have to lose the downstairs shower to fit one in and i'm not sure that's a worthy tradeoff.

for those that are wondering about dimensions, every square is a foot

building on a single level just isn't in the budget, it would cost considerably more

ok thanks! keep em coming :)

That second draft makes more sense and it puts all of the plumbing in one area.

I like your second upstairs much better. It seems to use the space better, and I love the laundry area.

On the downstairs, I really don't understand why you don't have a tub instead of a just a corner shower... Your bathroom down there is large enough for a tub, and a full bath will comp better than a 3/4 bath. Having a tub (with shower) on the first floor is necessary, in my mind.

Finally, although you gave some remedy above, you are definitely lacking a drop zone. Somewhere, you need a place for people (kids) to put backpacks, shoes, boots, coats, hats, etc. What kind of climate are you in?

Much better 2nd floor plan! If you shift the master bathroom door to the left about a foot and a half into the hall, you'll have more space at the sink in the bathroom. Also, the MBR, left BR & laundry doors need to open against a wall.

Anne

The difference between more foundation (one-story) and stairs (two-story) has been debated on this forum without any clear 'winner' cost-wise, considering just the house, not the lot. The ease of living one-story would win me if the cost difference was small.

The new second floor is much better! If at all possible, I would put a window in the stairwell on the second floor or a skylight. I have a similar stairwell and very much wished there was some natural light.

I might also make the closets in the secondary bedrooms bigger and nix the linen closet. You can store linen in the laundry room.

Is the master really big enough to have 2 people in there at once? If not, you may want to widen the shower to 36" and put in a single sink vanity with lots of storage drawers.

Yes you're right, those doors need to open the other way, did that a little fast and forgot to double check :) I could also widen the hallway from the garage door to 5' and create a small mudroom?

Chisue - while it has been debated doesn't mean there isn't a clear answer. It isn't just foundation, it is roof, lot prep, ongoing HVAC costs (less overall surface area particularly in the horizontal dimension), and a lot of other little things.

Stairs can be cheap. Stairs can be expensive. But I don't think we are talking $15k staircase for the OP. Now there is also more siding cost on a 2 story so if you are doing masonry then that favors a 1 story.

I just built very cost consciously and foundation was $10k, Roof was $8k and stairs were $1k. Extra vinyl siding was $1k. Now lost square footage - that is close to $5k (but when you are going to have basement stairs anyway it is less). But you are still at $18k vs $7k.

But the OP has not answered 1 question that needs to be in a cost conscious build - what is over the garage?

we will have a basement regardless, we live in the northeast. heating is also a factor in the 2 vs 1 story. and no 15K staircase :)

we have not planned for anything over the garage. our ground floor is the size that we need it, we wouldn't want it to be smaller.. and we can fit all of our bedrooms, bathrooms, and laundry room comfortably in the square footage of the ground gloor. anything we build over the garage would be bonus space but we don't really need it considering we will also have a 900 sqft 8'basement.

also having rooms above a garage in the north east (quebec) would require some serious insulation and even then i'm not sure it would be enough without having to partially heat the garage. or am i wrong?

anyone have any ideas on how to spruce this up? this is or front elevation, the house is pretty much a box, which makes it cheaper and easier to build.. but not so much curb appeal. any ideas?

Front porch? Or make the portico ceiling barrel shaped & hang a great light fixture from it.

I agree that it does need something but I wonder how much of that could be addressed with landscaping?

Nothing wrong with simplicity! Try doing a google image search for "federal style house" and "georgian colonial house" for possible inspiration photos for your front elevation.

Note that the elevation you've posted doesn't quite match the floorplans you previously posted. I'm assuming you've made some changes to those (including stretching the garage out enough to add in the man door and putting 3 front facing windows in the study instead of the two you had previously.)

Assuming the elevation you've posted matches your current floorplans, the biggest problem I see is that your front elevation lacks balance.

IMHO, the main portion of the house is crying out to be made symmetrical with the upstairs windows directly over the downstairs windows and with the front door centered. After you look at some federal and colonial inspiration photos, see if you don't agree with me.

Could you afford to put a porch, along the entire front of the house? That would really be charming and you could put some shutters on the windows, if you like. The porch roofline would be straight across, rather than the peak and you'd have more outside seating, too.

Maybe a small table and two chairs on the left, with another side opening, to reach the garage? That would make easy access from the smaller garage door, to the front door. Then, as you walk up to the main entry...maybe a porch swing to the right, or seating with outdoor cushions. That would be very nice!

Oh, and an 8' deep porch will leave you room to walk past and have the seating. Hope that helps :)

By forcing the living spaces to conform to an arbitrary rectangular shape you have created an awkward house both inside and out - a common result of a first design attempt. They say all good writing is rewriting and it is also true that all good design is redesign. Keep it up until all the spaces work well, even the closets.

You might try starting again and looking at it from how you live and let the walls move as needed; the cost of corners is not as important as you might think. Sometimes it helps to turn the plan around for a new viewpoint. You might consider pulling the 1st floor bath and entry out a couple of feet and pulling in the living room wall the same amount in the back. You might also consider turning the roof so the gable faces the street and increase the roof pitch for a stronger front elevation and more usable attic (cheap space).

One thing that a small house can rarely afford is the landing area of a switch back stairway. Also, check to be sure it is sized correctly. It appears there are enough risers for a 10 ft ceiling and that's pretty tall for a small house.

If the fireplace is gas and will be vented make sure there is adequate space for the vent to go to the roof or the rear wall.

renovator, what is awkward about the inside of the house?

i pulled in the living room a bit, it's nice that it gives the dining area it's own little nook.. but then we lose the patio doors, the wall of windows, and it feels less "open" which is something we were going for with the original design. see below for comparisons

the switchback does take up more room, but having it allows us to keep the stairs central and open. it's maybe 20sqft extra so not sure that is so much of an issue?

thanks!

The 2nd attempt at your second floor is much better, however I don't like the wasted space in the master bedroom that is just an aisle to get past the closet into the bathroom. I've attached a quick sketch to give you some ideas of how better to use that space. In the top sketch, you could change the two disjointed vanities into one long one along the long wall, and move the window to the short wall. If you really need the door into the laundry room, then I think you should consider moving the closet up, and utilizing the short wall, either for more storage, or to just put up a full-length mirror. No matter what you do, I would put in a pocket door to the bathroom.

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is that all thats awkward? that doesn't seem so bad :) catbuilder i had originally drawn it out like your second example.. but decided against it because i would lose the window into the closet and the door to the laundry room for only 3.5' of more storage. there's 16' of storage in the design above which seems adequate? could put a full length mirror on the door to the laundry room.

as far as front elevation i bumped out the room in the front so now things look better. side elevation on the right side is a little weird because the house is deeper than it is wide, should that be a concern? i guess it all depends on the lot.

Bumping the front right side out does make a major difference in making the front elevation work. That actually looks pretty nice.

I beg you tho, please don't put obviously fake shutters next to the windows! This kind of thing is ubiquitous on suburban tract houses...to the point where I suspect many people think of shutters as no more than window decorations. But really, shutters should at least LOOK like they can actually be closed to cover the windows!

I would recommend that you pay for a sit-down consult with a designer to help you with the exterior elevations. It's not very expensive and I think it would really help you out. The cost would probably be more than offset by the added equity that you'll get from good curb appeal. Right now it looks like a totally generic track home. I don't mean to be harsh, but that's what a future buyer will think some day if you sell.