Are you sure you have an ARCHITECT working with you and not just a draftsman???? An architect should listen to you but he/she SHOULD have ideas - LOTS of ideas - about how to make your desires/dreams into a reality. On the other hand, a draftsman is someone who merely takes your plan and creates a clean, properly scaled drawing that can be used as a building guide. If your "architect" is expecting you to have all the ideas right down to the placement of closets, doors, and windows, he/she is NOT providing you with the architectural services that you are paying for. You need to fire them and get someone else. If you are actually working with a draftsman and want/expect to design your own home, please be aware that while it is not impossible for a non-architect to design a beautiful, functional home, it does take a lot of study, a lot of thought, and a lot of work to get there! Unfortunately, it looks to me like you're trying to START at the finish line...which is fine IF you have a good architect. Not so fine if you're correct in saying that the person you're working with just "does what YOU say." I'm sorry but the plan you have sketched above is simply not very good. Among other things, the way it is laid out forces you to waste far too much of your available square footage on hallways. You've sketched a masterbath with a garden tub (whirlpool tub) and no windows to look out of while enjoying a soak. You've got a powderroom opening directly off of the kitchen so that anytime the PR door is left open, you'll be staring at the toilet. You've also obviously given no thought whatsoever to what the exterior of the finished home would look like. And, given that in a previous post you mentioned that your husband wanted something a bit different and not just a plain box, the last thing I would think you would want to do would be to build a house with no style. Have you given any thought to what style you would like your home to be? Do you already own the lot where the house will be built? If so, which direction will the front door face? Where are the best views? How wide and how deep is your available building area? Do you have room for a side load garage or must it be front facing? Are you in a cold climate or a hot climate, a wet or dry region? Is the land essentially flat or sloped? All of these things should be taken into consideration when designing a home. If you don't already own your land, you're probably getting the cart before the horse anyway because, what if you design a house that is 85 feet wide and wind up with a lot that will only allow you to build 70 feet wide? Before beginning to design a home for you, an architect should know how many people will be living in your house and what kind of lifestyle do you have. Are you formal or informal? Do you entertain a lot or almost never? What do you like about your current home (even if you're renting) and what drive you nuts there? What are your MUST HAVES and NICE TO HAVES? How many bedrooms? How many baths? So you dream of a big whirlpool tub or a huge shower? Do you lust after his/hers vanities? How much closet space do you want/need? Do you want a formal living area or an informal family den? (or both???). So you want a formal dining room or would you never actually use one? Does your family gather in the kitchen while you cook? Do you need space in your kitchen for multiple cooks? Do you want the kitchen/living area to be open to each other or would you rather be able to hide the kitchen mess? Do you lust after a kitchen island? Will you be unhappy if your kitchen sink isn't under a window with a view? Do you need a large pantry? How many garage bays do you need? What size cars do you drive? Does your husband want space in the garage for a "shop." Do you need/want a mud room? Do you have pets and need a space for number of garage bays? attached/detached garage? porches? office? playroom? bonus rooms? Do you need/want a spacious laundry room or just a small spot for the washer/dryer? Is it important to you that certain rooms get lots of natural light? If so, which ones? Is it important that some rooms be tucked away where they'll be quiet even if the rest of the house is noisy? Do you and your husband tend to keep similar hours or is one of you a night owl while the other is up at the crack of dawn? Does your family all tend to gather together in one room or does everyone scatter to their own space? Is it important to you that your home impress visitors? Do you want soaring lofty ceilings or cozy nooks? Do you drawn toward traditional decor, country chintz, clean modern lines, Victorian froo-froo, or some other decorating style entirely? All of the above (plus more) is the kind of information that a competent architect would get from you so that he could help you put together a "program" that would then guide him in designing your home. If your person hasn't yet asked the questions above yet, RUN. Based on what I've seen you post thus far, I honestly think that at this point, you would be better off searching through all the plans that are available online and finding something there that you could live with. (I'm not saying that most online plans are great - and certainly they aren't "custom" - but it doesn't look to me like you're getting the kind of custom help that you have a right to expect from an architect. If nothing else, searching thru the online plans would help you to begin thinking about how you want your home to LIVE and what you do and don't like. After you study about a thousand online plans and try revising them to be closer to what you would like, you'll be much better prepared to start trying to sketch your own from scratch. Or, come back here with several that you "kind of like except for..." as well as answers to the questions I listed above, and perhaps some of the folks who frequent this site will be able to help you put together a workable plan. In the meantime, invest a couple of dollars for some graph paper and do your sketches on that so that various rooms will be at least close to "in scale."

Hi ionized and thanks for your reply, Our original house was not built without cooling, our home is in the final stages of framing for an addition out back and moving of walls/major renos in the front portion. Prior to our large addition/remodel we had forced air heating and AC. The HVAC contractor has almost finished up the in floor hydronic heat which will replace the forced air. He started to work on the AC a few months ago, and to our shock installed large 9-10 inch main trunks in our great room and dining room (I posted about the issue at the time and I think you kindly responded). The contractor then explained for the first time we would have lots of these ducts all over the main level. The contractor stopped the progress as we wanted a new AC plan that would minimize the drop downs (contractor went on to some other jobs, and we focused on other aspects of the build as well). We definitely need AC here, our weather would be like Michigan or Buffalo -- lots of brutally hot days for 3-4 months per year. As per the mini-splits we are definitely still considering using them (or ducted mini-splits too). We have heard mixed reviews about mini-splits. I think the main draw back we have been told is the mini-splits need replacing say every 10 years or even sooner, so they don't last as long as central air (hence seen as a less permanent kind of AC). Also, if we go ductless, it will be harder to tie in the HRV unit. Not sure if these warnings are justified or not. The architect and HVAC contractor were down on the mini-splits so made as weary. Cost may also be high with mini-splits, but so is making a conditioned area in the attic I am discovering (not sure yet which is a higher priced solution). A high velocity unit might also be worth investigating. Carol

Warm in the attic is not the primary reason for keeping the ducts indoors, it is pressure differentials induced by leaky ducts. In supplies, leaks cause make-up air to be drawn into the house from air leaks in the envelope. In returns, leaks cause air to be drawn out of air leaks in the envelope. (Poor return vs. supply balancing can do similar.) How high is the ceiling in the hallway? If there is enough space, the classic right way to do this is probably to fur down the ceiling for ducts and put the AHU in the attic within a sealed box that is made contiguous with the indoor space. Done right, the difference in ceiling heights can be architecturally pleasing.

Susan-Great advice. We have had this land for 4 years now, and planned to build in the trees for the last year. Originally the deck of the home was going to go just to the beginning of the valley. If I want the pool there, the house will need moved to the North. If I don't put a pool on that side, then I want the deck 20 feet further to the South. We are removing trees now for the driveway. Hubby left a huge Cedar tree at the valley entrance which shifts our driveway naturally to the North. Not a big deal as the driveway is lengthy. But house would go great in either spot. Just wondering about putting the pool more hidden on master bedroom/garage side of home versus by main entertainment deck. Thinking it would get used more by deck area.