Thanks for the responses everyone! Let's see if I can address them all: There's a lot of focus on my guest bedroom area. My intent for that space is really to "flex" with us as our family ages, like you said, @lavender_lass. For now, I see it being used as an extra room- play room, or whatever with a bed or pull out couch for the infrequent times we do have adult over night guests. It can also be used as a BR if someone breaks their leg or has surgery or something. Then, as we age, it will become our Master bedroom. The Guest bath is large because we needed one that is wheelchair accessible. We have 3 friends and family members in w/c now, so it was drawn with them in mind. (And any future handicaps in ourselves.) So currently, it will be used as the bathroom that every guest uses when they visit. I didn't want it to open right on to the family room, cuz I think that's a little tacky! :) I don't like the door being where it is to the "guest suite" or flex space or whatever you want to call it. I was thinking about moving the door down, like you suggested, @kirkhall. Since you mentioned it, I'm thinking that's probably a really good idea! @fotomatt- just curious what you meant about the small look/sq footage? Didn't know if you meant that I haven't used the space well, or if I did use it well! Does the exterior elevation look wrong? I was actually worried that I have too much sqft. Just wondering- I won't bite, I promise! :) @andi_k- good point! And actually, after looking at those pics again, they don't seem to have alot of usable counter space, either. I might have to rethink my vision for that room. Adding a little footage to the mudroom might be on the agenda. I need to check and see if it will jive with the upstairs. So....what do you think about my front windows, then? Should I cut them down to 2 casements w/ transoms? That would give me a little more room to play with in the mudroom, but would that ruin my exterior look? So many good things to think about! I appreciate them all!

I am thinking about your idea of making the dining room into a guest bedroom next to a full bath, then using the bedroom/office next to the kitchen to expand the kitchen, change the window there into a back door, and change the master bedroom closet space for some of the office space. That is what you wanted to do, right? First, over in the dining area, the bathroom needs to be enlarged to add a tub or shower. That space must come from the pantry area, I guess. Just extend the half-bath wall until it hits the outside wall and remove the wall between the bath and the pantry, and there is your full bathroom space. Add a bathroom window, now that you have an outside wall, if you can. Now this small third bedroom will need a closet, to be a legal bedroom. Your best bet for that is to use the wall adjacent to the garage. The door to the bedroom will be a mirror image of the door to the bathroom, on the other side of the wall that separates them. This way, the bedroom does not really share a wall with the garage, it is the closet that will be colder in the winter and hotter in the summer. I have no idea how small that bedroom becomes, since you do not have any dimensions listed in the diagram I used. The rooms are really too small to add unnecessary doorways. You don't have to have the third bedroom have a separate entrance into the bathroom. The bathroom door is just outside the bedroom door, and that is the best you can do with the space that you have. After all, there is not a master bath in this house, why have a guest bedroom with a private entrance to a bath? What do you think, is the guest room usable?

As for fan-lights in the shower, it seems ineffective to try to remove water vapor laden air from the shower since most of it will condense on the walls before that can happen anyway. My goal is to remove humid air from the vanity area and allow fresh air drawn from the door undercut to reduce fogging of the mirror and window glass. The entire bathroom will eventually dry out if you use a fan with a built in timer and/or constant low speed feature like Panosonic's WhisperGreen series. I have yet to find a fan-light combination that performs as well as separate units. Here are my criteria: no CFL or LED lamps (LED inappropriate in a bathroom; CFL inappropriate in a house) Max sound rating .8 sone max grille size 13x13 flush with ceiling variable speed fan with timer Panasonic makes a recessed spotlight-fan combination (FV08VRL1) but it uses a CFL. I suppose a halogen PAR lamp could be substituted because the CFL is probably only needed to get an EnergyStar rating but I am not comfortable recommending it. To reduce fan noise it is important to reduce back-pressure by using larger metal ducts.

It's a huge house with lots of places you could cut space ... and still be far from crowded: The bedrooms jump out at me first: I think every one of them is 20' wide -- no, no, the smallest is 17' wide. So every one of these bedrooms is an oversized master. I totally agree with you that you should cut out the master sitting room -- I'd think a master sitting room should be small and cozy for two people to sit. You could also cut out some serious space in the master bedroom closet. Next, consider the bathrooms upstairs: How many people will use these? A private bathroom for each bedroom probably isn't necessary. What's that "refreshment room" behind the kitchen? It looks like a giant pantry ... with a bar for feeding kids outdoors. Would be a nice feature near a pool. I'd leave off the screen for that porch, and it'd be perfectly placed for the outdoor kitchen you want. You can definitely cut this house down easily, but I'm not sure it's the right choice. You're looking at MAJOR changes -- moving walls, the need for re-engineering loads, changes in your foundation and roofline. With these changes, it probably won't be cost effective to start with a pre-designed plan. The first thing I'd try: Can you see other plans by this same person? Often an architect or designer designs a house "a little smaller" or "a little bigger" ... and starting from that other plan might be a good deal for you.