See, I'd just tell my DH that he could enjoy the sunrise while he's doing the laundry rather than while he's making coffee! ;) I kind of like the look of latest rendition, but I'm not loving the function. Leaving the laundry in the MBR would kill it for me. I know you don't mind it, but I can't imagine that it wouldn't be a sticking point for some potential buyer down the road. It would be for me. The issue raised earlier about kids having to come in the parents' room to do their laundry as they got older would be even stickier with the addition of another bedroom--i.e., room for a second kid with laundry needs. Could your stackable W/D fit in that closet area in the mudroom? Also, how will you use this desk? Will it become your home office space? If not, it seems like it would become a clutter magnet, ruining that nice view. I still prefer the rendition above where you reuse your sink and five-panel door. I think it makes the space far more useful in a house where useful space is at a premium.

Hi Azlee, To show that there's a wall somewhere, you can draw a long very skinny rectangle instead of just a straight line. That is, you draw two parallel straight lines instead of just one, and then connect them at the ends. **Sink infront of window- I am usually not the one to be doing the cooking, I do mostly the cleaning so I guess I like the sink there so I can look outside when my kids play in the yard.** This is almost always why people put sinks in front of windows--"I want to look out at the yard while I'm at the sink." But in this modern age, with dishwashers, most people do not spend much time at the sink. And particularly if you are cleaning, you would probably only come to the sink to get more water, or maybe to rinse a mop, right? So really, you are only standing in front of the sink for maybe thirty seconds. (I am guessing here--you can check, the next time you clean, to see how much time you are actually standing at the sink.) Also, when do you usually clean? Is that time the same time that the children play in the yard? I ask these questions because very often this idea that you will look at nature or watch the kids while standing at the sink is just a fantasy. In reality, you will look out the window whenever you want; the fact that the sink is not there does not prevent you from lingering by the counter watching your children. If you want some activity that will take you to the window, you could participate in prep work for meals or you could place something else there that you use--a coffee machine, for example; that sort of thing, or even the trash pullout. The other advantage of putting the cooktop and thus the prep space along this wall is that it is much closer to the seating area and family room. That means it is much easier for the nanny, or whoever is cooking/prepping, to see/hear what the children are doing (I assume it is more likely for the children to be in the seating area or family room than for them to be in the dining room while someone is cooking? And anyway, you can't see the dining room from the range in your proposed layout, so even if the children were there the cook couldn't see them). It also makes it possible, or at least easier, for the cook to participate in conversations. People spend far longer at the prep counter and the cooktop than they do at the sink. Prepping and cooking one meal can easily take an hour or more. The person cooking might like being closer to everyone during that time. For your storage issues, I wonder if perhaps the powder room could be just a little bit narrower, so that on the powder room wall facing the kitchen/eating area you could have a shallow pantry--perhaps 12" deep, or even just 8" deep, of shelf space. I think that anything you can do to move some storage out of that pantry/fridge/microwave wall, so that there is room for a counter on that wall, would be a good idea. For the island seating--even if you do keep it, do you need three seats? Depending how you arrange it, you could have two seats there and a good deal more storage. Another thought is that the bench your drawing shows at the breakfast table could be built in, with storage in it. Many people put long drawers into the base of breakfast-nook benches, so that it is possible to pull the drawer out from the side of the bench without disturbing people who are sitting on the bench. (See photo link below). And you actually do not really need to build the bench in (i.e. attach it to the wall) to put a drawer in it, although that is what most people do. This might be a good place to store things that do not relate directly to cooking. For example, paper towels and the like. Anything that you do not actually NEED in the kitchen can be stored here, or in the possible shallow pantry beside the powder room. That will free up space to store food items in the kitchen and also to have a counter between microwave and fridge. Here is a link that might be useful:

Just to add my $.02, we had no eat in kitchen when my children were that age. Sadly, their table manners were better then than they are now that we eat (always at a table) in the kitchen! And the dining room in our former house was CARPETED! That was the worst part! You dining room is so close, that with the rooms completely open to each other it will practically become an eat in kitchen. Kids behave better, eat better, and communicate better sitting at a table. Seat covers would be easy to make. I was thinking of something like this (see link below). BTW, my kids now do all homework at the table. We are actually getting rid of island seating (which is never used) for more storage. I do want to add to what others have said. Your DR built ins really narrow your dining room. What I think bothers me more is the way it makes your window off center. At the very least, I wouldn't take cabinetry all the way to the corner. Use your cut outs and really measure how much space you have to get around the table. If you ask in a separate thread, there are people here that know the recommended allowances. And I sympathize with this issue. I will have the same problem due to my stubbornness in keeping my beloved grandfather's large table and the deep sideboard I "had" to buy. ;) It probably will be tight between my table and sideboard. Here is a link that might be useful: cheap seat covers

Hi Allie , Looks like you've gotten, 'Houzzed!' That syndrome where a bunch of people beat you up for not going to architecture school, or have they budget they pretend their current clients do have. Let's see if we can actually help you - which I've been assured by my Houzz representative is the actual point of the forums. Being you have no design experience - that actually gives you greater insight to what a homebuyer wants as opposed to a designer/architect whose main want is to be published. So step 1: Forget so much what the other houses are doing, and ask yourself what YOU would want in a new home. Start with 5, 'must haves,' then toss in 5 'nice to haves.' A quick call to the realtor helping you sell the property will confirm, remove or add to that list. A good plan doesn't show ALL we know, it shows WHAT we know, basically saying quality of space over quantity. Currently it looks like you're cramming in amenities. Step 2: Prioritize. Is a tiny dining nook in the middle of a walkway to the stairs really more important than 3 oddly sized bedrooms? If yes, go to 2 nicely laid out bedrooms (1 true master) and 1 decent sized dining room. If not, lose the dining room - its in the middle of the kids running up & down stairs anyways. Step 3: Organize. Would you live in a master bedroom that buts up against the garage? Is the privacy a master bedroom needs really achieved by having it as close to the front door as it is? Would it be better if the kitchen were pulled back so that when you pull your car in to the garage you can easily get your groceries to the fridge? Step 4: Simplify. If your floorplan is doing a lot of left & rights and parts of it looks like a maze, it will be as hard to build as it is to look at. We have a term, 'acrobatics.' I.E. there's oa lot of acrobatics to get a linen closet, hallway bathroom & laundry room near the entry of your first floor. This kinds of sums up all the steps - 1, would YOU squeeze into a bathroom that size? 2, is the linen closet really worth it there? 3, Do you want your guests getting a towel from next to your master bedroom door? Hope that helped. I know it was a long answer, its usually why we start every project with a free 15 min. strategy session. Just hit us up on our profile! I'll even go a step further - send me a message here on houzz & I'll sketch both upstairs and downstairs in the same exact footprint for free. Thanks,a -frank build beautiful