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!

Happy New Year! It's midnight as I'm starting this. I'm glad you are going to attempt to draw out my plan. Let me see if I can give you a little more help, using buehl's 17:30 p.m. plan from Dec. 30. You also may have to refer back to my earlier posts for some info. Using the cabinet depth as 2', her plan appears to be almost 17' wide, so you'll have to knock out 2'6". Take it out of the doorway straight up the aisle across the room, and I'll use the rest of the things on her design to try to help you substitute my plan. Left wall: get rid of 24" cab to left of cooktop, and move cooktop left into the space and on over a few more inches. You can adjust this after you get the whole plan generally in place. Ultimately, have matching cabinets on each side of the cooktop, and a hutch or some sort of special configuration for your dish cabinets on the right end to finish out to a few inches from the end of the 12'10" wall. Right wall: I have no cabinets where buehl has the 30" deep counter to the left of the pantry door, because since I have the kitchen 14'6" wide, I need that space for the circular part of the countertop. To the right of the pantry door are the ovens--same as she has them, and to the right of them is a large bar sink in a 30-33" cabinet. Lazy Susan in corner with skinny cabinet between it and the fridge. Completing the "L" is the refrigerator, roughly where she has the DW. (Remember, you lost 2'6" where she has the door.) It would be good to have as many inches of cabinet as possible between the Lazy Susan and the fridge, so that corner does not feel crowded. The only way to get cabinet space there is to move the kitchen door further to the left, or take more space from your utility room to widen the kitchen more than the 14'6" width I have, or bump into the Great Room. Traffic SHOULD go to the right into or past the "L", since people would be using the fridge, small sink, or MW if they're in the kitchen, or would be heading to the Hearth Room. Are your family members trainable? ;o) Get them to go to the right when heading for the Dinette, and stay out of your prep area! Island: Explained in my Dec. 31, 12:28 post. Using buehl's island, put a sink where she has a 33" cab, a trash cab to the left of this, put the DW where she has the prep sink, and a bookcase/12" deep shelving to the right of this facing where she has the main sink & DW. My island is shifted more toward the dinette than hers, due to the fridge and cooktop sticking out. The circular countertop starts on the left side of the chair where it meets the counter in buehl's drawing. Now I need to interrupt my circle to talk about size restrictions. My understanding is that most granites are a maximum of 44-54" wide and 7-9' long. There are also size restrictions on materials like Silestone, etc. My island looks great when the circle is about 5' in diameter, but that's too large for granite. The widest round table I've ever had was 54" in diameter, and it...

I want to take the linen closet out of the master bath and put it in the laundry room and then see if there is enough room for a double sink with a good size shower (5 ft at least) and toilet. I would put a pocket door in that bathroom. While these bathroom changes are possible, I don't think they're wise. If you remove the linen closet and use all the vanity space for sinks, you'll have literally no storage in the master bathroom. Pocket doors are ideal for spaces that are rarely closed ... mudrooms, laundry rooms, closets ... but they're awful for doors that are opened /closed frequently. They wear out, and then the broken part is inside your wall. The other thought is to take out the double window on the back wall of the master bedroom and place one single window the the left of where the double hung is now and put a single door Here's what I'd do to the master bedroom: - Bring the master to the outside corner ... this separates the bedroom nicely from the rest of the house /gives an ample sound barrier in all directions. - Shrink the bedroom a little, allowing more space for the bathroom and the closet. - Yes to transom windows above the bed! These are not common, but they look great. Then add a sliding glass door straight ahead of the bedroom entry door, bringing in nice Southern light and making a nice sight line as you enter the bedroom. It also gives convenient access to the back yard ... and when you're outside, it's only a step into your bathroom. - Place the shower against the bathroom's far wall, allowing it to be large and luxurious. You'll have space for repetitive sinks, but I'd rather have a nice bank of drawers on each side of the sink ... good storage always trumps duplication. - The closet is now considerably larger than it was. I opened a door between the bathroom and closet, which eliminates the need for a linen closet IN the bathroom ... just plan a shelf for towels, etc. right by the door. - Note that I also changed your laundry room ... I moved the washer/dryer to the exterior wall. This allows the dryer to vent directly the outside; this is both cheaper and more fire-safe. I reduced the counter space a bit, but it will give you enough for a "waiting load" underneath, shelves above for storage, and ... just as important ... walking space. - I also doubled the space in the hall bath's linen closet. Alternate thought: You say it's just you and your husband ... do you need this linen closet? You have a small linen closet outside the two secondary bedrooms, which can manage guest towels and sheets ... you could expand this vanity to a more-than-minimal size. According to their website, "Almost any detail on our pre-designed floor plans can be changed. The size and location of windows, doors, closets, even entire rooms, can all be modified." So that's helpful. Yes, but you've said that your motivations are speed and simplicity ... if you make large modifications, you're throwing away the very things that brought you to this choice. Also I'd suggest you don't attach the garage to the house but have it offset a bit and have an enclosed walkway to the house. Make that the mudroom /pantry. Excellent plan ... I think this kitchen needs storage more than additional counterspace. It's a nice plan for a ranch house and reminds me of so many of the houses built in the 50's. I've lived in a house that was 90% this plan, and it IS a plan that works. Since you never do laundry when sleeping, put it where it is most convenient to you. I should have put my washer/dryer right next to my bedroom since the hallway there is wider, but I considered what if I did laundry when sleeping, which in all my years, I never did. Go figure. Keep in mind that when you move to a new place, your habits may change. Our homes do shape how we do things. So, obviously, the real question is, what's your ideal laundry method ... and how can you shape the house to support that? Also what about moving the stairs here creating a natural wall? Nice! I'd move one of those sliding glass doors so it makes a nice, bright sight line as you enter the foyer door.

will be doing an owner/build exemption. I don't know what this means. We have what will become, our master bedroom, already built ... We know essentially what size we want BUT we dont know best layout for everything nor the roof lines and so forth ... We don't have design software experience ... couldn't find any for 24x32 floor plan ... Okay, I think this was a very complicated way of saying, "We have a small building and want to add onto it. This is a renovation /an expansion." What you are describing is a heck of a lot harder So much harder, but you have what you have. I assume this is an older house that was already on the property? Is it in good condition? What kind of foundation does it have? I wonder if you might do better to use this as a storage building ... and "start fresh" elsewhere on your 12 acres. So we built a 24 x 16 cabin thinking this would be our great room Oh, you walked into this on purpose! I'm wrong about this being an old house. Was the cabinet permitted? How is 24x16 not an ample great room? We intend to add on and it doesnt have to be that complicated. This is probably why we will just do the plans ourselves. I think you need some help with the plans. Why? You've already put money/effort into one space, which you've now determined isn't what you need. You have a gauge on the sizes you want (even though you missed on your first try with the great room) ... but you don't know where to place the rooms. This seems like a backwards way of addressing the design. Step back and ask yourself, what would you say to someone who told you what you just told us?