I agree with much of what's been said, and I think you can improve upon this layout: Garage: A back entry garage is going to require a turn-around type driveway. Do you have space to make this turn comfortably? I'm thinking this back garage concept is only workable if you're building on a corner lot. Your kitchen isn't spacious. Does this fit with your cooking style? You have something of a door log-jam around the garage-kitchen entrance. I'd consider having the garage-entrance door in the utility room and eliminating the broom closet altogther -- nothing's going to fit in that tiny triangular room anyway, and you have a good-sized utility room right there. Opening up that corner will not add functional space, but it will add visual space. Your dining area is tiny; really, it's the same size as your laundry room, and your master bath is larger. PLUS the dining area IS the walkway from the garage. In reality, the table you've pictured will not fit there; you'd comfortably be able to have a small 4-person table in that area, but it still would be a bit cramped. I think this is the biggest problem with this layout. I totally agree with the poster who says that the dining room French doors should become windows. You still keep the light, but windows are cheaper, and they are one less set of doors to secure every night. And with another set of doors right there in the living room, the dining room doors are not necessary. You asked about cost-effective. All those angles are the exact opposite of cost-effective. And for little purpose; for example, the triangular linen closet by the secondary bedrooms isn't even going to hold towels. Your public living spaces are quite cramped, yet your foyer is spacious. This isn't where I would allot my square footage. My best suggestion for opening up this public room space: square off the back wall of the house. That is, extend the living room /dining room area a bit. Since angles are so expensive, this will probably end up being almost a wash financially. This'll give you space to breathe in your dining room area (remember, this is a main walkway too), and it won't hurt the living room area. You can still have the back porch -- and without the angles, it'll be more serviceable. Unlike lots of people here, I do like the jack-and-jill bathroom concept, but that's personal preference. IF you were to change to a hall-bath, you could elminate the half-bath. If you were to eliminate the half-bath and take a little space away from the master closet, you could use that area as a small office. If you place the desk against the wall, you'd have a small but usable space. Why? Because then the current office could become the dining room, solving the biggest problem in this layout. Six doors in the master suite is an awful lot, but I would eliminate only one: The bathroom door between the linen closet and the sinks. It's only a few steps to the right or the left to enter through another door -- this door isn't needed. Plus it eliminates that seeing-the-shower-from-the-foyer problem. Still on the subject of doors, I would get rid of the silly little double-doors in two places: They pose a problem when it comes to light switch placement, and mixed doors in the same space are just odd. I think you've allotted too much space to the master bedroom closet -- too much, that is, in proportion with the rest of the house. This closet is as big as the kitchen, larger than the dining room. I do, however, love that one spouse can go into the closet, turn on the light and make noise without disturbing the other sleeping spouse. I think the layout of the whole bedroom area will function well. The master closet, though, is far from the laundry room. Carrying laundry baskets through the living room and kitchen/dining area, threading your way through furniture, is going to get old. With all that space, you could include a stack-up washer/dryer in the master closet and eliminate the carrying. One note of caution about the location of this master suite: Where will you locate the TV /stereo in the living room? If the answer is above or beside the fireplace, you're going to want to include extra insulation or gyp-board between the living room and the master. Otherwise a person going to bed early is going to be disturbed by the noises in the living room. This isn't a design problem -- just a detail of which to be aware during building. I would take the window out of the shower and move it to the toilet room. Actually, I wouldn't have the toilet in a separate room -- closing oneself in a tiny cabinet to use the toilet feels too enclosed -- but that's an unpopular choice around here. My overall impression of this house: It's okay, but nothing great. It looks like a starter house (in terms of size) but with a nicer master suite. With some tweaking, it could be much nicer.

The operation of these systems is somewhat counterintuitive. Contrary to popular belief during "Cooling" operation they do not make Cold...they remove heat and moisture. Proof of this is easy...place a thermometer at the return (incoming air) and one at the supply (outflowing air). In most homes you will have 74 deg interior air being pulled into the system and somewhere around 54 deg supply air being distributed to rooms. 20 deg was removed from the return air, along with moisture it contained. So in a case of "Hot Spots" the issue is often distribution if we know the system is sized (tonnage) properly for the home/space. In most home designs the supply air is directed at the Heat Load (exterior walls, windows, doors) and the flow of cooler air captures the heat (pure physics, heat seeks cold) and carries it to the nearest return vent where that heat is removed. In the description above it was said the only nearby returns are within the bedrooms. In a nutshell it does not sound to me like there is any airflow to/from your problem area. If it's a typical tall Foyer with a window at the peak then radiant heat is also being contributed. A reflective film can help. I hope this helps steer you in a good direction.

Thank you for the response! Didn't get a notification from Houzz so just saw it. If I did an arch top opening, how would I do the rest of the hallway? I don't want to make it a barrel vault for the entire length of the hallway. Would it look too broken up if the hallway ceiling started flat and then have the arched top opening at the end right before the vestibule? What would the flat ceiling height and top of the arched openings be to work well with the 11' vestibule? The backup design would have been 10' flat ceiling in hallway opening to 11' flat ceiling in the vestibule. It's just too ho hum for me but I'm having a hard time visualizing the superior design.

I can think of nothing worse than entering a home to a cat wee box disguised or not. No matter I love cats. What's with the black covers...........Windows? If you set up a room with an "Oh, just put it here" plan.....you get what you get. That seems to have been the plan here. Measure the space, take everything out. Remove the black covers on the windows. Post another picture or two from top of stair and other angles. draw it and measure it. Asking for help when you made an attempt is one thing.....this the other thing. Sorry. There are probably seven billion attractive photos of foyers on the internet.......