Message Center: It would work much better if it were in the bottom left corner of the kitchen...where everyone is coming/going. Keys, mail, etc. would get dropped there rather than making the trip through the kitchen...where the mail will probably be dropped on the island or cooktop counter since they're the first flat surfaces encountered! Refrigerator: It would work much better in the original location where it's easily accessible from the Kitchen, Breakfast Room, & Great Room. Pantry: This one is a matter of preference...would you rather have it better for putting groceries away or getting snacks? Either location will work for the Kitchen access, but for groceries it would be better located at the "bottom" of the kitchen and for snacks the "top" of the kitchen. Dishwasher: You don't appear to have enough room to stand at the sink if the DW is open. I know you're all for form over function...but I don't think you want to spend the next 10 years in a poorly functional kitchen. I strongly encourage you to rethink several things. Not the least of which is the location of the DW vs Trash. I also have to agree with RHome410, I think the general traffic patterns through the house serve more to segregate people and to make it difficult to get from one place to the other. To get anywhere easily, you almost have to go through the kitchen...which can be a problem with safety when cooking. With all the entertaining you do and guests all the time, you need to have a way to direct traffic away from your primary cooking and, IMHO, prepping zones. BTW...when I meant having the entrances on the same side, I meant something like this. Or this... Double Ovens: You need approx 4' of wall space for a 33" corner oven cabinet. That's 4' from the corner. I think your cabinet guy is correct, you don't have the room b/c of the cooktop location....well, it might fit, but you won't have much room b/w the ovens & cooktop.

The painting is done by Eugene Iverd (George Erikson). He alternated doing the paintings on the front cover of the Saturday Evening Post with Normal Rockwell. This was a signed canvas my folks had that they passed down to me - it is beautiful and very detailed. Thanks everyone. Think I'll do arrangement #1, but replacing a couple of the frames with matching ones for a more cohesive look. The other pictures are of art done by my great uncle, so are meaningful as well. Think I'll add photos of the family in the other frames or something. I'll figure it out, but am so pleased to be able to put the family pics on the wall!

What you've posted looks like gibberish to me...sorry.

DH had already said he won't close in the storage area in the garage. His work bench and tools from his current garage will go there. In that case, I'd widen it so that it's useful. I described my uncle's similar long, narrow, have to squeeze-into-it storage ... this is the same thing, and it would not at all be suitable for a work bench and tools. Measure it out: Less than 5' wide ... you use 18"-24" for the bench and tool storage ... you have only about 3' of walking space. He'd knock his elbows against the back wall constantly. Opening it makes sense because then he can store tools against the wall and -- when necessary -- pull a car out, and he has all the working space in the world. If he won't open it, expanding it is essential. As it's drawn now, it's good only for storage ... and it's not really good for that. The breakfast nook will become a coffee/beverage bar area. I like that idea. Regarding the shower in the laundry room... that's the only thing DH has really asked for! It's not muddy feet that we deal with... he and DS get absolutely filthy from head to toe. I get that they're dirty all over ... but only their feet are touching the inside of your house before they reach their own bathroom /bedroom. They're not rubbing up against the walls as they walk, are they? The porch (hypothetically) will be a significant cost in the big picture. We tend to think about "the main house" and discount the costs of garages and porches ... but, yeah, they are expensive. Not as expensive as interior rooms, of course, but they aren't an insignificant cost. Regardless of cost, they are integral to "the look" of a house like the one we're describing. If you are unable to find a good architect, maybe have a look at the Moser Design Group website? I think their farmhouse plans tend to be simpler and less McMansion-like.That's a cute farmhouse (whereas the OP's original design isn't a farmhouse). I like the layout of the kitchen/dining and the living room's windows are great! I don't care for the bedrooms at all, though that back bedroom might be good for the office. North Carolina and the College of Architecture at NC State is full of experienced and talented architects. NC State is not known for architecture; their claim to fame is engineering (in all its many forms) and vet science ... and bricks. Seriously, that's all they have: bricks. It's UNC-Charlotte that's the NC powerhouse for that subject. However, I think the architects must move out of state because we are certainly not rife with them. I personally only know one person who works as an architect; well, I knew two, but one died.