OK, so this is my last attempt at the downstairs for a bit. Quite honestly, I'm not sure if I'm improving or I'm making a mess of things again. Although, I'm almost positive that I love the central entry with the stairs just inside the door that will be used the most. I also boxed in around the stairs for a pantry right off of the kitchen, but I think I'm going to have to send the deep freezer down to the basement with the big one so I have some more room for canned goods. The freezer over the fridge should be sufficient for a week or two of meat. I would have loved to use the entire area under the stairs, but the basement stairs will be under there. I also see that I have an extra step at the top that doesn't need to be there. I'm really loving the bathroom setup, but I'm not sure if it's big enough for the setup. I'm used to having a very small house with a weird layout and tiny rooms that are impossible for arranging furniture, so I'm a little lost with this much square footage. I can't imagine having a house bigger than this, because I honestly don't know what I would do. I played around with the upstairs for a while too while the girls took their quiet/nap time. With the stairs in a central location, it makes for some funny rooms upstairs. I don't think I like the particular setup, but with two rooms with the exact same shape and sq. ft. and one that is square with almost the exact same sq. ft, I'm seeing a future with no fighting over the biggest room. Also, what do you think of asymmetrical dormers? I would love for them to be the same, but it doesn't work with the walls and no matter how I set them up, there was a wall in the way. I could skip a dormer on the bedroom next to the bathroom, because it will have a side window, and maybe do one in the two middle bedrooms? Or switch the whole layout again and make the stairs in a better location (ARGHHH!) I do think the bedrooms are a very nice size sq. ft. wise. I was also thinking that I could do a shared walk-in between the two rooms? I have three girls that are just turned 2, almost 4, and just turned 5, so they most likely will share a good portion of their wardrobe as they grow. Or I could just do two smaller closets. Just random thoughts I suppose. The living area/ playroom would look out over the two story family/ trophy room. Ideally, I love the idea of having the space, but it's fairly small and I would hate to make the room any thinner. I thought we could possibly take the floor out a few feet into the room and make the area bigger as well. Maybe do a catwalk around the family room :) OK, not really, but that would be handy for dusting.

Hi, flynn. Here are my two appliance garages, side by side with tilt-up doors. The doors roll back into the garages, and so don't interfere with the cabinet above. My uninformed guess is that this type of hardware works with inset doors but not overlay. (I'm guessing from your drawings that you're going with overlay?) Perhaps someone more knowledgeable about cabinetry might step in here and discuss the the possible door mechanisms. (Side note: Interesting, isn't it, that the exposed soapstone has darkened over time, but the stone inside the cabinet hasn't?) As far as size goes, if I remember right, mine are each 26" wide by 18" high by 18" deep. (The whole unit was built without a back, so that we'd get a bit of extra depth for the microwave, in the left-hand garage.) Doors at this size don't feel bulky to me at all. I could easily be comfortable going bigger, but wouldn't want them much smaller. I'm a bit confused about the spot you're thinking about for yours. The original post seems to indicate the counter to the right of your refrigerator, but the later pictures show what looks like an appliance garage in the corner between the sink and the range. If you mean to the right of the refrigerator, think carefully about how much of that precious fridge-landing-space it would eat up. And don't forget that a microwave needs landing space, too, as mamagoose pointed out. We have a small bread board that pulls out right in front of the microwave. Maybe this would be a good place for one for you, too. Best of luck with your decision-making. Regina

the hallways on each side definitely don't work for me. far too much wasted space and inefficiency. One long hallway alone can often be incorporated into other spaces I still don't like the Windows. They don't work with the interior layout at all, see the bedroom upstairs for example. The narrow window is above the edge of the bed and edge of the side table, and that's the workable furniture layout were I you, I would consider restarting. it's work and you've invested in this, but I don't think it's shaping up as well as it should. At present it seems the house is being designed as if it were a rigid shell that rooms need to be contorted into. another option for space on the ground floor. keeping pantry, mech and laundry together is not something I'd do but if you are, reduce the pantry size slightly (in length) to move the mech section to the exterior wall of the pantry, rotate the laundry, facing into the pantry. it doesn't give much ironing space, though. then move the master into the space 'gained' if you're looking at ways of reworking this area, don't put the powder room on the far side from the entrance, you'd need to walk all the way through the kitchen or around, in the dining area to get there

Hi, I don't think bifold doors is a great plan as you lose a lot of width in the doorway when they are folded against the wall. If you're coming in with groceries, you are going to have trouble getting through with your hands full into a 30" wide space that has at least 4-6 inches of bifold door folded. We have a similar issue at our basement stairs and we have two narrower "french doors" that latch in the middle. Here is an example. Depending on the hinges you use, you may be able to get them to fold back more than 90 degrees which would help with your traffic flow into the kitchen. Have a look at Richelieu Hardware for hinge options and other clever ideas.