I like it! Appealing from the front and elevation, 9' ceilings help give larger feeling, efficient use of space. The see through stair railings will be a neat feature.

Are you getting rid of the access to the screened porch for the owners suite? That might come in handy for a private area to relax (warm weather) if you have a child who will hang out in family room with tv and friends when they're older.

When you drive up with groceries which entrance will you use?

You may want to read up on passive solar houses since you haven't begun building. That may or may not be something to consider when orienting house and choosing materials.

Good luck!

Wordie89, I'm glad you like it. I'll have to check in to that passive solar stuff. I have no idea what it means. Yes, we are closing off the owner suite access to the porch. It was the best place to put the laundry room and I wanted the doors gone anyway because my hubbie works shift work and when he is gone at night, I am a big fat scaredy cat and I just don't like having a door into the bedroom. I know, I'm weird. There will also be a door to the laundry room which will be our main entry. We are planning to put a detached covered carport with a covered walkway to that door. Also, when we received the plans, the LR ceiling is vaulted and not 9' as it shows on their website. Our builder says he can do either, as long as we tell him what we want before he gets started. The more I look at these plans, the more I love it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

I like the plan, too. I'm not sure I completely understand how the added laundry/mud room will work. I'm guessing that the laundry comes out of the closet (and closet becomes . . . a closet). And then the area from the desk to the back of the porch becomes laundry/mud? I think that's workable.

Consider how you eventually want to use the yard when you're placing the carport. If you'll eventually want a fenced rear yard for kids/pets, make sure you're able to easily fence in a decent-sized area, yet don't wind up needing a driveway gate of some kind. It sounds like you probably have a large lot and some freedom with placement, so you'll want to get it just right. You might not want the view out the bay window in the MBR to be the side of the carport. The passive solar is also a good idea. You'll also be able to add windows on the sides of the MBR and front BR.

I like it too and totally understand taking out the exterior door from the master bedroom. I'm a big fraidy cat too when my dh is gone.

I really like your plan! My only concern is with the dining area. With a table and chairs...and the stools at the island, there might not be enough room to easily get around the space. I would try to recreate that area (maybe with boxes or pieces of cardboard in a current room) to see if you have enough space to get between stools and chairs...and between chairs and stairs.

Also, if you're moving the laundry to the back (nice idea for laundry/mudroom) then you might try back bending stairs, to see if you can get a bit more room in the dining area.

Very pretty plan and love the screen porch! :)

Thanks for the advice and opinions from you all. I was a little worried about the dining area also but I was thinking about buying a table to fit the space after the build. I really need to get out the tape measure and check what I currently have and maybe try the box thing. I looked up info on passive solar. I love the idea of solar, water well, rainwater collection etc, but it all cost way more than just standard construction. Their is a solar company about an hour away from us but I was told by my co-workers that it cost so much that its not worth it. I will still definitely check all of my options before any contracts are signed.

"Passive solar" doesn't involve expensive solar panels and inverters and batteries, etc. It's more about the placement of the house on the site combined with the layout of rooms/windows/overhangs to maximize what you want from the sun (typically more sun in winter and less in summer). Do a search on "passive solar" and you'll see what I mean.

Just an update. We've taken our first step. Our lot is being cleared! I can't wait until we have something good to put on the building forum.

I really like your plan. Just curious, how do you plan on placing the furniture in the living area?

Just a thought that you might want to put larger windows in the living room if you want more natural light. The covered porch will probably block some of the sun coming in that side. But maybe if you're in a very hot area that would be a plus!