The secondary bedrooms seem really cramped, size-wise, but I appreciate the need to control square footage. I wouldn't want guests to have access to my study via that powder bathroom, so I would definitely want a lock on that door between powder and study. Even though I'm not a fan of having my office in my bedroom, I would be tempted to do so vs. leaving passwords, bank info etc. in a room just off the room than any passing person would have access to if they borrowed my powder room. It would be annoying to feel like I had to keep that info continually locked up. The living room....I'm not feeling a good furniture arrangement based on the location of door openings. Maybe four awesome club chairs around a round coffee table? Or am I imagining that those windows to the porch are sliding glass doors? I don't mind the size of the master bathroom at all, and don't see any need to make the master bedroom bigger. Bigger is not always more beautiful. Sometimes it is just awkward, full of space that must be filled. I love closets accessed through the bathroom - all my clothing and laundry mess is confined to the area where I dress, undress, bathe, etc. I do not have any clothing storage in my bedroom at all, and I like it that way. I have shelves with baskets for pre-sorting our laundry right as it comes off of us. Great time-saver. Consider flipping the master bathroom closet area and shower/bath area - and add clerestory windows with opaque glass to get some natural light into the bathroom that way, including another source of air to keep the shower dried out. If you also flip the stairs, you can have a door to dump dirty laundry right into the laundry room from the master bath, a huge work-saver. Especially if you can find a way to also send clean baskets of laundry back through an opening. Sweet. Whether you move the stairs or not, a door to access the under-stair area from the garage would be an extremely practical idea if you don't need climate controlled storage. If you flip your master closet, you can simply open up that whole under-stair area directly to the master closet for additional and more secure semi-hidden storage, possibly put a safe in that area, etc. I don't see hanging space for clothing in the laundry area. I can't do without that, as hanging to dry saves electricity and wear-and-tear on clothing. Create a way to put family member's clean clothing as well as backpacks, etc. in the "locker" area. might even be able to use the space for "hang drying." My mom used plastic dishpans set on shelves to sort our clothing so we could put it away ourselves. Add a closet to the study NOW and you can use it (and resell) the house as a 4 bedroom. And hide ugly file cabinets and office supply storage at the same time. We live in a digital age, and we often do not need as much space as we think for our office needs. Steal a little more space and add a shower to that powder bath, given the number of people you have living at home. And/or fix the J&J bathroom to allow access from the hall. Doing this also keeps guests from having to go through other people's bedrooms when the powder room is busy. I'm living with that challenge right now. People living in the bedrooms do NOT appreciate the through-traffic. There are two other potties in the house should an emergency arise during someone's shower. Also, I despise seeing a sink from the inside of a bedroom with these J&J set ups. So unsightly. Love that you only have one dining area. If it isn't big enough in real life, consider making the LR into a glorious DR-cum-fireplace, and making the area off the kitchen into a cozy lounge somehow. People can visit with you without helping you in the kitchen, and then everyone can retreat to a gloriously big dining area without any dirty dishes in view. Just a thought. Instead of two kitchen islands, how about one rectangular one that invites flow through the kitchen? The end can have space to sit and put your knees under for those who want to eat in the kitchen. Then you can extend the counter or pantry space all the way to the end of the wall where you currently have an empty spot. Expensive mistake: Front entry looks unpleasantly narrow. This is a big "first impressions" error that could cost you tons of potential buyers in the future. An extra foot or two will make a huge difference here. Seriously. So would a niche with an electrical outlet for a little chest, lamp etc. to create a welcoming feel to the space without impinging on a 4-5 foot wide walk space. Use the bump out creatively in the bedroom behind it by tucking in shelves, a little work-station and/or or a shallow closet in the resulting extra niche in that room. Neither the back nor front porches seem big enough to me. Remember, you can multiply your usable space by extending your outdoor surfaces. It is worth it to invest up front in the hard scape that carries you and all wheelbarrows and wheelchairs and whatnot gracefully and easily around all outdoor spaces and entries and exits. Your house seems to be one of those in which the garage is the main entry, because the front door is so darn far away from the driveway. It is important to make that front door entrance wide, generous, inviting. This costs quite a bit, and I'd hate to see that skimped and then ignored for a decade until you could afford to fix it up right. I really like the extra depth you have along-side the car parking area. Bravo. Read Myron Ferguson's Build It Right if you want great tips on avoiding all sorts of user-hostile home building mistakes. I also highly recommend anything by Sarah Susanka. I may not be spelling that right, but she wrote all the "Not so big house" books. Hope this helps!

not sure I'm seeing this correctly since I don't believe anyone mentioned this(the print is small for my eyes this late at night.... he, he).... Do your guests have to access the powder room via the kitchen walkway? If so, that would bother me in my home. I'd prefer to see a hallway running down to that bathroom, with maybe a doorway in that hallway so you could still get from kitchen to dining room. I would want my kitchen a bit more seperate from people traipsing to use the restroom. I see another bathroom across the house near the future inlaw suite. Perhaps you will have that for your guests instead? Everything else looks great to me. That kitchen is going to be a beauty, and I'm a huge fan of the pillars. :o) Again, sorry if I read your plans wrong. I just can't see the first floorplan (which I do prefer, for sure!) words very well. Looks like it will be a wonderful home. And being gifted 8 acres AND a pond. How sweet is that?!!

One of the problems you'll have to figure out is how to hold up the houses on the hill. Generally, this is done with a foundation / retaining wall. Without knowing the soil type, it would be difficult to figure out how the retaining wall would have to be constructed. Generally, you can think of a retaining wall as being an "L" shape with the horizontal leg of the "L" being on the uphill side so that the weight of the soil holds the vertical portion upright against the soil pushing against the vertical wall section. There can be a 1:1 (or greater) relationship between the vertical and horizontal legs depending upon the soil type, This means that a 12-foot high vertical wall would need at least a 12-foot horizontal section to retain the wall. You have to excavate the hill back, pour the horizontal and vertical wall sections - and then backfill the soil against the vertical wall. You'd really need a structural engineer to do this type of design, as if it is not calculated correctly and then built to match the structural plans, you'll have the entire building sliding down the hill. An alternative might be caisson (drilled) foundations - but that requires a caisson drill and access to the site where the foundations would be placed. You could also cantilever the houses off of the hill side - but, that's some real involved structural work. One other thought - while you're planning on a composting toilet - have you thought about how to dispose of the grey water (shower, sinks)? This post was edited by buckhorn_cortez on Wed, Dec 31, 14 at 22:49

Angled walls create dead and slivers of unusable space. Most people want to be able to use every square foot they pay for. The curved wall does not relate to anything, it is an oddity, and it a lot easier to draw than it is to build; and a 90 degree corner costs less that a rounded corner (if you can find someone to build it properly). My other comments from the previous thread still apply.