Is that closet by the dining room the coat closet? Can you move it over to the foyer, which will help create more of an entry space?

If you do that, move the closet, you could have a nice hutch between the kitchen and dining room for serveware. I think it also helps set the Mbr apart a wee bit.

What if the "bar" (which is genius, by the way) had direct access to the house, say, through the laundry room?

This is about 2300 sq ft? 1 bedroom on this floor? I think you could get a little more functionality for your sq ft. I highlighted some areas in yellow that look like they won't get much use, except as very wide walk ways. I apologize if any of this has already been covered or is written in (I can't read the fine print). I would want to get some dedicated office/router/charging/mail drop space in here somewhere. Maybe a nice semiprivate reading nook. Maybe this is how the extra space in the master bedroom will be used?

I like the idea of moving the coat closet and adding a hutch. I think you could even have storage/display space all along that wall.

From what I understand bump outs are fairly expensive and you have a fairly substantial one dedicated to storing clothes. May there is a way to eliminate a corner or two by reworking the master bath/closet?

Love the bar area. Will you have stairs/paths etc. so that the screened area connects to the other porch for easy circulation? With there be some sort of visual barrier between the main part of the garage and the bar portion? My garage is not usually very tidy :).

Is the laundry room by the garage or in the basement? I wouldn't want to carry my clothes that far but that is a personal preference.

We were planning on having the stairway open with a nice railing. There will also be a wall separating the bar area from the garage and it will have plumbing in it.

Chelwa...i see you took off about 3 feet from the master. Right now its 15'8"by 14'9" . From most house plans we have looked at this is on the smaller side and we were actually concerned we made it to small, but maybe not??

For the bedroom I think it depends on how you will use it. It will be a large empty space at the end of your bed. But maybe you will have a dresser there, or a TV or a chair to lounge and read in? I would just want to avoid paying for (and heating/cleaning) space I don't use. :)

10.5' x 14.5' will give you enough space for a king size mattress (not counting frame) with 4' of walking space on three sides. So if a bed is all you want in the room then that is plenty of space. If you want furniture then you can adjust dimensions to allow 3-4' of walking space plus furniture. I am also not sure where you are building this or what role resale value is playing. If every house in your neighborhood has a master bedroom that size then that might be the way to go. :)

Many house plans have master suites the size of my entire house :). This is not to say they are wrong but that is viewpoint I am coming from. You should do what you want with your house, I would want you to love it. I think you will get the best results by designing based around how you will use the space.

Chelwa....we will look at it closer and see...thank you for all your advice. Maybe we could throw a fireplace on that wall and put the tv about it....just a thought

A fireplace would be very cozy there. Maybe sharing a chimney with one in the living room.

Hi catfever,

A few random thoughts

I agree with Chelwa that there is a lot of wasted space in the center of the house and the master closet. You have enough room for two separate walk-ins which would give more wall space than the one huge wic.

I am not a big fan of the bar and don't think it will be used that much as compared to the screened in porch where most would want to hang out.

Did you want a breakfast table by the kitchen. The long counter seating makes conversations very difficult.

The garage is huge. almost half of the main floor. It looks like you could comfortable park 6 cars in there. Also you may wish to add an exit door to the garage so you can get in and out without having to raise the door.

mary8153

i have included a very crude drawing of how we want the bar area to look. The bar stools will be under the bar when the door is closed. When the door opens you will slide out the stool and really be sitting in the covered porch area, it will really be a extension of the porch and not just another room attached to the porch.

We have even thought about putting the bar in the middle of the wall and having just a glass door come down and rest on the bar. We like the idea of being able to have drinks,serve food and watch tv from the screened in porch area.

We were also thinking of doing the t-style or a long arch style island

The bar makes much more sense to me now. My only thought though is that its fairly remote from the rest of the hang out areas though maybe that's a good thing.
The T-style island is much better.

First I think this plan is much better than your last one. I like the idea of the rounded or T shaped island.

I wonder if your guests and friends will really use the bar you set up, because it seems isolated from the doors out from the great room.

Do you really need your foyer/hallways so wide? It's a lot of wasted space that could be better served by putting in your coat closet there, or narrowing your home just a smidge.

I agree about that garage looking HUGE. I can't see your measurements. How wide is it? Do you realize that as you drive up, the first thing you will see is garage bays and not the house? Your garage area is wider than the width of the house.

I also think your dining room is wider than you probably need depending if you are or are not putting in a buffet or server on along the wall there. When I was in my last home, my dining room was that large and my dining table was 54" wide. More than enough for us to have the server along one wall, and the table then centered in the additional space with plenty of room to walk around. However only you know if you need the additional space there.

Also in your master bath, 7' of space between your sinks and your master closet is lots of wasted space. You could get away with 4'-5' and still feel as if it's open. (Do you really need double doors from the bedroom to the master bath? I usually think of double doors as a way to showcase an entry into a new room. Why would you want to waste wall space and feature the doors into a bathroom? Same thing with the master closet? Save the double doors for the front entry.

Also 60" between your island and your perimeter cabinets is more than needed. At most I'd do something like 52".

I do disagree with Chelwa and think your master bedroom is just the right size. This allows you some space to put in a chair or bench, or a dresser, etc.

I do agree with Mary about the master closet.

Some of our details we are planning are not drawn into this plan. Builder wants to keep it simple until we nail down all our ideas and then he will incorporate them all in to the drawing We want to do a barn door that enters the master bath area....we wont probably do any doors into the master closet and we want a bar height counter top island with open cubbies and drawers underneath all side for like jeans,sock,and other small items. The island also serves as a folding station to fold or hang cloths at.

I know its hard to read the measurements but we have 5 foot between the master closet and the sinks in master bath....5 foot may still be to much,maybe we can shrink it there.

The foyer space is also kinda wasted space although we do want a "open feel" to the house we can shrink it down some but the builder says we have to be careful to not squeeze it down to much or we wont have a big enough footprint to get in 3 bedrooms,family room,workout room and bathrooms in the finished basement

I put the garage width in and also the width of the house so you get a better idea of the dimensions. We have two big vehicles and several toys for the kids to put away so we need a rather big garage.

Thanks for all the help and Ideas so far....we love reading them.

The front of the home really doesn't include the bump out for the master closet. That is set back, so my comment about the garages being larger than the front of the home stands. :)

Barn door is a good choice as opposed to a double door. As for doors from the bathroom to the master closet, I would unless you want your clothes to eventually be musty smelling. Bathrooms are humid areas and I know I'd prefer to keep the humidity away from my clothes, shoes and other stuff.

The master closet will be nice with that island for clothes folding, etc. Maybe consider on one end a small padded bench too for sitting and putting on shoes, etc?

I was able to read the measurement which is how I knew it was 60". Too wide.

I would get rid of the coat closet where you have it and put it in the foyer near the door. Then you can move the dining room up closer to the kitchen and even shave a foot or two off the front of the dining room so you can cut a bit of the square footage. Then you'd have a straight across the front which is a money saver and can extend the porch across the full front. Plus you won't be having to walk as far with food to serve.