Cpart makes some excellent suggestions! But now that you have more space in the kitchen, you might want to take your plan back over to the kitchen forum....just an idea :)

Baths 2, 3, and 4 I'd rearrange so that you don't open the door and walk right into the toilet. It will be awkward to stand somewhere to close the door behind you, plus I don't want the toilet to be always visible when the door is open (even if the view is just from someone's bedroom.) Just swap the sinks and toilets and you'll be good I think.

I'm assuming there's a door to the master closet area that's not drawn in. In the master closets, you'll lose the corner spaces with clothes on all three rods. You'll have about as much rod space if you do the rods on the two upper and lower walls all the way to the back walls and no rod on the back wall. Then the long rods will be accessible all the way across, and on the back walls you could put mirrors, shallow shoe racks, hooks for belts/purses, etc.

Good point about the toilets. I missed that one.

Bath 2, consider moving the entry down towards the window and make it a pocket door. That way the view from bed won't be the bathroom. Or if you want to preserve the possibility of positioning the bed against the top wall, switch the fixtures as chicagoans suggested.

Bath 3, if it is wide enough you might think about putting the toilet and sink opposite the tub. Again with possible pocket door. I think it would be nice to have one bath where it is easier to bathe small children. Since your kids are older, you might not care -- you could ask them their preference. Easier to bathe future grandkids?

What is the reasoning for narrowing the upstairs hallway towards the kids' bedrooms? Not sure you're gaining much useful space in the rooms, but a wider hallway might accommodate a bookshelf at the end? Also might make it easier to get around the pull-down ladder when in use.

Do you already have plans for the master bedroom? To me, that wall dividing it from the hallway and office is just calling out to be thickened up with built-ins.

Good luck!

CP, the kitchen definitely needs some tweaking. You point
out a lot of issues and I like the suggestions. I am also thinking of maybe
changing the island orientation, which would make for a shorter island but
maybe easier to cook in with the seating out of the way. I like the laundry
room idea too

LL, good idea… will do.

Chicagoans, great point….I knew something wasn’t right with
those bathrooms. Someone on Houzz once mentioned that having the vanity next to
the tub cause all sorts of other issues, namely getting the vanity sides wet
and making access to the tub controls awkward. What do you (others) think of
the below redesign. I’m not so crazy about the out swinging doors but I think
it is better than blocking the windows.

Yes I’m missing a master ball door and totally agree on the
master closet. I plan on having a closet designer figure out the master closets
and will probably have a shoe rack or cabinet on the back wall.

Oaktown, I was just making some of those changes as you
wrote. However I’m not a huge fan of pocket doors. Do you think the out swing
door would be a big issue. I think having the sink/toilet opposite the tub
would be tight but may try . I only have 5 feet. I narrowed the hallway to gain
a little more room in the laundry. Does it look strange?

I think it's a good idea to swap sinks and toilets in girls' bathrooms....so door opens to show sink and doesn't block window.

I'd keep Bedrooms 3 & 4 as swinging in, since they're both girl's private bathrooms (bet they're excited!!!) and I'd guess they'll be "super cute" :)

I don't mind the narrowed hallway. Maybe along the railing there make it a half wall with bookshelves or a bench or??? The bathrooms look better.

I like Cpart's idea...maybe shelves for games, books, etc.

I reconfigured the lower right quadrant:

While not deal-breakers, the jog in the hallway and the off-center window in bedroom 4 weren't ideal. And the lack of windows in the laundry room and one bathroom.

So now:

• The hallway is straight.
• I changed the windows on the front of the house (on the left third and the right third -- the middle third windows are unchanged) so that the windows would look centered on their walls both inside and outside and still be symmetrical to each other on the exterior.
• In order to make the windows work, bedroom #4 is now a touch smaller than the others, but it has a walk-in closet now, so I think it all evens out.
• The laundry room is much bigger and has a window, a utility sink, and a drying rack. I am envisioning a continuous counter running over both machines and around the sink -- for folding, ironing, stacking laundry baskets, whatever. I am not sure what your storage needs are, but the laundry room window could be smaller and flanked with cabinets, or you could have storage where I have the drying rack.
• You have lost the office closet. I hope that is okay. You do still have plenty of long wall space for bookcases or file cabinets or whatever.

While I too am not a fan of pocket doors, I believe using them in BR 3 +4 would be practical. If the bath is attached to a bedroom, how ofter will the door be closed during use? The worst part of them in bathroom applications is that one loses the wall for outlets, towel bars, etc. I do agreee with the OP that I would not want a window covered by a rarely closed door.

I haven't read the other replies, so may be reiterating what's been discussed -- I'd consider pocket doors for the upstairs bathrooms in bedrooms 3 and 4. I have an island in my kitchen with the seating on all one side -- I would recommend seating on two sides (where you have it (2-3 seats), and then on the side facing the breakfast area (1-2 seats)) -- you certainly have the room. Then I might consider sliding the prep sink down to where the fourth seat is now -- it would be more convenient to fridge, just as convenient to cooktop/stove, and out of the way of the clean-up area. Don't know where your trash is planned, but if you move the prep sink, a trash pull-out could be where the sink was. Good Luck.

Love the bigger laundry, and the new bathroom configuration. Jillius bedroom 4 suggestion with the bigger closet is also great. I actually had to look really hard to notice that the window was not perfectly centered.

Thanks everyone,

CP/LL, Yes I can see a bench or table up in the hallway.

Jillius, I like the redesign. The one downside is having the
bed against the stair. I can see that waking my daughter up a lot. I think I
just need a strong vent in the laundry. I don’t mind not having a window,
it’s still better than in the basement.

RNmomo and rms, I will think some more about the pockets.
Ive heard they are much better than the older ones.

Rms, I have gotten rid of the 4th seat, adding
the seat on the end is a good idea too.

Would you like windows on the side walls in bedrooms 3 and 4?

we go back and forth on it. I think without the windows the furniture set up is much easier.

mary-we put a square awning window in our boys bedrooms near the corner. It helps a lot with ventilation and they can keep it open in the rain, furniture all fits underneath it just fine. Just a thought - not sure if it works for your elevation or not.

Not a great picture but it's all I found and wow it was clean back then!:

Mary what about windows on either side of the bed in the kids bedrooms? Of course it all depends on how much you have your windows open. I personally am highly allergic so never sleep with the windows open because dawn and dusk are when most pollen is released.

thanks ladies, Ill need to play around with the furniture layout and see what works best.

Originally, I was 'for' the side windows...but now I think you can eliminate them and save a little money.

Especially if you're putting window seats in the girls rooms! :)

If you do want the windows, have them priced out and see. You could eliminate them if needed. It's one of those things easier to do now than later -- for example, I probably could manage building window seats, but I wouldn't want to install a second-floor window; it would be part of a volume order now, rather than a one off that you'd want to try to match; etc.

Everyone has different priorities, though! For me, in most cases I would take another window even if it meant sleeping on a mattress on the floor for a while :-)

I really dislike your mud room. Actually it's not a room, it's a hallway. I didn't see how many people will be living in this house, but since you have 4 bedrooms, I assume there's more than 2 people here. This is a major bottleneck for all comings and goings from the house and I foresee collisions with that garage door while someone retrieves something from the cubbies. Every d@mn day. Why skimp space on a room that is used EVERY DAY by EVERYONE in the house?

And I don't like a pocket door on a bathroom. Doesn't really feel secure or private.

The only way to solve it is to gain some space by sliding the bathroom up into the breakfast area. You might not want to do that, but I sure would. There's already an eating bar in the kitchen and a separate dining room.

Littlebug has a point. We've discussed the powder room/mudroom situation before, but here's another possibility.

Mary- I know you DID have a bay window on the back of the house, at one time. So let's say you did it again...with a little banquette. Then you could have a breakfast/game table with built-in storage on the opposite wall.

The island/table would give you plenty of seating for entire family (as would the dining room) and the breakfast/bay table would be great for drinks, games, snacks, etc. And a pretty view out the back.

I would also add windows back to each side of the range...and maybe a wall oven with microwave over it. Great for a baking area!

This also gives you room for a larger mudroom (storage on both sides) and a little hall to the bath, with linen closet. Just a few ideas :)

Along with one of my favorite pictures.....

L/Oaktown good points/
littlebug, as you can imagine the mudroom/bathroom has been a pita to get to where it is. Maybe its difficult to see in the drawing with all the lines running through it but that mudroom is almost 6 feet wide. How wide does a mud room need to be? We are 5. I agree that pocket doors are not my favorite but the alternative is having the bathroom door open up to the kitchen. The bathroom is 3' wide. What dimensions are you thinking that would work.

LL I appreciate the new design. My main concern is cutting off so much of the family room from the kitchen. I would prefer to keep as much of it open as possible. Are you thinking that 6 feet is too narrow for the mudroom? I taped it off and it seems fine. The hallway to my current garage doorway is only 3 feet wide.
I see you posted over in the kitchen section so Ill post more over there

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3175906/please-help-with-kitchen-layout