I really like how you enter the master bathroom from the closet and from the hallway. The Hall Closet ... what will go in here? I notice you have a mudroom off the garage as well as a coat closet by the south side entrance. One thing to consider is having a family entrance/exit (as opposed to guests) that whether you are coming in from the front, from the back and from the garage you are dumped into the mudroom. This way, you always know where your coats and shoes are or if it is muddy outside the kids aren't coming in the back door by the dining room table and tracking all through the house. In our last house, we had way too many entrances and exits (part and parcel of an old house that had lived many lives and had a steeply sloping grade) -- we had a big mudroom and put it the only place it could go - it was by the front door, but because we would sometimes park in the garage under the house and come up the stairs into the back hallway, we'd then have to walk through the house to get to the mudroom. More often than not, coats and shoes would pile up in that back hallway. THEN, there was the back door out to the yard and we CONSTANTLY had the issue of muddy and wet footprints coming in and out of here. If I were designing a house from scratch I would focus on streamlining the exit/entry situation. Just my two cents. RE: the kitchen - I am very partial to having my range and sink near enough to one another that I can prep at the sink and move down the counter to the range. I think it would be inconvenient to prep at the island sink and then carry everything over to the range. Certainly this is done all the time and perhaps this will be better for you, but if I were designing from scratch I would want these two items along the same run or around the corner from each other. I would get the sink, range and fridge placed where they would work optimally and then worry about the pantry. Don't let the pantry drive the bus, as the appliance placement is what will really make a difference in having this be a place you enjoy cooking. I might make some sort of small walls to enclose the living room just a little bit so that you aren't seeing the side of the TV while in the dining room. I like the openness of the floorplan, but it might be nice to have some sort of visual seperation.

Great job, Trebuchet! Thanks everyone. My husband contacted the owner today, and lo and behold he's on vacation! Surprise, surprise. So he had to talk to #2 in charge, who was the guy I originally talked to when I signed the estimate. They gave my husband many excuses as to why the seam had to go there....mainly that the countertop is heavy and it would not have been possible to maneuver it over the half wall with the moulding that sticks out an inch, or some such nonsense.. I could have had that moulding easily removed, if they had taken the time to call and ask me, He never said why they did a poor job on the seam in the first place. I think you guys are awesome, and many of you were "right on" with the end result. I've learned a lot. Hopefully, my backsplash will outshine the seam and make it less of an eye sore. Put a fork in it, ladies and gents, 'cause I am done!

This is so odd... when I responded to your last post all the renderings you did with the prep table down against the wall didn't show up so when you said "as I listed above" about the problems with it I had no clue what you were referring to. But now that I CAN see it... of course it doesn't work! What a dumb idea that was on my part! I'm so very visual sometimes I can't see things unless I can SEE them. Your pics are so very helpful, I couldn't do this without them. I guess that's the problem with cyber communication. Hmmm... so variegated heights don't work all that well. I would probably do them both desk height and use one of the extra dining room chairs. They would both be height of the prep table which WILL be back at the end where it originally was. That is, if I can retro-fit IKEA to a lower height it'll just all be counter height and I'll put an extra stool there. Does anyone think a built in bench would be cool on the end closest to the family room?

I know I'm a bit late to this party, but this one intrigues me. I would definitely agree with PPF and the 3 dormers that relate to something below. I really like your inspiration picture, and if you like it then don't get stuck on the " classic New England home " thought. If you think it works in your area, then who cares what it's called? Build what works for you and your family. Keep "resale value" in the back of your brain but if you plan on living here for a long time (and yes I get that things change, but we can't control everything!) don't worry about it so much that you don't get what you want. That's the whole point in building a custom home. Change your "mud room" to "transitional entryway". (look that up in houzz pictures) Problem solved. Keep it tidy enough that you won't care if strangers coming to your door see it. And again... If they do, really who cares? 99% of the time my entryway, looks like a mud room. We live on a farm, cats, dogs, horses, pigs, kids & husband. I mean really... it's a fracking mudroom in the front of my house. :) It just is what it is. I gotta tell ya, our house is 35'+ deep and almost 75' wide. Our roof is 9/12 pitch and porch is 3/12. We have 2 bedrooms, full bath & loft up stairs. 3 real dormers that I would absolutely not live without and were worth EVERY fracking penny. The living room/dining room/bar is open above, with a big bank of windows in the top of the big wall. That wall is 10" deep and reinforced. Also worth every penny. There are a lot of days I never turn on lights until dusk, we get a ton of natural light. The house faces SE. I feel like you could take a lot of the advice you're getting here and utilize your space WAY better within the footprint you've got. I designed our house with my carpenter father. I'm almost afraid to say "draftsman" around here, but that's what they used to be called. However, he does have schooling and 50+ years of experience. Our framer/GC is the ONLY other person on this planet that I'd have build my home other than my dad. (only reason dad didn't is b/c they live 2hrs away.) We changed some things on the fly during framing, some of the best decisions we made. Work with people you trust. If you get funny feelings, don't hesitate to question things. But also, don't get so hung up on the don't do this, do this, and other things that you forget this will be your HOME, not just a building project. RE the master bedroom. I do agree the closet is taking up some prime real estate. See if you can have your architect move that around, and if you can get the room in that exterior corner, you'd also have a spot for a door out to your porch. (We have that, and I Looovvvve it!) But also... think about how much time you actually spend AWAKE in your bedroom. Are you a person that lounges in bed and would benefit from the windows & ventilation? Or are you up and everywhere else in the house until bedtime again? The pantry/kitchen, Ik you've said you'll be working with a KD... also worth every penny. If you happen to have a local cabinet maker like we do, I have FULLY custom cabinets that cost me LESS than box cabinets, and box cabinets wouldn't have worked. I am a construction brat who learned an AMAZING amount from Houzz before & while we were building. So much knowledge and advice from people that think differently. It's truly invaluable!! Good luck and be sure to post your updates!! ~Lori