First. Love the elephant metaphor and picture!

I don't see anything that would be a deal breaker for me. There are some tweaks, mice, small cats and the like but no elephants, other than the one in the kitchen :). One thing to be sure you think through is storage. It looks like it might be a little light on storage for my tastes but everyone has different types of stuff and needs different types of storage.

Some other things to keep in mind: do you and your spouse each have a space of your own? do you want one?, what electronics (computers/printers/routers/etc) do you have and where will the live? bills? where does your sewing stuff go now?

I love the elephant metaphor, too!

I really like your layout, especially the toy room today/sewing room (teenage hangout?) tomorrow right off the kitchen. I think that'll be a great space...but maybe add windows?

The only thing I noticed for lifestyle issues is that your master bed is right next to the door to your master bathroom. If you both usually get up at the same time, that's fine. But if you don't, then I'm guessing the first one up will wake up the other one when the bathroom door closes, hair dryer goes on, etc. If you can move the door down by the tub instead and it'd help with the noise aspect. Plus then you wouldn't have a view of your toilet from your bed. But if you can't, then I think your plan is still workable.

Did you see the rough floor plan I drew out on your other thread? I got the sense of what you were looking for and your needs reminded me of my childhood home.

I'm not seeing a master closet?

The stairs as drawn aren't code legal. For some reason The Powers That Be have decided you need a minimum 6" tread width, so you can't bring them to a point like that. I know you're not looking for that kind of detail yet, but stairs are a challenge, and you have to plan around them from the start. Also- Do the stairs go over the laundry area? It's going to be pretty low by the time you factor in the stair framing.

The stairs don't come to a point, I'm just limited by floorplanner.com's icons. The stair dimensions and layout are pretty much the same as what's in my current house, built to code in 2012.

Window placement is off in every single room. It's haphazard and awkward. The stairs won't really work as designed. There's not enough room around the only eating table for traffic. The wierd interior angles make for awkward layouts and placements with no upside of added drama or flow. Where is the storage???? This house has no real storage. The bedrooms are too large instead of having closets that are large enough and smaller sleeping spaces.

The entire plan is awkward, with poor flow, inadequate storage, and no connection between the interior layout and exterior appearance. Someone designed the exterior first and is forcing the interior to fit it. The whole plan is an elephant, but the entryway fiasco is just the honking big trunk of that elephant.

Mushcreek -- in this particular draft the master closet is just a reach-in. The whole master suite is a hot mess and I'm hoping my builder's guy will wave his wand and fix it. :)

Sophie -- some of the things you say "won't work" are actually the exact replica of things that DO work in the house I have lived in for 3 years. (Stairs and dining room, to be specific.)

Also....Sophie, I really hope this doesn't come off as ungrateful...but I VERY specifically asked for advice on lifestyle considerations, not nitpicking the dimensions of a particular space. It just baffles me why you would take the time to type up something you KNOW will fall on deaf ears (at this stage of the process anyway).

I think the issue for architects and other professionals is that they see a great many issues with the plans as presented. They simply don't work, except perhaps for the storage of cars and motorcycles, which appears to be almost as large as the living area on the first floor. Entry doesn't work. Baths don't work. There's virtually no storage on first floor. These plans can't really be salvaged without wholesale changes so as to make the current plans unrecognizable. To me, these are "life style" issues since they have so much impact on one's life style. It's hard to separate what's a "life style" issue for you and what a "life style" issue for a pro. As for me, I particularly like the hallway view from the tub in the master bath! :-) Sincerely--good luck with your project!

Lifestyle consideration.....your house seems to be shrinking, as your kids are getting bigger!

What happened to your large master closest? The dining room looks smaller, as does the sunroom.

Do you ever plan to have an end table by the sofa? Maybe something like...."kids will all need glasses because there's no room for lamps by the sofa?" Is that what you're looking for?

Or maybe....."hard to stay clean, when tub used for hanging clothes storage?"

What I really think is that this plan has gotten worse, not better. Some of the areas that worked have been redone and are much worse than before. And the problems that needed to be addressed are still there.

I know you keep saying that this works in your current house....but maybe you should think about improving what you currently have. There's getting by and learning to live with something. And thinking you have wasted space (like your front entry in current home) and later realizing it was more important than maybe you realized.

If you ask the experts (not me but others on here) what they think of your plan....they are going to tell you. And if you don't like what they have to say, then you probably shouldn't ask. The elephant in the room is that you should consider seeing an architect.

And I'm only saying this because I REALLY think it will help. Not to be mean, not to hurt your feelings, but because you're saying you may not live in this house forever....and I don't want to see anyone lose a lot of money in the long run, trying to save a few dollars in the short run.

I just found your older plan....and it was better as far as closet/storage. The toilet is moving too far into the master bath, but the rooms seem more spacious.

There's still THE elephant in the room (shhhhh....the entry) but overall, it seems a bit better. There's even an END TABLE by the sofa! :)

I think you should take these ideas to a professional and ask him/her for some help.

I think at the end of the day the problem has become too many cooks in the kitchen (when I listen to advice from one person, the next person contradicts it).

You're 100% right---I need to just stop trying to crowd-soure this and work with a competent professional.

lavendar -- the reason the plan went from what you posted (the older plan) to what it is now (what I posted above) is because people here were adamant about x,y,z!

That's very true! Too many cooks.....can we see a poster/picture about that? LOL

One thing I wanted to ask you about is the guest room on main floor. Obviously, you know your children and what they're comfortable with (as far as being upstairs or not) but a slightly larger guest room might let both stay downstairs with you, until they're a bit older. That might be nice, especially with a newer home.

It would also give you the option of a larger guest area or craft room/sewing room....while the kids are still using the sunroom. After they move upstairs.

Don't worry....you'll get this plan to be what you want and need. It's going to take effort (all of them do) but don't get discouraged. You have a lot of insight into what you like and a professional will be able to work with that and create something wonderful and unique! :)

Oh...and larger garage. Everyone needs to remember this will be in South Dakota, right? I lived there years ago....they have blizzards. There's literally feet of snow on the ground. You need a large garage!

We used to jump off the roof of ours into the six/seven foot snow banks, after the blizzards. That was fun! :)

You could tighten up that upstairs bathroom a lot and get more space (or more closet space) in both bedrooms.

I like the "baby now, guest/office later. Also handy for sick kids, or your soccer star with the broken ankle.

Looking at the "portico" and "mud closet" area. You have a really awkward entry angle there and too many doors.

I would remove that wall, install closets and lockers where the grey blobs are and shift the door so they are aligned.

I know how frustrating it can be to do a plan and then have everyone tear it apart, only to make those corrections people have suggested and then have someone ask why didn't you do it the way you had it originally.

What I found worked for me was to have a clear vision of what I needed for my home. For example, I knew I wanted a U shaped home with the main rooms opening onto the backyard/pool area. I wanted a master retreat area, and DH needed a small office and I needed a larger studio. Since the average age in our area is retired, we knew that we needed an elevator for resale. And we had lot restrictions such as only being allowed 2124 square feet under roof on the first floor, and that included the porch and garage.

Write down exactly what you and your family need. Then do a second list of what you want. However also be mindful of future resale because it may not be your forever home. So for resale purposes, I think you definitely need something that says foyer. Without one it will severely limit your resale.

Then figure out where you want your views out to be and which rooms inside you want to have take in those views. Sort of like I did with saying I wanted a U shape. Then think about flow through all the rooms so that you never feel like you're bottlenecked into one area. It's not easy and I started the process the end of March and just this week approved our drawings and layout, (and I have a design background!).

Once you have a clearer idea of what you need, then when you post it here, you can pick and choose what works for you. I listened to everyone's ideas, thanked everyone for their ideas, explained to each person why it may or may not work, and then on several occasions found out that while what was suggested wouldn't work as proposed, it did give me an idea to improve my layout or elevation so it could work in a different way. Be open to everyone because you'll never know who gives you that kernel to move your home in just the way you want it to be.

I know you didn't want feedback about dimensions, but I think the small dining area is a lifestyle issue since your kids will grow (my 'baby' is now 16 and 6'5"+) and they'll want to have their friends over for meals. that bumpout could be extended to the right (line up with entry to toy room) and give you more wiggle room for big kids / guests.

First floor powder room: I'd move the door so it's across from the sink, so you don't have a view of the toilet from the piano bench.

Lori, I think you're right that maybe sharing the floorplan is TMI. I have noticed that no matter what anyone asks on this forum (the "Build" forum in particular), someone will divert attention over to something nitpicky and irrelevant to the actual question posed. And then everyone else will go down that rabbit hole, and the original question posed goes unaddressed. If I were to start this thread over, I wouldn't share a floorplan. I would just describe its features. But now I feel like the only way to get feedback that doesn't nitpick my floorplan is to create a pseudonym and start over. (Ain't nobody got time for that.)

I posted a new plan on my earlier thread.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/floorplan-review-critique-flow-expense-etc-dsvw-vd~3255704

Here's a sneak peak. Anyone want to comment on stair treads or kitchen aisles? LOL

But, but... there's no closets and your powder room swings the wrong way!

I'm no architect, but just want to give you another thought. And I will admit that it's influenced by my new house, which like yours is located where it's cold and snowy a lot. Also, I really wanted an nice entryway that could be used an appreciated from both the garage and the front door of the house. Our entryway (ok, it's different that it's on the lower level, and you climb stairs to the main area of the house) opens directly into the living area. Beyond that is the kitchen, including a bumpout dining area. And, at the end of the house, the bedroom.

What if you flipped your living area and kitchen? You could have the toy area in the same place, slide the dining area bumpout over just a little. Yes, you would have 10 feet or so more to carry your groceries in from the garage, but you then would enter the house via the living area, and not the kitchen. If you wanted to get more elaborate with the changes (and not being knowledgeable, I don't have to draw a diagram, to demonstrate whether this would work or not), you could add a pantry and/or your powder room and/or your laundry room as a buffer in between the kitchen and the master bedroom part of the house.

Re wanting hockey stuff to air out in the mudroom/entry. Where our house was built, all of the garages are heated, because of freezing issues. So while our downhill ski boots still live in the front hall closet in the winter to stay warm and pliable, pretty much the rest of the sports gear can live comfortably with the temperatures in the garage. Will your garage be heated?

Garage will be insulated, and sheltered because it will be sandwiched between the hill and the house, but it will not be heated.