Congratulations, on a very efficient design which appears to me to be very livable. If this design supports all the major life-style criteria of your family, you've scored a home run. After that, everything else is simply shifting through the small nits needed for final design completion and bidding/construction.

Some reactions to your comments:

--Front facing west: keep in mind that the low summer sun will be strong and hot, unless you have large trees to shade the front of your home;

--Garage location: for lugging groceries, trash and other stuff, I'd prefer the garage linkage to the kitchen back door;

--Buffet/hutch: this is problematic in the current design. My first glance look would the to increase the size of the floor plan to put the hutch either behind the piano or along the stair or bathroom wall. I know that these locations are not ideal for true buffet serving, but your plan simply doesn't accommodate a buffet well in present form. I would never put it on one of the walls in the dining or living area since those areas need to be open and have natural illumination to the maximum;

--Speaking of the living/dining area, there is little or no transition from the exterior to these spaces; one simply opens the door and finds oneself in the middle of these living spaces. This is not considered a good design feature by many;

--Exteriors: Your design is much too simple and straightforward to have 3-4 different materials: 1) stone or brick; 2) Hardy; 3) lap; 4) board and batten; 5) shingles. Strive for 1-2 harmonious materials which are in character with the simple nature of the design and your site's setting.

Good luck on your project!

VCFA - thank you for such a prompt reply. Thank you also for words of encouragement and for the critiques. I'm open to ideas! We are on a wooded lot so plan to keep trees in the front to help with some of the west sun and we can get shades if needed. The back I plan to keep much more cleared to garden and have grass. We are in Texas so yes the sun will be very strong.

Garage - with our lot being narrow and rectangular we have thought about putting a circular 'natural' type drive in the front to allow brining in groceries, etc but the garage has to be towards the back due to lot shape.

Exterior - I do totally agree with keeping it simple. We are pretty simple folk and our last house was SO simple people thought it was an old farmhouse that had been there a long time. So, DH will be happy because it will less expensive and I like a simple design. Would it look better all lap siding or lap siding on the bottom and board and batten upper?

Entry and Buffet - I was afraid of this. I might can squeeze a little extra square footage to allow for a better placement for this and to get a more private entry. I'm torn about the entry. I honestly kind of like the simplicity of no entry. It's wasted space in some ways but I also don't want people to ring the door bell and have visual access to everything inside. Ummm.. will need to talk to DH about this. If I'm not placing the buffet on this wall I can move the front entrance door here into a 'bumped out' area. Would that be better?

One thing I forgot to mention previously - I think the master closet is too big. DH and I don't have that many clothes so is it possible to make the closet smaller and add that space to the living area? Or move the master bath around to utilize some of the closet space? Our last house had a very large master bath and although it was SO pretty and felt so spacious it was a waste of space.

Thanks again for your help!

Sunny

Can you post it larger? It's hard for me to read.

YES but a silent ARGHHH!! I was afraid you'd say that. It came in a draft type Adobe form and I spent HOURS trying to crop and get it into a jpg. No time like now to keep learning. :)

If you message me your email, I'll send you mine and then you can send me the plan and I can try and enlarge it.

Re: the entry, you do have the benefit of a screen porch as a sort of transition. What part of the country are you in? Do visitors arrive at your front door with coats, boots, gloves, umbrellas? Then you might want to use your porch as a vestibule of sorts. But, you have such a nice breezeway, and with the garage back there the driveway is, too, so is that where 99% of your visitors will enter?

re: the piano. I wonder...as your house needs change, perhaps the homeschool room becomes a study or music room, with the door open to where the piano is? But for resale, if you are considering that, the bathroom could move down and the homeschool room have a door near the bathroom door, as a second bedroom. To that end, if you shrink the master closet, would you have room for the piano in the LR?

Your son's room could have a window on the left (north) wall, and shouldn't the homeschool room window be bigger, for natural light? You have plenty of wall space as it is for maps, charts, etc.

re: the hutch, if it is for china, wouldn't you like it between the kitchen and dining room, so you can use it? I love using my "nice" things from time to time, not just Christmas, and the "design in my head" has them more at hand.

Where is the approach to the house?

What does the fine print say located at the right edge of the drawing border line?

What a pretty house! Is there a particular reason you want a screen porch on the front facade rather than an open porch? I feel like screen porches impede not only the view of the exterior architecture, but also views to the outside from the interior. Could you put a screen porch on the back somewhere if needed for outdoor living?

Good morning,

I've emailed CPArtist to get a better and larger version of the house plan so I hope that helps.

nini804 - thank you! This is a very altered version of the Tucker Bayou house which I've always liked. We want a cottage feel so like the elevation a lot, too. As for the screen porch, DH is severely allergic to wasps and other stinging things. DD is to some extent as well. We are in East Texas where the wasps are horrible. DH has gone into respiratory distress twice in the past 4 years from a sting and carries 2 Epi-pens at all times. The screen porch is for him. He is a prisoner anytime other than winter and even then if we have a few warmer days they will be out flying around. It is life threatening and very scary so I will give up a kidney to be able to have him a screen porch! Originally I had it coming off the kitchen to put a table and chairs for outdoor eating but DH suggested it be off the living area so when we entertain we can open the door to the screen porch to extend living area. I'm open to either idea... what would you all suggest? The rest of the front will be a large 8 or 10 foot covered porch. If I put the screen porch off the kitchen I could add a small entryway off the living room to have a more private entrance. We have quite large and heavy duty outdoor wicker furniture for the porch or screen room, not sure yet where each will go. (A great story about the furniture - it's heavy duty as I said, has a couch large enough to sleep on, 2 deep chairs and an ottoman. Two years ago I saw the couch sticking out of DH's office dumpster. I asked what it was and he said it was a piece of junk someone had dumped in their that morning. Then DD started saying there were more pieces. I said GO GET IT OUT OF THE DUMPSTER NOW!!! I believe it is this set. Patio Set It has the couch, ottoman and 2 chairs and was in perfect condition! I replaced the cushions. Now, wishing someone would drop off some other good stuff. LOL)

I've thought about placing the door to the school room off the piano room. It would give me more kitchen space - maybe a small desk there to use my laptop and have cookbooks, etc.?? Also, I'd like a larger window and have thought about doing a large cozy window seat with nice deep cushions on the back and seat. Sarah Susanka has one that is large enough to sleep on with shelves. Very cool!

I like the idea of the piano where the end of the master closet is. Let me play with the layout and see what I can do.

Mark, the fine print at the top says: floor plan notes - ceiling heights, HVAC info, etc.

bpathome - the back hall entrance will be facing east and is off the breezeway. Most guests will come in through here. I imagine people who are not common guests will use the front entrance which is currently through the screen porch and might be changed. Since we're in Texas we don't need a place for snow gear - maybe burn-up gear. LOL I like the idea of moving DS's window to the other wall. I plan on enlarging the window in the school room (and might enlarge DS's, too) . I need and like lots of light. I have thought about a nice cozy bumped out window seat in the school room with good padding on the seat and behind where you lean back. I'd add some shelves in either side. There's one of Sarah Susank's that is deep enough to be a single bed. That would be pretty nice.

For the hutch - I'd prefer it in the dining room. It's a pretty piece with glass front and sides. Where, oh where can it go??

I'll see what I can work out. Thank you a million times for the input!

Sunny

Love the idea of a window seat in the school room. My friend's holds a twin mattress and while it is too deep to sit on like a bench, it's great for curling up or sprawling with a book, or for a nap.

You can have one for less $ than a bump-out by bumping in as it were with shelves, cabinets, or closets on either side.

For your son's room I was thinking windows on two walls, as the master bedroom has.

For the entry, why not just define the breezeway door as the entry, and not worry about having a foyer-transition-entry etc on the porch side? Still doors there, of course! This depends on your lot, though, and what kind of community surrounds it. If you are on a traditional street with neighbors and front doors and a front walk, I guess you do need the walk to come up to the porch, as well as branching around to the back. But that still doesn't mean you have to accommodate it as the entry, if most people, as you say, will use the breezeway.

I like it. Am I understanding you correctly. Is this house going to be on the lake? And with a West back for that porch and screened porch? If so, make them plenty deep. Or it will be miserable.

i would try to make the homeschool room a multipurpose room ie: a bedroom. Your kids will be grown before you know it.

We have an old lake cabin and our screened porch is a must! Congratulations.

also, where will you grill outside?

In general, it's a nice compact design.

The elevation looks sweet and quaint. I love the breezeway connecting the garage to the home. I'm not crazy about the one large room kitchen/dining/living but I understand I'm in the minority on that one. For the master bath/closet, will going back through the bedroom from bathroom to closet bother anyone who may be sleeping early in the morning? That configuration wouldn't work for me (husband wakes and showers @ 4:30) but for two people who are on the same wake cycle it probably wouldn't be a big deal.

What does the fine print say located at the short edge of the drawing border line?

THANK YOU, CPArtist. She is going to try to enlarge the plans with better quality.

BP at home - I like the idea of more windows. I don't know if I could ever have too many. By keeping it to one side it allows wall space for bed, desk, etc. I really appreciate the thought of making the back hall the main entrance. It makes perfect sense because this is a cottage style house and the neighborhood is very quaint and quiet and cottagy. Most of the homes are weekend cottages with one full time nice brick 2 story down the street just a little and a very nice 2 story brick about 2 acres behind us. We're casual people and most of our friends and family will be happy to come in the back hall now turned main entrance. I have an old arbor that I can use on a garden path to highlight the entrance.

We plan on having the school room multi-task. DH is from France and we have family that visit from Europe about once a year and they stay for several weeks so this will be a bedroom when needed. I'll work on having the school room door along the piano wall. I'm not sure I want to move the bath but I will see what I can do.

I spent HOURS and HOURS yesterday and this morning trying to get my computer with the architect software up and running and kept getting an error message saying no Ethernet cable. Guess what? There not an Ethernet cable. So DH who is away at a conference says it's due to the main computer not being logged on. Well, NO that didn't work. So after 2 hours on the phone with Microsoft they tell me the update that happened on Friday probably caused a defect in the internal WiFi. WHAT??? Then, they say have a computer technician look into it. I had to leave but will call back tomorrow and ask how they can fix it since it was caused by their update. So, all this to say I can't access my program to make any changes until I get this corrected.

I love Red - I originally had the master closet door in the master bath but didn't have room for the linen storage. Maybe I can put the door back and move the storage into the closet? That would simplify dressing and putting laundry away.

OK. Thank you all for your help. Let me see what I can do to make some changes and see if CP ARtist can enlarge it.

One quick question - I have some very old chimney bricks that came from my great grandfathers home. Any ideas how or where to use them? I've considered bricking something interior like the back of the island but then it becomes permanent should we move. With that thought I could make a simple brick patio with some antique roses and other heirloom flowers that could be moved if needed. Do you have any ideas or cool suggestions? I also have a bare pine wood pew bench from his church. It's about 125 years old and about 20 feet long, and hand made. We've thought of making a farmhouse table top with it. What do you think?

Have a good night.

Sunny

Here are the enlarged plans.

OH YES!!! Super hero!

I'm supposed to going to sleep but here I am. :)

I love Red - I forgot to add that yes, we are across the street from the lake. The covered porch will be between 8 and 10 feet deep (depending on cost with screened porch having a good overhang. We plan to leave the front yard with a good amount of trees yet still able to have views and the back yard mostly cleared to allow for gardening and an eventual partially buried pool.

OK. Bed time.

Sunny

OK, one more thing - for grilling we have a small covered side porch and pad off the kitchen for now and next fall DH and I will build a patio.

I'm still not able to get on my own computer architect program so I can't do any changes to the design. I will let you all know when it's back up and running.

Should l I move the screen porch to the other side so it is off the kitchen? It would allow for clearer views.

How can I reconfigure the master closet so it's not so large? (or just enjoy it as is?? LOL)

Any other feedback or ideas?

Sunny

We've had a few revisions made and I wanted to ask about these. Also, I posted on the kitchen forum and got some ideas from there as well. It was suggested that I remove the side porch door and porch to allow for more kitchen space and we like that idea. If we do that we can place the pantry where the door currently is and move the school room door down towards the piano. It also prevents traffic from coming in and out through that door (which I will like) and will save a little money by not having to build the porch, roof and slab. (DH really likes that!!!) By removing the door and putting the pantry in that area it also allows the island to be turned so it runs longer from sink to school room wall. More counter and prep space!!

It was also suggested we add a larger style windows that would not break up the view and have the door to the porch be a French door style or one to 'match' the windows. We also like this idea! What are your thoughts on these changes?

I LOVE the windows over the sink belonging to 2 little fishies. Would that work over my sink? Maybe not as deep but something similar. I've had a dream of something like this for quite some time. This is the amazing, inspirational kitchen window from 2 little fishies. In the plan I have the fridge is labeled 'oven' but it's really the fridge. I'm concerned about where it's located. It's going to be a walk back and forth from sink to fridge and pantry. It doesn't follow the Ice-water-fire plan. Should I move things for better flow??

Can I ask a question about piano placement? On my cross post in kitchens someone suggested to make the master closet smaller and move the piano to that area since the closet is really larger than what we need. If we did that we could place the pantry where the piano is currently.. but I'd have to move the stairs to the opposite side which means re-doing the entire upstairs. We could flip the bedroom and bath upstairs.. but would it be worth the changes to floor plan? Would it work and function better with these changes?

Some questions about the master bath:

1. What are your thoughts on having a make-up vanity area? I do wear makeup several days per week. Several years ago I wouldn't go to the mail box without it but I'm at an age where I'm sort of OK without it at times. I also have very curly hair and several days per week spend about 30 minutes working on stuff I put in my hair after cleansing conditioner days. All my life I've put on make up while sitting on my bed with a hand held mirror and even do my hair sitting on the bed but it becomes a hassle to take things back and forth. Maybe it would be nice to have a place to do this.

2. Would it be better to flip the location of the toilet and sink/vanity counter? I believe the vanity is 6 feet long which is what we had previously and it was fine but if we moved the toilet to where the sinks are and moved the sinks to the back bathroom wall it would allow more counter/sink/vanity area. We could have a place to sit down and put makeup on and/or an upper cabinet for toiletries between the sinks. What do you think of doing this?

Here is the plan with the few changes we've already made and we will make the changes listed above. Are there anything other ideas or suggestions?

Question about the upstairs window? It's off center and I believe it's due to where the bedroom is located. It really bothers my OCD!! Should it be centered under the peak of the roof? Would it look better if there were 2 windows up there? In the plan we don't have a window on the opposite side because it's attic space but I'm thinking it might be worth putting one just for the look from outside plus the natural light in the attic might be nice? Would you add one if it was your house??

Total square footage is 2310. We don't want a big house because we won't have kids at home forever but want enough to feel like we aren't crowded either. Do you feel it's fairly balanced between living space and bedroom space? We want more space in the living areas but I want to make sure I'm not scrimping on an area that might need more or less. The master is longer but slightly narrower than our previous home but DH needs a place to watch TV there because he needs to sit on the floor (with TV in an old cedar closet that belonged to my great grandfather) pretty close in order to see. I'm buying him a chair that he can pull up near the TV and still have room for the bed, etc.

Does anyone have further ideas or suggestions? We meet the dirt guy there tomorrow to talk dirt.

Sunny

What's the maximum width the house can be?

Access to the house seems to need clarification and/or modification so it would help to see a site plan showing the street, driveway and front walkway. If mail is delivered to the house where would that occur?

I think the lack of clarity of the access points carries over into a lack of private vs public zoning inside the house. The entry from the garage and breezeway should not share a hall with the bedrooms.

The home school space could be better integrated with the house and the outside. It shouldn't feel like a back room and have only one window.

There does not seem to any point of entry that a visitor would feel comfortable approaching. If the door closest to the street is inside the screened porch visitors will be uncertain whether to enter you screened porch so you might find them standing on the covered porch looking through the windows at your open living space. It would be a shame to have to cover those windows with curtains or blinds for privacy.

I assume the fireplace is wood burning otherwise you probably would have use a direct vent through the wall. The siding clad structure for the fireplace chimney seems awkwardly placed and may not meet the building code. If the IRC applies, the termination of a wood burning fireplace chimney must be 2 ft higher than any point on the roof within 10 ft. and that doesn't appear to be what is shown. I would put the fireplace on the interior wall recessed into the master closet and bath flanked by cabinetry and expose the the metal chimney termination at the ridge.

If you want the house to look like a cottage use "cottage" style windows (upper sash is shorter than the lower sash) with no mullions in the lower sash and use only one material for the cladding. IMO the most appropriate cladding for a cottage would be real wood shingles with woven corners or dropped (novelty/dutch cove) siding with wide corner boards (painted the same color) to provide texture and emphasize horizontal rather than vertical lines. The savings from deleting the chimney structure, deleting the trim and flashing at horizontal material changes and deleting vertical corner board trim should more than pay for the upgrade to wood shingles or dropped siding.

Louvered roof vents at the gables may add some charm but they should NOT be functional because they will waste energy, allow moisture to enter the attic and can attract flying insects. Vent the roof with soffit and ridge vents or seal the attic with foam.

It would help to coordinate the plans and elevations to show the same windows.

I can't say more about the plan without seeing a site plan showing vehicular and foot access as well as orientation, vegetation and views. I fear you are a long way from needing to worry about closets and exterior materials.

Richard, Here's the best we've seen for a site plan. http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3523307/another-build-5-years-later A lot more info (like setbacks and dimensions and photos) would certainly be helpful. Hard to redo a house once it's built!

Thanks, that helps.

Its a tough site but my first instinct would be to flip the house so the daytime spaces (kitchen and classroom) are on the south sunny side (MBR would still get morning light from the east) .

Is there a reason the garage can't be entered directly from the street so access by guests from the driveway could be closer to the breezeway? And why not inclose the breezeway and make it the main entrance and mud room?

I would go further and put both bedrooms on the north side and wrap the living spaces around the south and west sides but that would require changing the footprint and a few hours of work.

Re: the vanity, you would have more room with the vanity alongside the shower, and also the toilet wouldn't be so close to the LR (just sayin', sound travels...) I never could put my makeup on sitting down, I like standing at the sink where I can reach stuff and wash my hands after the foundation goes on.

It doesn't follow the Ice-water-fire plan. Should I move things for better flow??

Absolutely.

I think the piano is fine where it is.

Definitely do a makeup area in the bathroom. You deserve it.

Are you sure you want your master closet opening into the bathroom and not the bedroom? I personally hate the idea of having to always walk through my bathroom to get something in my closet.

Sorry, I've been away a few days. Darn life keeps getting in the way. I apologize for not responding sooner.

A little more about the lot - it has a lot of pine trees with some good oaks. We will remove most of the pines, leaving 2 pines at the very front of the lot. We will keep some trees on the west side for shade but will be open enough for views. The back will be fairly cleared so I can garden. We are surrounded by heavy woods. There is no one to the north and the neighbor behind us is a good distance with woods between us. The cottages across the street are small weekend cottages. The road is dead end with a "compound" at the end where several family members live in separate houses. We have walking access to the lake which is one of the largest in East Texas. Our end of the lake is very quiet and secluded.

Architectrunnerguy, the lot is a strange shape. It's 75 feet at the very front but that's due to being a corner lot and the road frontage cuts off some of the front. The main width is 95 feet across and the back is 165. We need to keep the house to about 50 feet wide. I will scan and post the survey tomorrow.

JDS, can you help me understand about how to better integrate the school room? Should the access to that room be in a different place?

We called 911 and learned they don't care which way the door faces so we will enclose the breezeway and add a nice welcoming door there. I know it's not 'standard' but we are back door kind of folks.

Can you give me suggestions to make the chimney look better? It will be an insert. I also requested our design team to fix or look into the chimney clearance. When I mentioned it to DH, he said he wants it to code for safety and for better air flow. Our first house had an insert with a metal type chimney and we kind of liked the sound when it rained or when it (seldom) hailed. We could hear the tink-tink of the rain. Would that be better here?? It might save some money as well.

I'd like to know what others think about putting the fireplace on the interior wall. I can't picture it there. It would help take up some of that space in the closet but where would the entertainment area go? ON that same way but then our backs would be to the views and the glare might be terrible for TV watching. Would we have entertainment/TV where it is currently?

I hadn't even noticed the louvered vents! Thank you for pointing them out. I agree they aren't needed. We will have a roof/ridge vent and are doing foam insulation. It made a HUGE difference I our previous house.

For windows - we haven't come to a decision yet. I do like the cottage windows and asked the builder for a price on them. They would also be nice because it would keep the open viewing area. Much will come down to cost.

JDS, I will talk to DH about flipping the house for better sunlight. I actually like the idea.

BPathome, I will see how it is with the toilet and vanity switched. I think I would like that better.

CPartist - YES, I want a vanity and a place to sit, especially for doing my crazy curly hair. It takes me about 30 minutes to apply numerous products, put clips to hold it, etc. I only do it a few times per week the other days I can refresh it, thank goodness. Plus it's messy and I'd have the sink close to wash my hands in between as needed. With our schedules DH and I like having the closet door in the bath so as not to disturb each other. We've had both and prefer it this way. BUT... what can I do about the layout of the kitchen? I want ICE-WATER-STONE-FIRE! I haven't read replies on the kitchen forum so will head over there now. Do you have suggestions?

I understand we are not ready but that's why I'm here.. just one step at a time.

Everyone's help in invaluable and I thank you!

Sunny

Posting a survey or "plot plan" here would be great. I inquired about the width as here in Annapolis everybody gets all the house possible oriented toward the water/views. You wrote elsewhere that the front was 150' wide so your current design, at 44' seemed exceptionally narrow even considering typical setbacks. I know the corner radius takes some out and there's likely two "front setbacks" given the corner lot, but 50' leaves me puzzled as it's an exceptionally narrow space left to build for a lot that starts out 150' wide.

Yes, a survey with setbacks noted would be helpful.

I will scan my survey and post it here tomorrow. I'm sure that will help a lot!

Thank you to all who have taken the time to help so far. Stick with me and lets see where we go from here.

Blessings,

Sunny

I've gotten the survey posted below. With the narrow width of the lot we are restricted in how wide the house can be. We are meeting with the builder later today but at this time are thinking the house will sit about 1/3 of the way back from the curved and narrow end.

I hope this helps.

Sunny

(I've covered some personal info in the center of the survey)

Ok so which way are you anticipating the house sitting on the lot? Also which way is the water?

Ok, that helps but as I said above, the best info is a plan with setbacks. This will create what we call a "build box". I'm just very curious because for a lot 148' wide, the 55' maximum house width you mentioned seems exceptionally narrow because that's a total of around 93 feet given over to setbacks!! May in fact be true but it would be highly unusual.

Here's what I'm talking about with regard to "build box":

Give me the info to determine the "build box".

Haven’t been here as much as real life projects have been keeping me off the street and out of trouble but was looking for something to occupy my mind while sitting in my easy chair watching basketball and remembered this so hunted up the thread, rolled out the bumwad on a piece of plywood perched atop my lap and put pen to paper.

Never got any more info on the setbacks otherwise I probably would have been reminded two weeks ago, but this house works at 52’ wide. I drew it however with a side SIP which would be about 64’ wide as a front SIP location is very poor but the house will work with the SIP in front just like the original. My side SIP is closer to the kitchen and grilling area (you can have a table there as the plan shows and not have to schlep food and dirty dishes across the house to eat there). Plus, we’re not standing in the house having to look THROUGH the porch. Not desirable with a view. Still hard to believe a lot 148’ wide can only accommodate a maximum building
width of 52’. But this house works at 52’ wide, just not as well as one 64’ wide with the SIP on the kitchen side.

In looking at this, please remember that this is a quick freehand exercise drawn as it came out of my brain. I cleaned up the concept sketch only so you could understand it. Its purpose was not to solve every design issue but to illustrate the value of some “outside the box” thinking. You need to get someone local to sit down with you and any other decision maker in a design session and spend a few hours “brainstorming”. And please don’t think I’m plugging myself as I only do these face to face and I’ve never even been to Texas.

There’s better solutions for bedrooms and entries, etc. as JDS correctly suggested, but when I do these things in real life I look to keep as much the same as possible so the owner can focus on the differences I want them to focus on. In that regard, your original and what I’m suggesting have nearly identical “bubble” diagrams (imagine the rooms as circles and relationship to other rooms represented by lines or arrows).

With that said, I focused on three differences……

First…..I looked to get more spaces oriented to the water. Here in Annapolis, that’s always a big “bus driver” and should be no different here…..and the actual build costs to you are the same either way!!The MBR and the upstairs BR are now water oriented. In real life I’d be getting the other BR and the school room water oriented too.

Second….Circulation. Always let circulation define a plan, not the other way around. And a defined entry now exists. And, at 60SF, it’s not large but does the job.

And third….. I’ve found on this forum that most plans are, to a greater or lesser degree, bloated. Your house is no exception. After all anybody can design “bigger”….. that’s easy.

My quick sketch, at 2090SF, is about 200 heated SF LESS than your original 2310SF yet accomplishes all the original does. Maybe even MORE since there’s 60SF given over for an entry!! Hard to exactly determine what the 200SF would be worth as $/SF saved is not a linear thing. We’re still building the same expensive kitchen and baths, still have site work, utility hookups, same size HVAC, etc., but for illustration, if I were to take, let’s say a savings of $80/SF, (for lack of a better number) that would represent about a $16,000 savings, or put another way, FREE INSTALLED HARDIPLANK SIDING! $80/SF is likely off and before someone chimes in to enlighten us with their knowledge, the exact number is not my point. My point is your architects lack of attention to SF efficiency and the significant effect it can have on
your wallet.

And as a bonus I think the elevation I quickly sketched is a vastly improved one!

In summary, again, get someone else local to look at this. I don’t think your architect is doing that great of a job in both design and efficiency. Refocus his/her efforts. Go ahead….. show them this if you wish! It’s only a 30 minute idea so plenty of room left for significant improvement in both design and your costs.

Wow! Got a little wordy!! Took me longer to type this than draw up the sketches. But the best of luck with your project. Exciting times!!

PS: Edit Threw in my conceptual just for fun but FWIW wanted to point out in my “on the fly” thinking, I drew that up with an attached garage.

ARG, tip of the hat! That was a really fun look at the sketches, and I particularly liked the write up as a view into your working mind! Thanks for the little glimpse!

OH MY!!! I've been absent, too. ARG - Your drawing is amazing! I love the exterior!! Thank you so much. I will show DH this.

I wish I'd been back sooner because I really like what you've drawn.. but.. (there's always a but) while away from the computer we decided to build a single story. Doesn't that complicate things??

Here is the new one story. We changed the location of the master to take advantage of the water view.

I'd like to hear what others, especially ARG thinks and if he can help. IS this exterior better or is there a way to make it similar to yours?

We have less hall way which I like better than the previous 1 1/2 story. We noticed some things we are already changing:

1. Changing the entry to the school room (see drawing below) which allows improved layout of school room and moves the door to the long blank wall and away from the kitchen

2. Change main bath layout

3. Move DW to other side of sink

4. remove "L" in the master closet to add living space and simplify the master entry

Here's what we have. Now, I really like ARG exterior. So now what?

OOPS.I didn't mean to hit submit so hadn't completely finished my previous post.

TO CONTINUE:

The plot survey measurements are 148 across the back (the right side)

200 feet on the north (top) side of the lot

bottom is 155 feet to the curve

We will most likely move the house back about 8 feet and possibly towards the south (bottom) a few feet. There is a 3 feet variance in height between the back upper corner and the front bottom corner with the back upper being higher than the bottom.

Here are drawings of the changes we are making.

New main bath and school room layout:

New master entry:

OK. I'm open to ideas... and now I can't stop thinking about ARG's house and exterior!

Sunny in Texas

Others will have more brilliant thoughts...but what jumps out at me right now is the path one must take to access a toilet. You'll be spending most of your waking hours in the schoolroom, kitchen, gathering room, or screened porch... you and your guests will have a bit of a trek over to the bathroom, plus you'll pass through the kids bathroom where you'll get to see their toiletries and bathroom mess. Just something to consider if that's going to work for your family and lifestyle!

I'm too tired right now, but honestly what ARG did is so superior to anything else that was created.

To be honest Sunny, while I could recommend further on specifics, for better or worse, it sounds like we're down to the "where do I put the towel rack?" stage, you already know pretty much what you want and any more "big idea" discussion would be pointless. And that's entirely ok. More often than not when I do these "pen to paper" exercises I do them for the lurkers rather than the OP anyway.

And for the lurkers, at least one of my three points above has been addressed, that of house area. For a house with basically 4 bedrooms and the support spaces here, 2100SF is plenty. That number might represent a challenge to achieve but that's what a good residential designer does. The other two points, that of maximizing views and circulation remain largely untouched. Two bedrooms are looking elsewhere (one onto what I think will be a largely unused covered patio) and parts of the circulation paths look like the white squares in a crossword puzzle.

In concluding, let me get back to Sunny....I guess in a larger sense what I was trying to illustrate is your house has no soul. Sure it has all the pieces (place for piano CHECK......screened porch.....CHECK.......pantry.....CHECK......place for hutch.....CHECK.......walk in closet.....CHECK....etc.) but add all those pieces up and the sum does not make for an inspiring whole. And inspiring wholes do not cost a dime more to build than uninspiring wholes. Designing a skyscraper, where there's a lobby floor with 50 identical floors above is in many ways an easier task than coming up with a well designed small house.

Let me reference some threads you might find helpful before you spend a healthy six figures of your hard earned money in an endeavor with no "do-overs" (and again, I'm keeping lurkers in mind here).

Read up on what makes good design. First here's a great list of book suggestions: http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3281434/book-suggestions?n=10

Second, here's a bunch of great suggestions from others here on what makes good design: http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3285825/what-makes-a-house-have-good-design?n=39 (And Sunny, if you thought some of my comments above might have been a tough read, note #31 in my post here).

And third, get someone local of talent to sit down with you for a highly interactive "brainstorming session" on the design of your house. And this doesn't have to be expensive or time consuming. Just look at the idea I drew above.......which took an hour. I do these all the time and call them "design charrettes". And don't think I have a horse in your race as I only do these locally, face to face, and I'm plenty busy with the locals anyway (some I even reference here!). In lieu of doing another big retype here's a coupla threads that explain those:

Not my first post here but the photo heavy one further down. In the charrette photo that's me pen in hand with the builder flanked by the owners (and from the photo you can see I'm a piano player too). http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3178541/question-for-architectrunnerguy-or-others?n=24

And a colleague of mine wrote the process up in his blog http://www.lifeofanarchitect.com/design-in-a-day/

And again Sunny, the best of luck with your build.

I still don't understand why you're putting such a square house on your property. Do you have such large setbacks on each side? I can see a house where more of the rooms take advantage of the views.

Don't understand why the house is less square and not more linear either. That was the reason behind my setback question above.

And, does a "single story complicate things?" Sunny, the answer is no.

Different criteria sure, but that never stops a talented designer from incorporating the new criteria into an imaginative and soul inspiring home.

DH and I have talked a lot today about ARG's lovely plan. We really do like it. In particular love the main entry and the front elevation. I also like the kitchen . I've never had a living area with a walk through so we'd have to get used to it. I really like being able to enter and have the piano sort of showcased there.

I have some more questions. (Gee, what's new???) What size would the bedrooms be with the current sq footage. It very likely could be me but they would seem fairly small.

I worked on getting the second story bedroom on the main level and it seems possible where the stairs are with a little adjusting. Ohh but I love that upper window!!! I might leave it even if it's an attic window.

I bought one of the books suggested this afternoon and enjoyed reading ARG's blog post. I've also got Building The Not So Big House which is a great read.

This has helped me remember what's important.

We are looking at this as an option. DH is the one who insisted on a square or super simple design for cost. He was trying to lower the roof pitch on the plan I've posted but I can work on him.

So let us think and talk.

Thank you for sticking with me and encouraging us to continue working towards something good!

(Typing as I'm riding with my family to Fort Worth to meet friends for dinner)

Sunny

A super simple design will save you money but will it have the "soul" that ARG is talking about? Maybe you're different but when I walk up to my front door, I want to smile and feel good because I'm walking into something I consider beautiful and not just a house.

Cpartist, I'm very much the same and want that feeling. I'm a deeply emotional, sentiment person and I want those feelings of peace and "home" and as you described happy! Thus my name -sunny. I want a feeling of sunshine in my home.

Our previous house felt beautiful yet was quite simple to many. It was to be our dream home but we soon discovered 5 acres of bull nettle and sticker burrs, some health issues, then DH was diagnosed with advanced Glaucoma. Long story but he was seeing retina specialists and routine eye exams every 6 months due to Myopia. We saw his vision deteriorate but we're told it was the myopia... Then went to specialists in Houston and they about flipped out his pressure was so high. It was then we read that for 12 years there were notes in his chart that he was a Glaucoma suspect and other little notes but we never knew. So this long story to say that the main reason DH wants a simple less expensive plan is that we hope to pay it off in 10 - 15 years while he can still work.

In some ways our situation is unique. Anyway, we are both liking this new option and will look for someone local with more vision and help us create something we can love.

We keep wavering about the upstairs. It makes sense for our older children but not for us in our 50's. We are also concerned about HVAC up there.

its past my bedtime!!!

more later,

Sunny

I noted in my post with the quick “lap sketch” that
I sought to keep the same “bubble diagram” so you could focus on the things I
wanted you to focus on. The internet format, being what it is, is lousy when
compared to a face to face “eyeball to eyeball” highly interactive dialog. In a real
life, real client exchange, I would have not only questioned just one bedroom
upstairs (we still have to build a stair for that so to maximize building
efficiency we either put a bunch of space upstairs or no space upstairs, but
not just one room). Beyond that, given your husband’s unfortunate vision situation
I would have also questioned having a second level to begin with. But I kept
all that the same for my quick little exercise for reasons of focus towards
other points.

Getting a one level inspiring house with character
and “soul” if you will, is simply just a different set of criteria to design
towards, not something that derails the train. No one’s saying “You want a
house with soul that inspires??? We’ll then, we have to have two floors!!!”

I’ve written about this here before but a critical
element in any client/designer relationship is trust. Owners come in all shapes,
attitudes and forms of course but the most important trait common to a
successful project I've found in 35 years of working with them is trust. During
my initial meeting, the client will often reveal their ability (or inability)
to trust others. If I feel it’s the latter, they will be referred to others.

While clients ideas and wish lists are to be taken
seriously, at the same time they tend to be centered on the obvious and with
preconceptions that limit alternative thinking. A good architect when given the
chance, will provide a design that can give a client nearly everything or very
often, all of what they want but often in ways that is completely unexpected…
but that takes faith and lots of trust on the part of the client for that to
happen.

And while on the topic of preconceived ideas, limited
thinking, trust, and most importantly, leaps of faith, ….With my clients, I
cite two thoughts about preconceptions from two creative thinkers. Steve Jobs
observed “Everyone wanted an iPhone when they first appeared, but no one could
have described what they wanted before seeing one.” And Henry Ford said “If I
asked people what they wanted, they would have told me “A faster horse”.

My best advice to you is to take a leap of faith and
sit down with a creative person to look at your house (and somehow I don’t
think it’s the guy whose currently drawing your dimensioned drawings!!!). If
that person lives up to their billing, the results will likely be not only in a
form completely unexpected, they will be MORE than anything you COULD have
expected.

Edit: Oh yeah, almost
forgot…..Sunny, I’m glad you picked up on my attempt at making the piano a feature. A grand piano is a beautiful thing to behold. It’s
already a treat for the ear so why not make it a treat for the eye as well!!!

Good morning!!! I had a few tears of joy as I read your post. Especially the last part. My piano is such a part of me and my family with a rich history. When we decided to sell our previous home and looked for many moons for an existing house there was nothing out there. Yes, we found a house where we could cram it in a corner of the living room or put it in the formal dining room all by itself with bad acoustics so I considered selling it. BAD IDEA! I became another personality- grouchy, depressed, unable to sleep. It's now in a corner of my husbands office while we live in our travel trailer. Our house sold nearly sight unseen and before we put it on the market so we've done a lot of this backwards. Lol

Thank you again for everyone's help. How blessed we are to have this ability and forum.

enough of my life story. Now, I'm going to find that creative mind! Any suggestions in East Texas or even Dallas area??

Hoping all stay safe with the upcoming storms.

Sunny

As special as a custom home project is, you always owe it to yourself to make it as wonderful and personally integrated as it can be. Find that right architect, you deserve it.