Additionally if you want the most functional kitchen, I highly recommend you post your kitchen layout on the kitchen forum as your layout right now is not the most functional.

Additionally I would think you'd want your master bedroom to also have views out to the back and not your bathroom. A bathroom doesn't need windows on 3 sides, while it would be great if the master bedroom had windows and maybe a door out to the back from it.

I'm personally also not a fan of angled garages. I think it would work better as a side entry garage and not angled, especially since you do have 5 acres to play with. In fact you could even have it off more to the side almost as a separate building with a covered and AC'd walkway with maybe the laundry off the walkway?

Have you considered not having a fireplace? Maybe an outdoor fireplace or fire pit instead?

Cpartist - I've seen your post about mantel mount. It's a wonderful idea but I'm afraid that the tv would always be in the pulled down position. Our living room tv is always on, mostly for back ground noise. That's why I question putting the fire place on that wall. I'm probably just over thinking it. My husband also wanted a sectional sofa to back up against the windows.

I'm heading over to the kitchen forum right now. That corner pantry is just ughhhh. I just don't have any place convenient for one.

The angled garage will fit perfectly on our property. The gate location is at one end of our property and the house will be more centered. When you drive through the gate the driveway will angle towards the house and straight into the garage. It will save on cost of relocating the gate and making the driveway shorter. If that makes sense. I just don't like the laundry room. It feels small and has no natural light.

I'll take a look at the master bedroom. We don't want a ton of light in the bedroom as hubby works shift works and needs a dark room to sleep in. We rarely hang out in our bedroom anyways.

oaktown- We have thought about that. In fact when we first started designing a house we didn't want the fireplace. Didn't really see a need for it but as we started thinking about the interior design look, we realize we wanted a more rustic look with wood beams and a stone fireplace made sense in our minds.

I could remove the fireplace between the dining and living and just leave an opening and add sliding barn doors?

Maybe too big of a change, but you could consider something like --

Exchange general locations of master suite and secondary bedrooms, but leave 2 sides of living room open to outside. Extend porch in an "L" to wrap the living room. Have your stone fireplace on the covered porch and your can put your tv on the stone back of the chimney inside the house. Add access to the porch from the master too -- hot tub ;-) ?

Just some ideas. Good luck!

Oaktown you're right that is a really big change! We want the master to stay behind the kitchen.

Putting the fireplace outside with the stone back inside is an interesting idea! I'll keep it in mind and show my husband when he wakes up this evening.

I'd skip the fireplace and put in a stone feature wall on the bedroom wall with TV mounted on the wall with a stand alone TV cabinet underneath. Then do an L shaped sectional facing the feature wall and back windows. That would give you the rustic feel without the wasted fireplace.

Do your stairs go anywhere? Is the safe for tornadoes. Can you incorporate some the safe room into the laundry room?

Your reasoning makes lots of sense sabrinatx. I just posted a suggestion for the kitchen in the kitchen forum.

As for the laundry area, how about moving the laundry room to where the safe room is and making the safe room an interior room?

If you could change the jack and Jill bath to a traditional guest bath that would be accessible to guests, you could change the half bath and under stair storage into a safe room and use the current safe room to expand your laundry room. That is, if that would be a big enough safe. Just a thought. I actually love your layout.

jdez you have good ideas but I would hate for guest to use my kids bathroom. We wanted them to have their own private space. That's the reason for two separate toilets. LOL Thank you for loving the layout. I give credit to our inspiration plan!

Karenseb- the safe room is actually to conceal my husband gun safe and amno. We don't really have tornado's down here but hurricanes are a different story. Also the stairs go up to the bonus room over the garage. That will be the kids game/ tv space.

I've been working on the master side of the house and think I might have a plan that works!!! Tell me what you think

Where does the bed go? Safe rooms are safer if they are not labeled and not published.

You have an awful lot of doors in your bedroom. 5 doors?

Doesn't he work shifts? Might rethink the most recent closet placement. Unless you put out your clothes the day/night before and dress in the bathroom? Seems like there'd be lots of in/out and LIGHTS while the other person is sleeping.

ETA- what about shifting the Master bedroom to where the gun-safe room and toilet/shower are now? Then shift the bathroom to the bottom left corner? Or something along those sorts.

In kitchens I think you mentioned where you usually take meals, which led me to wonder...what if the children's bedroom hall opened off the dining room, instead of the LR? Seems a bit more private if someone has company in the LR. And you get a bit more usable wall and corner in the LR for a fireplace and builtins.