A sign hung in the powder room that reads, "For using my powder room, please move the clothes from the washer to the dryer on your way out.", would be appropriate.

See the closet under the stairs in the basement? Step that back just a little bit under the stairs; you will still have plenty of closet space if a little shorter, but you'll have a little more elbow room as you come in and head for the stairs.

Hi,

No advice here, but a question: $150K is a lot of money. How much over budget is it as a percentage of the total intended budget? Did you share your budget with your architect? What obligation do they have to design to budget?

With all those stairs, I don't see how it can be your "forever" home. I don't even see how your mother will be able to get up and down a full flight of stairs to enter and leave the house.

Frankly, the lower and upper levels look to be overly large as a means to be aligned with the second level. There's a lot of excess here.

It's too late to say this, but your site simply doesn't support a forever house, bginning with your mother at her age. It will apply to you when you are in your 60s-70s as well.

The master bathroom w/c is 2'9"

my powder room is 3' and is almost too narrow.

i would take another look at it.

Unless you add an elevator and widen your bathrooms and doorways, I wouldn't consider this a forever home. And your mother is now 73 and from what it sounds like is healthy, but I can tell you from experience, you really need to prepare for her aging.

I can't see how wide the entry door from the garage to the interior is, but I'd want that door to be at least 3'

Bathroom 1 is way too narrow. 3' should be minimum but I will say that anyone with a walker will not be able to use that bathroom. Never mind a wheelchair.

The guest room bathroom looks like it could never be ADA compliant. How wide is the space between the tub and the wall?

Are you planning for your guests to use your mother's bathroom or are you expecting them to walk through the kitchen and laundry room to use the powder room?

The kitchen could be laid out better but first you need to make sure the house is right.

Is the closet 7' x 5'11"? That's not a very large closet especially for two people. You'd be better off getting rid of the double doors into the master bedroom, and using the space for more closet space.

A 2'9" toilet closet is narrow. 3' really should be minimum.

Thank you for all your feedback and suggestions. All well received and taken into consideration.

As far as the kitchen goes, since these were drawn up, we have change our minds and found a slide in range we like, we will not have the wall ovens. The tall pantry cabinet will be wider. The microwave will be to the right of the fridge as well as the coffee and beverage center. I figure this change in cabinet configuration is something I can work with the builder and cabinet maker rather than the architect.

Guests will use the powder room that yes, is off the laundry room. I am not a big fan of a bathrooms being off the kitchen/dining area or by the front entrance. Our guests are either family or close friends, so couple of occasions that they will need to use it will not be a bother. That is the one nice thing about building custom, you can put what you want, where you want.

Our current master bedroom closest is smaller than the 7' x 5'11. The niche across from the closet will hold our dresser or we could add more hanging if needed.

Bathroom 1 is in the basement and will be unfinished at first, but stubbed out for future completion.

We are planning our build in phases, with the main living areas to be part of the first phase. Our builder's proposal was for the whole build per the plans. Which we wanted and informed him that from the beginning. The builder is aware of our budget and working with us to get down to that figure. Giving us suggestions of where we can save money.

Here are some of the pictures of the elevations. Main level of the house is street level and facing east:

Front / East Facing

Rear / West Facing

Left / South Facing

Right / North Facing

It's an attractive house, but I do share the above poster's concern about the plentiful stairs vs. the idea of "forever house".

Lower level: You have a straight-from-outside shower ... and the half bath across the entryway, and the half bath is that uncomfortable nose-to-toes layout. Wouldn't it be better to move the half bath over near the shower ... and have the mudroom items at the foot of the stair? Since you're going to enter the house and head for the stairs (most of the time anyway), it'd be a more natural option to drop your keys and hang your coats at the foot of the stairs. It'd also allow you to get rid of the pocket door, which is great for certain applications, but bathrooms aren't among them.

Hauling groceries up the stairs is going to be a never-ending chore. I wonder if you could work in a dumbwaiter to lift them up to the kitchen level?

Main level: Your mom's coming to live with you full-time? Is that enough space for her? I ask because when my grandmother gave up her own house (at age 99), she had a very hard time giving up "her stuff". She had a monster-sized walk-in closet, and it still wasn't enough for her -- she didn't want to give up things like evening gowns that had sentimental meaning for her. She also had a hard time giving up most of her furniture. Just be sure she's thought through the idea of having the same amount of space as one of the children.

I'd also rethink the bathroom you've planned for her; this one isn't at all elderly-friendly. At the very minimum, I'd give her a larger vanity (so she'd have some storage -- right now she has none) and a walk-in shower instead of a tub.

The upstairs looks nicely laid out. The only comments I can make all have to do with doors:

- I'd go with a plain door on the master bedroom. I don't get the idea of using a different door on the master bedroom. They'll look odd next to the other plain doors, and they cover up the light switches inside the room.

- Look at the door on the toilet closet. You'll have to close the door, walk past it, then open it to enter the room. I vote for pulling the thing out of the closet altogether. A closet is small and claustrophobic, making it more difficult to clean and uncomfortable to use. If you put the toilet down at the end of the long vanity, it'll be partially hidden from view and you'll avoid the whole door issue.

- You have the same issue with the shower door. When it's open, it'll "block traffic". If you go with a sliding door, the problem disappears.

I have to agree that it is to many stairs for a "forever" home, how long until you or MIL can't get up and down stairs to the garage? Even in good shape I would think after a few months carrying groceries up those steps you would get fed up.

Another thing I saw was that you only have a tub in your guest bath, where MIL and eventually you will be staying. As people get older its really hard to safely get in and out of the tub, instead put a shower in there with some good hand holds, a seat and a hand held shower head. Unless you are planning on one of those "walk in" tubs they make now, but those run about 10K, I wish my MIL had replaced their tub with a shower as my FIL got older, he couldn't take a bath because he couldn't get over the edge of the tub, it would have been easier on him to have that shower. I know you have a shower in your mud room, but that is downstairs

.

Not only replace the tub in the guest bedroom with a shower but replace it with a curbless shower. That 4-6" curb seems like almost nothing when you are healthy but I can tell you from both my Mom and Dad, it was like climbing Mt Everest for them to step over the shower curbs.

There are some decent shower pans that have little / no threshold and a nice safe finish (nonslip). Turn it 90 degreed and make it nice and wide in that alcove space. I bet Mom would like a little sitting area for reading too or some more space.

I am tired just looking at all those stairs. You really need an elevator.

My mother is 73 -and broke a hip - 6 weeks in rehab SO FAR - and although her condo is all one level, it's stairs to get to it and she can't come home safely...

Thank you again for all the great feedback. I've posted my kitchen plans on the kitchen forum and am receiving some great feedback also.

Noted on the stacked stone. We will see what the savings will be if we eliminate it.

The shower at the lower level is a utility tub and dog wash area. Not necessarily for human bathing or showering. It will be elevated with warm and cold water.

We will have two parking areas at our house. One at the lower garage and one at the front entry of the house. My husband is a creature of habit and likes to come in the mudroom after work, set all his stuff down, change before making an appearance. So the mudroom area is what he specifically designed, for his daily routines. I'm more comfortable parking in front of the house and will not be using the stairs for groceries and such. There may be the occasion were I will but. In all of my driving life, I have never parked in a garage. Not sure if I will start with this new house, but one may never know.

My mom lives with us now and has already downsized all her belongings. I've asked if she just wants a shower or to have a tub in her bathroom. She wants a tub. We'll have to think about this one some more. The shower/tub area will be a wet room and curb less. Everything that my mom will need will be on the main level. The laundry room, kitchen, her bathroom and bedroom. The lower & upper levels will be available to her if she wants.

The master bedroom doors would be better as a single than French. The wc and master shower doors will open inward. The 180 degree doors was one of those fancy items our designer threw in.

Thanks again.

Glad to hear that there is grade-level parking at the front door for those who will need to avoid stairs. I don't think it's visible on the floor plans. Concerning the tub, there comes a time in everyone's life where it's no longer feasible (or possible) to get in and out of a tub. Thus a shower, large enough for a bench and handrails (or a plastic lawn chair as a poor substitute) sooner or later becomes necessary for living in place. Think carefully about this, especially if this is to be truly a life-time home. Good luck on your project!

I've asked if she just wants a shower or to have a tub in her bathroom. She wants a tub. We'll have to think about this one some more. The shower/tub area will be a wet room and curb less.

So from what I'm gathering the room will have both a tub and shower? If so then as long as your Mom is capable, let her use the tub, but if the time comes when her mobility or safety would be compromised getting into or out a tub, then you might have to do something so she can't use the tub.

The ten years between 73 and 83 can be a world of difference in mobility as I discovered with both my parents.

Another thing I discovered was how neither of my parents ever wanted to acknowledge the fact they were aging. My father refused to visit me in FL because "they're all old people down there". He didn't want to buy an apartment in an independent living building nearby because "it's all old people". (Most were probably younger than he was.)

The wc and master shower doors will open inward.

You never want a WC to open inwards. If someone is sick on the toilet, and help is needed, then the person in front of the toilet would block opening into the toilet. I would keep the 180 degree door. Actually that's what we are going to do on our build.

Again if you're planning for this to be your forever home, even with you parking in front, I would still figure out a place to put a future elevator if needed. For now it could be a closet on each floor and could stay a closet if you never need it, but if it was ever needed it would be so much easier to add it if it's already plumbed for it.

If you don't mind my asking, what is your cost per square foot? We live in Federal Way (hi neighbor!) and will be building on Vashon Island within the next two years, just gathering funds now. No granite countertops for us, mostly wood built-ins as we're wanting a Craftsman style. But any budget advice you might have would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Alicia

Alicia, unless you are building the exact same house at the same time you can't really compare costs per square foot. In my area one can build a house out east for about $120-$150 a square foot where closer into the city the prices start at $200 a square foot. Add in things like wood built ins and the price goes up.

Also consider that in our area two years ago, prices were probably 20% lower. Who knows what pricing will be in 2 years.

Your best bet at this time would be to visit houses built by different builders, see what they put into them (even if they are not craftsman you can still get an idea of what they consider quality) and see what they are pricing them for.

We live north of you on an island outside Seattle. We have a 180 degree glass shower door because it was code. May not be just a *fancy* item. You cannot have an inward opening door. I didn't want it closed all the time or sticking out into the room so we got the 180. I like my shower to be open to air.

The house we are building now has no shower door.

aliciaknits - We are not to that point yet. We have another meeting with the builder this week to get his new proposal for some of the items that we needed to adjust off from his initial estimate, like the unfinished basement.

Noted on the glass shower doors.

Thanks again for all your input. It truly helps to clarify the building process.