I would get rid of the wing walls/posts? between the dining room and living room. Your dining room is small, but if it is completely open with the living room, you could extend your dining table far into the living room for large family gatherings. I would keep the walls between the foyer and living room, however.

If you could move the ac unit? near the washer/dryer, you could have a slightly larger laundry area and a larger closet in the foyer. OR, you could enlarge the linen closet (taking space where the washer is now) and make that into a nice pantry. I would put shelves in the individual bedroom closets for out of season linens, extra sheets. Life has gotten so much simpler since I've gone to this system in my own house, and in your case, I would much prefer a nice size pantry. You would also gain a bit of counter space in the kitchen. (My kids can keep an extra set of sheets and an extra blanket neatly in their own closet, but could never keep an entire linen closet tidy. :) )

I would add a window seat to the small bedroom; the room will seem larger and a deep window seat will provide seating space.

I wouldn't put a regular door on the water closet in the master bath, since that area is just too tight. Personally, I would prefer a half wall there, but I know some people intensely dislike a toilet that is not closed off. :)

Good luck.

Cpartist, I wonder if moving the water heater displaced the furnace?

jo. I expect that linen closet will never hold linens, but rather the vacuum, a broom and dustpan, batteries, flashlight, stepstool, maybe beach towels.

There is probably room for the water heater and furnace to be side-by-side in the garage. I like giving Bedroom 3 an extra foot. And squaring off the corners. I wonder if Bedroom 3 could have a bump-out box-bay window? No change to the foundation.

oh, ladymank53, I hope you're not sorry you asked here! Such a cute plan, we just can't help ourselves :)

ladymank, even if you can't fix some of the other things, I would definitely fix the kitchen/dining area. :) Without the peninsula, it will help with the open feeling.

I wonder if you would want to change the door from laundry to hall to a pocket door? There are pros and cons: Pros are that it saves room in the laundry, to hang things on the left wall, like hooks for jackets, keys, backpack, handbag. Con is, when you close the door, it's not quite as quiet as with a regular door, if the machines are running. But, in a room that size, should the doors be open when the machines are running? I leave mine open a bit, it gets pretty warm in there.

You know, there might be something to be said for swapping the garage door and the furnace. Coming in to the foyer, where the closet is. Then your laundry room is for laundry, you can even have laundry on the floor in there.

edited to say, i don't think there's room to move the garage door to the foyer, the wall between the closet and the front door. I tried it here, but the closet lost a valuable foot, and I don't know if the little jog to go in the door would work. (and don't nobody say the doors would be in conflict, how often are you going in and out two doors at the same time?) But it does keep the bedrooms more private.

Why is there a sloped ceiling in the master toilet room?

I realize the kids' walk-in closets was a big part of the appeal of the plan for you, but if you do this:

• Significantly more linear feet of hanging space in both bedrooms.
• Another foot or two of length in the kids' vanity (making enough room to keep the two sinks there).
• A window in the bathroom, which is both pleasant for natural light and helps combat mold.
• Sound barriers between the bedrooms and bathroom.

That's nice, Jillius! (I'd still go with one sink on the vanity.)

Jills, I totally agree with your changes. Walk-in closets are highly overrated when they don't provide as much space as a regular closet! My son and daughter who had wall closets kept their closets neater than my other two who had walk-in closets, and their closets were configured just like this plan. They were cramped, and the clothes were not easily seen or accessible in the corner.

Very good Mark!!

How one arrives at a house is critical as to their lasting impression of it.

For my suggestion, I'd rework the front entry to get rid of the tunnel like effect caused by the recessed front door. That outside entry is likely to feel much like an entry to a cell block, not very welcoming. Looks like a small porch roof could be built over a stoop and build a half wall in the interior to open that up. Mirror the half wall with another one on the other side. The columns would sit on this wall. You could duplicate that detail for those columns in the breakfast area too.

And as a suggestion to make the trip past all that garage blank wall, build a pergola. It just makes the trip interesting for the eye. Here's one (you wouldn't be doing a gate or a fence however)

I'll chime in here on being in favor of the one sink vanity. We built our custom home the year my youngest was born, 18 years ago, and the eldest was 3.5. Each had their own room and they shared a bath across the hall that had only one sink.

I went round and round with the builder because I wanted two sinks so they could be in the bath together. I let him convince me that one sink would suffice while I was in doubt for years. For a long time, it was fine, as eldest was the only one big enough to use the sink alone. But I just knew someday, they would both want to brush their teeth together and watch each other spit churned up toothpaste into the sink.

Then, as they grew, my preconceived notions did not come to fruition. They actually took turns brushing their teeth, taking a shower, or using the toilet. They were never in there at the same time!!! My builder was right. They didn't want to be while the other was doing their thing. As they got bigger and doing their hair (stylish boys, what can I say) and taking showers 2x a day (mornings before school then before bed after Marching band or wrestling), they couldn't be side by side and STILL didn't want to be.

What was so beneficial with having one sink was the storage each boy had for their stuff, and boys have stuff, just like girls. Each boy a row of draws either side of the sink and storage underneath the sink.

Do the one sink. Two kids are not going to share the vanity at the same time but for maybe a minuscule amount of time, then they will want their privacy and will have no storage space when they need it. They will be bigger longer than they are smaller.

Its seems quite late for you to be asking for design advice but since you asked I will tell you that the house drawings appear to be typical the 60's with dimensions common to that era. If it is still possible to make changes, I recommend making the garage 2 ft wider (for lateral bracing of the door facade and to be able to get out of the cars), making the entry labeled "Por" 2 ft wider and revising the square kitchen to be a more modern, efficient shape with a more useful work surface arrangement. Good luck.

Lots of good ideas given. It appears to be a very functional plan overall! I will chime in about the laundry room layout. I lived with this exact layout for several years in our previous home and HATED it. Someone was always coming in or out from the garage while I was doing laundry, which meant I had to stop, close the dryer, pick up the baskets, step out of the room...you get the picture. And there was never anywhere to put laundry waiting to be done. And a front loader was out of the question, because I couldn't leave the door open to prevent it from mildewing. Hanging laundry above the units is difficult these days, as washers and dryers are getting deeper. There may not be anything you can do at this point with the layout, but I would give it serious thought. Even widening it a few feet might make a big difference, or consider a stackable unit that frees up some floor space out of the traffic path.

Lots of good comments here and before you finalize your interior, I hope you can avail yourself of the changes to make your good house work even better.

I believe it was bpathome who had the idea of having the entry from the garage into the foyer instead of through the laundry. If you implement the changes to the kids bedrooms that Jillius suggested you can do it and you'll actually have more room for your laundry in terms of having the space in front to sort laundry etc. Plus the doors will make it easy to close the laundry off, and no one will be walking past.

Here's what I did based on bp's and Jillius's suggestions. (And I kept my kitchen suggestions and the larger bedroom for bedroom 3:

1. I changed both kid's bedroom closets to reach ins. With closet organizers, you will wind up with a heck of a lot more storage this way than those walk in closets.

2. I got rid of the second sink which, with gives more storage.

3. I added a window over the tub for light and for airing out the room if ever needed.

4. The big change is with the garage/laundry area. I closed off the garage entry where you had it and moved the W/D to that location. Now notice how much room you have within the laundry closet for sorting, etc.

5. I moved the coat closet up to where the linen closet was. The coat closet is the exact same size as before.

6. I moved the linen closet to where the kid's bathroom is. By flipping the kids bathroom, they still have more interior room even with the linen closet moved. BTW: The linen closet is the exact same size as it was.

7. Now I moved the water heater behind the W/D. Yes the door opens out, but how often will you be going into the water heater, and if you need to, you just back the car out to get to the water heater.

8. This now created an entry to the front hallway from the garage. It's a typical Sarah Susanka thing she does to make homes feel more welcoming to all. How much more inviting to now enter your home in the entry rather than past piles of laundry, etc.

BTW: I agree also with ARG about the pergola and making the front entry more inviting so it doesn't feel like a dark hole.

And not one of these ideas change the exterior footprint of the house. Really if you can, get it right now before you start building.

I agree with JDS and thought too, it's too late to have a major redo. For example and for the lurkers out there, one thing we try to do these days with a small house is upon opening the front door to have the sight lines look directly through the space and out through a lot of glass. It makes the house feel so much larger and airy at zero additional expense.

But while some horses have left the barn, maybe the door can be shut before they're all out!

ARG, is it too late to get that passthru of glass here? Perhaps the kitchen and dining can be switched? (That would also help hide kitchen mess view from the LR)

I like the banquet seating

Banquette seating.

There isn't a door to the master toilet but if we can rotate it I would consider doing that.

Definitely no reason to smush the toilet into a closet without a door!

If
anyone saw the issues that arise from our single sink and single
bathroom while we are all getting ready in the morning and for bed, you
would never suggest a single sink for my husband and I haha! But I might
in the kids!

Thing is, you just don't have the space for two -- comfortably. You don't want to trade one uncomfortable situation for a different uncomfortable situation.

Test it: Get some cardboard and mark off the amount of space you'll have ... take a look at just how much space is required for two sinks. Are you going to have space to actually use the sink without bumping elbows? Where will you set your hot curling iron? Your make up? An electric toothbrush? Remember that the duplicate plumbing takes away your drawer space.

Bedroom 3 could use a bigger window?

Very good idea -- and since the other bedroom has two windows plus seating, I'd go with a window seat here. Or a bay to bring in more light.

And it's a stock plan gspeach!

Stock plans don't get much love on this website, but good ones are definitely available!

Then I removed the peninsula.

I liked the peninsula, though it does give you two corners to manage. Instead of a Lazy Susan in that area, I'd go with a cabinet that opens into the breakfast room -- it'd be good for storing paper products and grilling items.

jo. I expect that linen closet will never hold linens, but rather the
vacuum, a broom and dustpan, batteries, flashlight, stepstool, maybe
beach towels

Definitely. These are necessities that must live somewhere.

And there was never anywhere to put
laundry waiting to be done.

The biggest problem with a laundry closet (as opposed to a laundry room) is that you have no place for waiting rooms. This is true whether you're looking at laundry-in-the-entry, laundry-in-the-hallway, or laundry-in-the-kitchen ... if you don't allow for a spot for waiting loads, those loads end up piled in front of the machines. Multiple good answers exist, but do make a choice.

I believe it was bpathome who had the idea of having the entry from
the garage into the foyer instead of through the laundry.

I like this idea, and it works in so few houses!

BTW: I agree also with ARG about the pergola and making the front entry more inviting so it doesn't feel like a dark hole.

That pergola looks great!

MrsPete, I liked the peninsula, too, but seeing it open, there's so much more moving-around room, nice especially if another child comes along.

However, if Ladymank53 keeps the peninsula, I'd definitely do cabinets that open to the other side...or both sides! My parents have this, and they keep the breakfast cereal on the nook side, serving dishes on the kitchen side. It's all one cabinet, just has doors on both sides. In that corner, drawers instead of cabinet opening to the dining side are great for placemats and napkins, the school directory, batteries, stationery/school (even pre-school) supplies.

kitchen and dining flipped. However the advantage of having the dining/kitchen the way it was is that if she has a large group for dinner, the table can be extended into the living room. Flipping the rooms she can't do that.

With it the way it was, a pretty table with a mirror above at the end of the hall will visually open up the hallway.

If anyone saw the issues that arise from our single sink and single bathroom while we are all getting ready in the morning and for bed, you would never suggest a single sink for my husband and I haha! But I might in the kids!

Thing is, you just don't have the space for two -- comfortably. You don't want to trade one uncomfortable situation for a different uncomfortable situation.

YES they do! Like I said, DH and I have managed to "suffer" for over 8 years with double vanities that are 60" and/or smaller. I manage to have all my makeup out and my hairdryer too. If it's that much of an issue, she can add shelves on the ends of the sinks. mrspete and I will just have to agree to disagree on this one. In fact now in our rental we have a vanity that is almost 7' long. So much wasted space that could be better utilized elsewhere in my opinion.

Then I removed the peninsula.

I liked the peninsula, though it does give you two corners to manage. Instead of a Lazy Susan in that area, I'd go with a cabinet that opens into the breakfast room -- it'd be good for storing paper products and grilling items.

The reason I felt the peninsula should be removed had nothing to do with having two corners and everything to do with the dining area being small. I was concerned that with the peninsula seating there wouldn't be enough room to maneuver around a table and chairs.

However, if Ladymank53 keeps the peninsula, I'd definitely do cabinets that open to the other side...or both sides!

Agreed.

Oops, even better view of the kitchen mess from LR. Oh well, it was just a thought.

With the peninsula gone, is there room for shallow, like 12", wall of storage on the long dining wall? Perhaps a mix of open and closed shelving? Or to-the-ceiling on the ends, and lower height in the middle? And I think the counter next to the sink can go right up to the patio door jamb, right?

The foundation gets poured this week.

That means the foundation is NOT poured.

However then she said:

I will say our plumbing has already been done and the framing package has already been ordered and delivered to site so I'm not so sure how much can actually be changed.

So not sure what that means.

Cpartist- it means that the initial lines and what not have already been placed, like in all the dirt work.

All of of your input has been appreciated. I might have gotten more than what I initially asked for, but I was able to decipher through for some answers to my original question. I've made a list of recommendations I felt would be fitting for us and when we meet with our builder this week I'll talk to him about it. This isn't our forever home. We are thinking 10 years maybe. It will be our first time buying a home, and building a home so what we don't like we will learn for the next time. We are both in our mid 20's, so there's time! Thank you all again!

Mrs. Architectrunnerguy and I have designed and built three homes over the past 30 years (and amazingly we're still happily married!) but you have to do your best with each one.

Kinda like an NFL coach saying "Well this is only the first game of the 16 game season, let's find out what we don't like and learn for the next games". No, they're trying for a win...they'll learn of course but that's a bonus!

And the best of luck to you with your project. Exciting times!!

I think the house is great.

I agree in that I don't do laundry constantly and mine was in a closet in my condo and will be in a closet in my new build.

However many folks do have piles of laundry day in and day out which was one of two reasons I suggested moving it to where I drew it.

The other reason to me was the more important reason. If you come in from the garage and enter your front hallway, you have several advantages. One your coat closet is right there.

The second reason is now with it closed off the back hall there for the two bedrooms is more private. If you or your husband come in late, and a little one is sleeping in bedroom 3, there's no chance of waking them if you don't have to go past their room.

But the most important reason is how much nicer is it to walk into a pretty foyer vs a back hallway that is a passageway through your laundry closet? There's something special about coming in from the garage, opening the door, looking around and realizing you created that special place for yourself and your family and you made it pretty enough not only for friends and family when they visit, but also for you and yours. Sarah Susanka in her wonderful book The Not So Big House talks about combining the two entries for that reason. BTW even now, I highly recommend the book.

Overall you have a good plan and any change is just adding frosting to the cake. Let us know what the builder says and what you decide please?

You are definitely off to a good start.

I do see that! The only ones that would be coming in from the garage on a normal basis though are my husband and I. Everyone else, unless they are our super close friends that frequent our house and see it all kinds of clean and dirty, will come in the front door. The bedroom door was a concern for me, but unless I get luckier with baby #2 somewhere down the road, it won't sleep it its room much (if it's anything like its 3 year old sister that still sleeps with us) haha! But I will keep you updated!

Hey, ladymank53, you and DH deserve a nice homecoming! Carson the butler may not be there with a sherry, but wouldnt it be nice to walk in from a day in the trenches I mean classroom, to a foyer, with the closet right handy, and a view of the fireplace?

I do see that! The only ones that would be coming in from the garage on a normal basis though are my husband and I.

Yes I realize it will only be you and your husband. But shouldn't you have as nice a reception as your guests?

Why should you treat yourself with less importance than you treat your guests who come to visit you? Don't you deserve entering into your beautiful house just as much if not more than your guests?

The bedroom door was a concern for me, but unless I get luckier with baby #2 somewhere down the road, it won't sleep it its room much (if it's anything like its 3 year old sister that still sleeps with us) haha! But I will keep you updated!

My first slept with us until I was 6 month pregnant with my second. Ours were born 4 years apart almost to the day. LOL. And for the first 7 months he didn't sleep for more than 3 hours at a time.

My second from the first night did not want to sleep with us. She wanted her own bed always. And she slept through the night from the first day.

Cpartist I haven't had a garage to park my car in my whole adult life so I think the garage alone will be a nice change of pace haha! But I will see what our builder might could do with it. And you have given me hope for sleeping arrangements!! Our first is an amazing sleeper and will nap fine and all that but at night time she's in our bed. And she's the boss. Apparently.

mrspete and I will just have to agree to disagree on this one.

Yep, so I'll stick to my original advice: The OP needs to "mock it up" with cardboard and see how much space she'll have so she can judge for herself.

This isn't our forever home.

Good -- I do suspect you'll outgrow it, and I do suspect you'll develop opinions on how you want certain things to be. I know that what I want now is quite different from what I wanted when we bought our first house -- and it isn't about being able to afford whatever I want now; rather, when I was younger I looked at pretty rooms -- now I spend more time looking at the function of how those rooms work together.

I do laundry once a week.

Doesn't matter. When you bring all your clothes out to sort them and start them running through the machines, you're going to have a couple "waiting loads", and they do have to go somewhere. In your original plan, those loads will either be piled in front of the garage entrance or in the hallway blocking the way to the kids' rooms. If you keep your machines running constantly, it may only be a problem for a couple hours, but it'll still be a problem.

Also, once you're a family of four (and when the kids wear larger clothes that take up real space in the laundry), you'll do laundry more often.

how much nicer it is to walk into a pretty foyer vs the back hallway

Yes, SS wrote this up very nicely in one of her Not So Big books. If you're prepared a lovely, gracious entry for guests ... it is nice for family to enjoy these same amenities. Also it means you can cut down spaces -- only one coat closet, for example.

In this idea, I definitely prefer the garage entry opening into the foyer. It seems to improve the entry AND the laundry.

Everyone else, unless they are our super close friends that frequent our house and see it all kinds of clean and dirty, will come in the front door.

We're each in complete control of where people -- family, friends, the UPS man -- enter the house. For example, I want everyone to come in my front door, so I'm placing very obvious guest parking towards the front of the house ... then the path to the front door will be wide and attractive, leading people to the door I want them to use ... and, most importantly, no other door will be visible -- not unless you walk around the garage to the back yard, which would be weird.

BTW, mrspete and I don't always agree but I have the utmost respect for her vision and advice, even when I don't agree. :) She is one of the folks who when they offer their advice, I read it thoroughly.

I'm not against moving our garage entry, I'll just have to talk to the builder as far as to what we can do because the plumbing groundwork has already be done. If that makes any sense. Not the full plumbing. The plumbing they do before they do the foundation. I attached a picture I took today.

How exciting to see the foundation! It's when you know you're REALLY under way :)

It is exciting! The foundation and framing should be done this week so I'll update with that!

It might be too late. Who knows. I was fine with the actual plan, my initial concern and reason for this post was if anyone had lived in a similar space and if it was going to be comfortable because like I said, I have no perception at all. Lol

On top of that, making the doorway into your foyer, cuts down on the side of your entry closet, as well as cuts out your linen closet in the hallway.

NO it does NOT. I moved the entry closet up to where the linen closet was and moved the linen closet to where the kid's bathroom was. The kids rooms were changed around.

But you are right, it might cost too much to make the changes, although it's still early enough that it might not be a huge expense. It doesn't hurt to ask and to show your builder. All he can say is that it would be too expensive or he might surprise you if you catch him early in the morning and tell you that it would be a small uncharge. :)

Doesn't matter. When you bring all your clothes out to sort them and start them running through the machines, you're going to have a couple "waiting loads", and they do have to go somewhere.

MrsPete, you and I do laundry very differently. My hamper goes from its normal location in the bedroom, all the clothes get dumped into the washer together and the hamper goes on top of the dryer, and once everything comes out of the dryer, it all comes in the hamper back to the bedroom to get sorted on the bed. I also don't fold anything other than socks (to pair them up). We're a two person household, so we don't typically have "waiting loads" either. Each week we do one load of clothes, one of sheets and one of towels (and it's the same process with the sheets & towels, taking them directly off the bed/ out of the towel hamper and putting them directly back on the bed/into the linen closet when they finish up in the dryer).

It's going to go back and forth on how big it looks depending on stages! It's hard, but trust in your decisions and your builder! Also, I was suprised many times by ours- sometimes things can be changed that I'd expect a change order or $$ on which were no problem or fee at all! So, you may as well ask for anything you do want changed :). All that happens is he says "no" or "it's this much," right?

Very true! I have appreciated all the suggestions, and I think it's funny because the things everyone else saw had never really been thought of by me. We aren't in a typical situation. Our towns house if market is awful, but we have to move on from our rental. We didn't have time to find land. So it's a resedential build and I specifically opted for a slightly smaller floor plan because of the closets. I couldn't have made it work in any of the other stock floor plans at a similar size. Anyway, no, I wasn't really asking for design help, but as Lilysmom said, reassurance. Thank you though!

Oh, we don't have to be asked to put our two cents in, but if we see something, even a tweak, we just can't help ourselves :) And we all like the plan. It's going to be a really nice house for you. And look at that yard! Wowser. Spade out an area for a garden this fall, drop in some compost, and plant some veggies next spring. Exciting times!

Just a little detail you might appreciate...

If you decide to take Jillius's (and reinforced by cpartist!) suggestion to flip the bathroom and put reach-in closets in the kid's rooms, you might want to put some space between the exterior wall and the start of the closet door so that you don't lose furniture floor space.

When I designed our house, little details like this make small rooms much more efficient. Here's part of my 2nd floor as an example:

Even after I said I was "done" because we are in permitting I still got suggestions. And I'm glad I did because until the house is finished, we can still tweak. I know I continue to post my versions just because everyone else sees things that I never thought of either.

As I've mentioned to ladymank multiple times, and as others have too, the house is basically a well thought out house, but if she is able to tweak it to be even better, why not. If not, I don't believe she'll have any regrets.

As of right now, chances are she won't be able to change the entry to the house or the kids bathroom, but it doesn't hurt to ask her builder now, before the slab is poured. That's if she even wants to change it and that is her right if she's happy with it. It's also our right to point out why we might think there's a "better" solution. Note the quotation marks. (The vanity discussion is why I put better in quotes. LOL.)

However, I'm guessing she can eliminate the one vanity in the kids bath, square off the corners, possibly add more room to bedroom 3 and make the kitchen work more efficiently and get rid of the peninsula. (If she wants to.)

But another thing is some of us also post not only for those asking but for those lurking to see how there are always other solutions. :)

If you decide to take cpartist's suggestion

That actually was Jillius's excellent suggestion. (I like credit to go where it is deserved.)

Haha, thank you for watching my back there, cpartist.

In ordinary society, unsolicited advice is usually good to avoid. I agree with that. But here in this building forum, where people have SO much money and inconvenience on the line as they build their homes, I do think it's a good general policy to pipe up if you see something that could be improved, whether or not it's on topic.

If the advice is not helpful to the poster, the poster can just close the webpage. Because it's a forum, there's none of the social expectation to politely listen to someone while they talk and no danger that they will follow you around badgering you or be hurt later when they find out you ignored them. The majority of stuff that makes unsolicited advice so awkward and annoying just isn't present or possible on a forum.

That leaves only the annoyance/stress of having your decisions questioned -- decisions you probably are feeling very DONE with. I do get that. But in the grand scheme of things, that's a very minor aggravation. As my dad says, "If that's the worse thing that ever happens to you, you're doing all right."

And weighing that against the possibility that timely unsolicited advice might save your home/family/budget/happiness MAJOR aggravation later? Seems like a no-brainer to risk the unsolicited advice. It's just so expensive and disheartening and sometimes impossible to fix issues after the home is already built.

Plus, the advice offered in all these threads isn't just for the poster. It's also here for the legions of other people who read these threads to learn more or answer their own questions. The next person who tries to build this plan or something similar is going to have a gold mine of advice to peruse.

In conclusion, I'm going to go make myself some toast. Cheers!

Very well said Jillius. And as I said before I am so thankful for all the "unsolicited" advice I got because every suggestion helped me to refine my house so when I finally do start building (will that day ever come?), I know with the help of the folks here, I've made it the best I could for my lot, my budget and my needs.

I disagree with all the pro's on the closets. I would prefer a walk in regardless if it has less " hanging" space. I want the wall space and my kids closets are going to be a lot like yours are. My kids have so much "other" stuff to put on those walls that don't have hanging space. They have very little clothes to actually hang.

It's the purses, scarves, 20 baseball caps, etc. They can usually manage to get something on a hook , however expecting them to put something on a hanger or in a pull out basket is just asking to much. It also makes everything visible for them to find things.

I also like how the entire wall in the bedroom is not dedicated to closet doors like you would have if you do the reach in style. It gives more wall space for a dresser, etc. And you can also use the back of that door in the walk in for more hanging/hook storage.

Good luck with your build.