It's too light to read.

If you click the links above the inserted pic, its much easier to read. Took a bit till I figured that out.

I agree the space is weird. I will have to look longer to find a solution. a unique layout for sure.

doc5md - Unique layout with regards to Butler's Pantry or the House itself? We were working from a somewhat existing floorplan and we wanted a Butler's Pantry, otherwise it would require us to exit the closed kitchen into the hallway into the Dining Room. So we wanted a way to get in quickly from Kitchen for holidays. Looking forward to seeing what you think is a good solution. We're in blueprint phase so anything can change, even just suggestions could help us provide it back to the draftsman.

Stephaja007 - Not sure I can visualize what you are saying.

We do have a pool house/guest house which is where longer term guests will stay. But some folks have said the Guest Bedroom being so close to public area is a problem. We have a similar setup now and haven't had an issue. For us though it's mainly about walking out directly to cabinets and then into a kitchen. Just a very stressful time trying to figure out things on paper.

Also, since you opened it to general comments - your kitchen is massive yet the appliances seem to be crammed together with no real work space in-between and you have nearly enough room for a table between the island and living room furniture. I would consider putting in a second island or even some sort of double sided, counter height display cabinet between the living and kitchen. Or I'd make the laundry and pantry larger to use up some of the space.

thelewinters - Hah, I understand your confusion - I am terrible with words. See the wall and opening from the 'kitchen hall' to the dining? Copy that and paste it between the 'kitchen hall' and butlers. That way the butler's pantry isn't completely open to the kitchen hall, there is a wall with just an opening.

Stephja007 - That's what we discussed. The nook will have a built in bench & seating, and it will actually be a 144" x 54" Counter Height Slab(s). The issue with the kitchen was caused by creating that opening for the Butler Pantry. Original idea was an L kitchen w/ plenty of space. We figured that the Butler's Pantry gives us plenty of additional storage as well.

Keep the comments coming :) It's abundantly helpful.

But the double islands "may" work better if the 144x54" slab isn't enough. Thoughts?

Also, some on Reddit are mentioning that the flow is "wacked" due to 6 bathrooms, but only 1 of them is accessible for public. Thoughts on that?

What is the add room going to be used for?

Also do you have elevations? Where is this being built?

Additional room is going to be kid flex space/living room. That's why two kids rooms are accessible through it.

Will be built in Central FL on 1.1 acre lot

Lily'smom articulated it better than I, making the kitchen hall feel like a hall instead of part of the butlers pantry is all that is needed to get rid of it. And couldn't agree more - if they don't like the gracious set up you have for them, let them find something else more accommodating.

What an interesting plan! Sprawling - but has potential to have huge amounts of indoor / outdoor living. Thoughts:

• I really don't have an issue of the guest bedroom location - it is more in the kitchen "hall" that directly into the butlers pantry. It kinda has a "I've in help" location sort of vibe, by the way.
• Why is everything near the garage labeled Back Porch - isn't that a bedroom and living / kitchen / self contained suite back there? It might be weird that you can enter that directly from the garage and it is at garage level but there are stairs into the house? Confusing.
• Kitchen - get some help there - it is designed as an afterthought in such a large home
• I really LIKE the additional room shared by the kids' bedrooms - it's a closed off play / study / hang out space. Like a mini apartment that is connected but not messing up the rest of your stuff. ;-)
• I like the back all - almost lanai like - seeing the outdoor area on your way in from the garage.
• Your window and door bill is gonna be HUGE - especially if you go high end and get glass that won't transmit a ton of heat. But - it's likely necessary for the design. Just be prepared. And to that end - have you considered a Nano-wall for the great room on to the back instead of the french doors shown? Or at least some LARGE sliders - you need a statement door / wall system there.
• There's a lot here - might take some time to get through it all

I agree with everything that Janni, Lily's Mom and Steph said.

Who will be using the back porch bedroom/kitchen area? Is that for parents? If so have you made sure it will be ADA?

I think CAD had things labeled incorrectly. I think stairs up are incorrect, it's more a tiny step up that's all. I think it's in plans but may not be necessary.

Need feedback on Kitchen? It was larger and more planned out when it was a full L. what would you change? If we added double 12' islands one with sink and the other for gathering does that fix things? Curious on your take

we hate sliders so went with French doors instead. The full open ones we didn't like the entire back lanai is huge and we will probably install Phantom Screens to close area if we need

The guest house isn't designed specifically for ADA because it's mainly for in laws coming for long periods of time and need some space like for Christmas.

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I think the french doors will not be dramatic enough / look like a too small compromise. they can work really well with the automatic screen and really enlarging the "room" instead of having a smaller "pinch point" of french doors.

Of course - not sure of your style / elevations, but think that the nano wall works with any style that values true indoor / outdoor space.

As for the kitchen....

• there almost looks like too much space between island and counter.
• is one fridge enough for such a large house and so many potential folks being there
• what about a beverage fridge? refrigerator drawers for snacks for kids?
• coffee center?
• What's that set of cabinets used for on the right lower area?
• what about making cookies / pies, etc?
• how many folks cook? start thinking about Christmas / Thanksgiving and all the folks that would like some counter space

Love the look of that but in the heat of Florida we would never keep that open. Maybe only a few times a year and with a 1yr old not the best idea :) we may go with more French doors or the sliders that open entire way again as an idea. We are big on indoor/outdoor entertaining.

The kitchen I agree with spacing seems too much. Need about 6' most between cabinets and island. We may move oven to other side to have more prep near range. We figured coffee station may be in Butlers area. We plan to have extra fridge in garage and small fridge in butlers. But our family is small right now as we plan for future

I think if we made the island a full 54" wide slab with 12' or at very least 10' we'd have a little more usable space. We currently have the big island and that's where everyone congregates. We don't have a ton of cooks really and our counter space is limited now and not bad.

We meet with builder and draftsman this weekend so I'll take all these things into account.

The guest bedroom doesnt bother me. I think a guest might enjoy a little separation for privacy.

Is it normal to have bedrooms up against a garage wall? Will the cars coming and going and noise from the garage door opening and closing be loud for the kids when they are sleeping?

I agree with the others that just framing of the pantry like the other doorway makes it fine.

Unique in the separation and outdoor spaces and flow. I like it overall.

The guest house isn't designed specifically for ADA because it's mainly for in laws coming for long periods of time and need some space like for Christmas.

That is all the more reason to make sure it's ADA compliant. Remember your folks aren't getting younger and it's easy to make it compliant now with wide enough doors and aisles and levers instead of knobs on doors. It's much harder later. That doesn't mean you need to go full ADA but think if someone might at some future date need a walker, or even crutches. What can you do to make it easier for them

Looks like it has the potential to be an amazing house! I would post your kitchen in the kitchen forum. The lack of prep space I such a huge kitchen (especially by the range) would be a huge concern for me.

the only other thing that would bother me with the layout is if you currently have a 1 year old and are planning on more children, the distance from the master to the kids rooms would concern me. It is quite a hike in the middle of the night for feeding/sick kids/nightmares/etc.. I would almost consider using the den as a nursery until your kids get older. Although, I realize this is a personal thing. I liked having my kids close when they were toddlers and younger. Now that my youngest will be almost 5 when we finish our build, I'm okay with them being a bit separated from the master ;)

One other thing I noticed - the entrance from the garage is a long hallway. Consider having a bigger mudroom/drop zone area. Think about coming home with multiple kids and all their school bags, sport gear, instruments, and so on. It might be nice to have a spot to drop stuff so you aren't having to haul stuff down that long hallway as you walk in the door.

When you start designing a home with an existing plan, you automatically start with something that is wrong and spend exorbitant amounts of time to try fix it. Often times the path taken leads to down right poor design or quirky details that leads one to ask, "What the hell is that?" A "draftsman and builder" rarely have the qualification or abilities to correct an odd plan, or deal with intellectual property issues.

Thank you all for the feedback thus far. It is greatly appreciated and giving us some additional ideas.

Mark, thank you for your comments. We understand what you are saying. We fell in love with the original plan as is, with the addition of the Flex Space between Kids Rooms. What is causing us issues is the addition of a Butler's Pantry. By doing this, we had to change things around a bit. We're still toying with the idea that if we don't absolutely love it to work with an Architect to look at our design and consult with us on ideas. Not sure if that's something an Architect is willing to do? Look at existing plan and helping make suggestions w/o full on new Autocad?

Look at existing plan and helping make suggestions w/o full on new AutoCAD?

A computer program will not provide one with creativity. That will only come from one's head. JK Rowling didn't write what she did because she went out one day and bought a hot shot state of the art word processing program at Office Depot. Her creativity, all of it, came out of her head. Computer programs can allow a greater testing of that creativity of course as JK had it much easier testing and editing of words and phrasing than say Hemingway on his manual typewriter but the one thing they both had in common was ALL of their creativity came out of their brains, not from some motherboard or a Royal manual typewriter.

And ironically, most of the creative residential designers come up with the concept, or "big idea" using a freehanded pen on paper. Sure, they may be developed later using Sketchup or some similar program but even then all those ideas are coming from a brain. There's no dialog box that pops up in the middle of the screen saying "The house may be a little dark!" or "Why don't you try the a gabled roof instead of hipped?".

I know some registered architects who are very knowledgable in CAD programs that I wouldn't trust to design a house for my dog!

Some architects will come up with two plans; one that take your preconceived plan and makes the changes you ask for, and one plan from scratch that fits the site and meets your needs. In my experience clients pick the later.

Computer aided Design is just a tool, just like pencil and paper. Each has their advantages and disadvantages.

The guest room is perfect for in-laws; I know because I am one. They will be awake before anyone else and can make the coffee and possibly even breakfast so show them where everything is located immediately upon arrival.

And be sure to not keep them awake after 10PM.

JDS, that is so true! LOL I am the mother/mother-in-law, and travel to visit my daughter, son-in-law, and grandkiddos out of state. Before they bought their current house, they rented a house with a guest suite behind the kitchen (all other bedrooms were upstairs). I loved visiting in that house. I could make all the noise I wanted in the morning while making coffee, making breakfast, etc, and I had a lot of privacy, too!