I appreciate the candid feedback. I'm actually interested in opinions on the whole design, not just the color/material. I've uploaded the original front elevation from my builder. Maybe if you see that he has it designed as all stone with stone or brick around the windows it might not seem as weird. I just removed all the façade in the pic above to have a clean slate to work with. I'd love to stick with all stone but doesn't work into our budget. I agree with removing the arches. Ideas on window shape and combinations? Other ideas?

I've seen some really great grey brick homes and I don't think they need the additional business of stone. Then again - I prefer all brick homes.

Either way I agree with Naf_naf. The house is too busy. I certainly wouldn't mix stone and brick.

You have 3 different window shape/styles, 5 gables with some of them having pork chop returns, a pointed hat hipped roof, and columns that don't seem to hold up the house. And let's not discuss all the bump-o's.

Try an experiment. Close your eyes and then open them. What is the first thing you see on your house when you open them?

I would highly recommend a book that has helped me tremendously when I was designing my house. It's called, What Not To Build

Before picking colours, decide on style.

Here's one of mine from my simple modern period. (This was before practical garages were replaced by tiny glass-fronted stalls behind the front facade, creating awkward cramped interiors.)

*****

Neo-eclectic is the aspirational architecture of modern America. So the more shapes and creases and bump-ins and outs you can fit in the better.

Thanks for the tip on the book. This is my first custom build and am new to terminology so the book should help.

I didn't know what a pork chop (or even a return) was until I Googled it after reading your comment so I definitely appreciate your help and patience. What alternative return would you suggest? I'll Google the name or if you have a pic even better.

What's my alternative to the pointed hat hipped roof (that's what I saw when I opened my eyes!). Just flatten that out, maybe even with the adjacent roofline?

The columns hold up the roof of the front porch that my wife insisted on. I would think structurally they need to be there, but I'll ask my builder.

Tried Googling "bump-o"...got nothing. What is that?

Worthy, that looks nice. I like the dark windows. Our neighborhood developer won't allow front facing garage doors, but I understand what you're saying. As far as style, my wife and I have none. We have no idea what we're doing we just know we want a bigger home.

Our builder is known for doing quality work, but he doesn't offer many ideas--he just builds what the client wants. He just put together an exterior based on the interior rooms (placement/size/shape) hence the protrusions, roof line, asymmetry, etc. He's already gotten the blueprints from the engineer so I'm hesitant to change much at this point. Probably should've employed a design architect before blueprints.

I started this thread wanting to know about exterior material and color, but I'm thankful it's evolved into something more. I just hope it's not too late to address the things you all bring up.

In addition to the esthetics of the pointed hat hipped roof, this roof will someday cost you a fortune to replace. The cheapest roof replacement is a plain old 2 story colonial roof that has a front and back and one peak on top. The more gables/cat walk/valleys you have, the faster the price goes up.

Cpartist, I know what "bump-o" is now from reading Worthy's post (bump-out, what I called "protrusion"). Not sure what to do about them as it seems they're dictated by the interior.

Can you post your interior plan? (I'm hoping the interior isn't just a conglomeration of rooms)

Let us know approximately where in the country or world you are. Which direction faces north. How much land you have to build on and a bit about your family makeup.

How far along are you?

Bump-o is what one of our esteemed architects on this forum calls protrusions.

~4 acre rectangular lot (256' x 637') in suburb of Kansas City MO. House faces north. Two kids, 5 and 8, live at home. One 21 year old child at university that visits on occasion and Mother-in-law may move in eventually hence the second bedroom on main level. I work from home. Walk out basement will be finished later may have a 5th bedroom.

I must warn you, this is rather non-conventional. My wife insisted on oversized kids' bedrooms each with play areas, upper laundry area, and a loft. We designed from the top down, which I understand is abnormal if not misguided. I anticipate many of you will have something to write about those bedrooms but there's no changing her mind.

All I really care about is outdoor living. What's labeled "sun room" is actually an outdoor/open-air covered patio. What's not shown is the pool, fire pit, outdoor kitchen.

Interested on opinions of floor plan, too, just keep in mind size of UL bedrooms aren't changing.

Since dimensions aren't listed I'll provide a few for scale:

Main Level - bedroom= 16x21, living=20x22, guest bed=15x12:

cpartist, forgot to tell you how far we are...just got blue-prints and signed contract with builder. Bank processing paperwork. Won't break ground for about a month.

It's too small to read. And we really need to see room sizes in relation to all sizes.

As for large kids rooms, that's your desire and is fine since the idea of a custom home is you should get those things that are important to you.

If you can't get the plan to read larger, if you have a pdf, message me and I'll give you my email, and I'll resize for you.

Did this work? If not, I'll message you. That's very kind of you to help me out.

I noticed that the pic is larger when clicked on, but forgot you needed dimensions. I only have this but I think it's still too small. Should I email you these plans in PDF?

The first floor came out larger but can't read the dimensions.

What is the size of the house on the first and second floors?

I know you're close to building but if it's not right, do you really want to spend 6 figures for something that won't make you happy each and every day?

blue-prints and signed contract with builder. Bank processing paperwork.

Really not much that can be done at this point other than not adding in a slew of mix 'n match materials.

What a wonderful space to work with! I build on city infill 40-70 ft. lots with as little as four feet to the adjacent structure. I renoed downtown homes often on 15'-18' wide lots.

Here's what we told builder: ML - oversized master closet, no formal dining, kitchen/island facing backyard, his and her offices, back stairwell, 4 car garage (must not face front per restrictions). We ended up with the second ML bedroom to make room for the large bedrooms upstairs, which turned out to be a good idea since m-in-law may move in. UL - two oversized kids' bedrooms with playrooms their own bathroom and WIC, loft, 2nd laundry. Exterior - front porch, covered patio, screened patio. Should I still message you to get email, or will this suffice?

Message me. Too many questions. Excuse my bluntness please. I'm not a midwesterner. I'm a New Yorker. ;)

What is the distance between the end of your island and your fridge/freezer?

How wide are your hallways?

Did you know that curved staircases like that are not the safest?

Will you really put your MIL off the mudroom like that? (Don't you like her?)

How much room between the end of your tub and the edge of your vanity? Do you really need a bathroom that wide?

Do you need such a larger foyer? Did you realize your foyer is longer than your family room?

It feels like though you have a large home, you don't have large public spaces, considering you said the sun room is actually an outdoor space. That's fine for summers and late spring and early fall, but what about the rest of the year?

Honestly, your kitchen is large, but it's not functional at all. It will require lots of walking back and forth. Great for exercise though.

Is there a reason you only have windows on one wall of your bedroom?

Wouldn't you like your kids to have windows on two walls of their bedrooms?

Are you ok with your kitchen area not getting natural light? (No it won't penetrate to the kitchen from the dining area.)

The only room in your whole house that has windows on more than one wall is your master bathroom!

That is a massive roof.

BTW: Here's a website that I also like to read. She's more blunt than me though.

Mcmansion hell

"I'd love to stick with all stone but doesn't work into our budget." A big portion of your budget is going to the 3,800+ sq ft first floor - because you have a 3,600 sq ft basement. The total of your first and second floors is 5,710 sq ft. If you built a traditional 2-story house, you would have about 2,800 sq ft on the first floor (this does depend on garage, though). The cost of a basement foundation for 2,800 sq ft vs. 3,600 sq ft is significant.

We are also building on 4 acres (in PA). Have just signed a contract with a builder - but spent months and months on research, looking at plans and driving around looking at houses within 3 counties. We considered a first floor master/first floor guest BR/"1 and 1/2" story house - these make the basements large and not cost-effective.

As part of our "research", we bought this book: Get Your House Right by Marianne Cusato. It's an eye-opener. The book explains proportions and elements of classic house styles. You may not want a traditional Colonial or Georgian style house, but the book shows you the concepts of how everything should fit together.

Just a thought, may not be large enough for you, but much better proportions without being too "Colonial": http://www.dreamhomesource.com/house-plans/dhs/dhsw55092.html

If you are wanting the first-floor master, along with first-floor guest BR, this house is amazing and more proportional: http://www.dreamhomesource.com/house-plans/dhs/dhsw52333.html

Good luck!

That second house plan I posted, look at the roof line of the main part of the house - very simple. Big difference from your current plan.

Inv116, the first one you posted still is a bloated floor plan but the second one looks like something that could work well.

Notice how that second one is only 2 rooms deep at most? Simple roof.

Yes, you are under contract and have plans. BUT...what would it cost you to change horses in the middle of the stream? You have a VERY bad plan with much of the expensive of building it going into a huge basement and VERY expensive roof. And it gives you very little public space for your money. I have NO problem with large entrance halls and large bedrooms - in fact, I quite like them. But one must also have large "reception rooms" as the Brits call them.

And now, with this huge house, at the very least, you're going to have to compromise on the finishes for the exterior. It's what you see every single day when you come home. What a shame...