Kind of busy today, but the first quick things...

I'm not sure sun room and screened porch are both necessary.

screen porch door area has a lot of door conflict going on.

Great room is going to be a big area, but not a lot of room for furniture because of the walking paths. you need a path at the top and the bottom of that room that takes 17' down to 11' (if 3' paths). presuming you divide the room in half for dining table and living room space, then you need a path down the middle. Half of 25 is 12.5' minus 1.5' (half a 3' walk) leaves you with 11' for LR space. Not terrible, but just wanted to make you aware.

Otherwise, the spaces are pretty straight forward and nothing glaring at me.

A few things jump out at me. First, I would swap deck and screen porch - or screen the whole thing, if bugs are a problem where you live. We like to eat outside, so I'd want the screen porch closer to the kitchen. But looking more closely - the porch/deck are not even 10' wide. That does not leave much room for a table - or any other furniture, especially with the door right in the middle.

What type of furniture do you plan for the sun room? That's pretty small as well, and it seems like a pinch point between the island and the sun room (coming from the great room).

Have you laid out furniture in the great room? Once you allow for traffic paths from the garage, stairs, to the bedrooms and deck, your furniture placement will be limited.

I'm afraid the covered porches will limit the natural light in most of the living spaces.

None of the bathrooms has any storage space at all. Where will you keep bath towels and toilet paper?

I do like the idea of expanding the laundry into a mud room. What part of the country are you in, and how many people will be living in the house?

Those are good things to look at. Since we are empty nesters, it is usually just the two of us so we were thinking of a small table in the sunroom space that can be expanded and moved into the great room area when we have family over - which is usually 4 or 5 times per year.

Ann, we are located in Northwest Indiana. There will just be the two of us in the house. Our children are all grown and live from coast to coast. We currently have a screened porch and deck that we rarely use - deck is used solely for grilling summer meals. Thinking of having just a couple of chairs for reading in the screened porch. Bath towels and TP will be stored in the cabinets under the sinks. But may talk to the designer about a linen closet near the master bath. The back of the house will over look a small oak grove so we would like to keep the view open from the great room.

You might lose closet space, but I'd rather see the master bedroom door where the foyer closet is, or from the front of the great room instead of the back. This gives you a straight path from the side entry, the kitchen, the laundry, without having to arrange your great room furniture to accommodate pathways. You could steal space from the front bedroom for a foyer closet.

How wide is the passage between great room and sunroom? Is it wide enough for easy passage? Will you have a dining/kitchen table in the sunroom?

Yes, that MBR entry location messes up a nice corner in the living room and kinda turns the great room into a "great hall" and there is a way to work out the entry closer to the stair without losing any closet space.

A couple of odd things...that little "entry" stuck crudely on the right, and a set of stairs going up and all that roof structure for just one bedroom up there doesn't seem the best approach. I'd go with just a 3BR rambler with a simple stair going down.

But good luck with your build. Exciting times for sure!

Good idea! I just sent a note to the designer about moving the master bedroom door. The passage between the great room and sunroom will depend upon the size of the island. So, when we design the kitchen we will take that into consideration. thank you. We currently have a small 40" wide square table that when expanded can seat 10 people. We are hoping to use that in the sunroom and move it into the great room when we have company.

The plan is rather unusual for just a 3-bedroom home. And the third "bedroom", on the second level, is very oddly arranged and has no access to a bathroom, except to go down stairs and hike through all the house to get to the bath next to the laundry. At the very least, you may wish to add a bathroom on the second level, at least for resale purposes. I think you can do better than this plan...! ;-)

I agree with ARG - the upstairs "bedroom" isn't really suitable as such. Perhaps a bunk room for grandkids, but such a large space with windows at one end is rather awkward for a bedroom - not to mention the distance to the nearest bathroom.

Good catch on the upstairs bath Virgil. Makes that bedroom being located up there even more troublesome.

Interesting plan.

Likes: overall look and symmetry - all the exterior elements work together very nicely. Clean simple lines for roof, and foundation - which all makes economic sense, but it's done well without being boxy. Not having much more info on your family situation makes hard to be any more specific, but I like this overall look very much and think it can be easily adapted.

Concerns: depending on your use for the bedroom #2 you might want to change the entry so that it's not like "hired help off the kitchen". Is the master bath tub and shower area a "wet room"? If so - it will likely work - but I have to tell you - I am totally against that idea - I think the openness looks great in pics, but I would despise cleaning it. Imagine trying to get in and out of that master water closet... where do you stand when you are inside the WC and want to get out? on top of the toilet? Don't like cooktops in an island due to venting challenges - post kitchen in kitchen forum for best input. Not a fan of "hanging" rooms - i.e. there appears to be no basement under the sunroom. Bedrooms are scattered on 3 floors - might be perfect for you - might be too disperse - depends on your situation.

I think with some tweaking it's a livable plan.

You have some nice options depending on how you plan to use rooms. Bedroom 2 could be a den (like for watching tv or quiet reading), or a home office, or a guest room, or a combination. Placement of doors and closets can make it flexible.

Bedroom 3 upstairs you can also use as a den or office, or a bunk room for the grands, though if you are finishing the basement as shown you may not have to do that. I think the upstairs would be a charming studio/hobby space! Close by, but you can leave your projects out!

This will be a walk out basement as we are building on a hill on our property. I am an artist and plan on using bedroom 4 in basement for a studio with a murphy bed for when the kids come to visit. Bedroom 5 in basement will double as my husband's work out space with a second murphy bed. We are thinking that the 2nd story bedroom will be more of a loft area that we will use for a library. Never looked at the second main floor bath as one for hired help.... that's what I like about these forums, it definitely gives you a new perspective! Thinking pocket door for the water closet is an excellent idea.

If you want to move the table, make sure there is room to fit past the island! Otherwise, you may be better off with two tables, an expandable in the great room; you could use it for doing projects or working while you watch movies. Or just get one of those folding banquet tables. Mine comes in handy year-round, I may as well leave it up all the time lol!

The stair blocking the window looks odd and could be problematic with use. I hope the plan fully takes advantage to the site's features. Window above the master bathroom sink could be problematic. Keep humid air generated from the master bathroom out of the walk-in closet. Garage placement should be dictated by the site. Second floor bedroom could use one of the bathrooms in the basement.

I fear this is another preconceived plan plopped on a site.

Provide ventilation in the studio especially if you are working in oil.

First, William Lindy is not an architect so it is inappropriate to grant him that restricted professional title or imply that anyone in his firm has that kind of experience or capacity. They are all residential contractors turned home designers.

The stair appears to have been designed last. I would start again and design the stair first. An up and down switchback stair in a foyer is a very difficult design challenge and apparently beyond the skill or care of the designer.

The rest of the plan shows a similar lack of insight or care resulting in missed opportunities. Tuning the circulation and the door swings is unlikely to fix it.

It appears the primary goal of the designer was to contain the plan within a rectangle to reduce cost and that was accomplished. Its the best and worst feature of the house. Its really a vacation house but that's not a bad thing.

The upstairs room appears to allow a dormer to improve a plain front facade. Its the perfect guest room for those you don't want to stay long.

You're empty nesters which implies you are planning to age in place. So what happens when you can no longer walk up and down those stairs to your studio?

Also as an artist, unless your work is only computer generated work, why would you want a studio in the basement with only light from the south? The perfect studio would be the upstairs room if you could also figure out a way to put in a way to get upstairs if you ever need it and how to add a half bath. Then you wouldn't need to share your studio with a Murphy bed.

One other thought. Since you are building on 18 acres, why not build a house that would be more conducive to aging in place? Meaning one story.

JDS, thank you for your insight. I never thought to look up the background of William Lindy and his associates. The online site we found the plans on did not give the name of the designer so we did not get that information until we purchased the plans. Lesson learned! I do think we will continue to work on tweaking this plan as it has some things that we really like. I can see what you are saying about the staircase and have sent an inquiry about it. Luckily, the upstairs is only going to be a reading/yoga space - and may be an area for grandkids if our kids ever settle down.

Have you thought about enclosing the breezeway to the garage? You would still have the "look" of the detached garage, but you would not have to brave the elements to get to/from the house.

jbax, I love that idea, but my husband wants just the covered walkway - why? I am not sure since we are building just off Lake Michigan and the property is always windy!

Again, why not build a house where you can actually age in place. You're healthy now but who knows what life can throw at you.

When my Mom was 54, she and my Dad sold their colonial house and instead bought a 1 story ranch. My mother loved colonials, so I asked her why she was buying a ranch house. She replied, "I'm not getting any younger and I want a house I can age in because we never know."

This was a woman who went to the gym 5x a week, ran around, ate healthy, never smoked, kept her weight down, etc. The only step was a step up from the separate family room to the main part of the house.

Then at age 72, my Mom developed Parkinson's disease. She still managed to drive, go to the gym 5x a week, etc, for many years but at around age 78 she developed a sore that wouldn't heal on her ankle and she was told to stop exercising until it healed. That was the start of my Mom's decline.

However, because she had planned to age in place she was able to continue to live in her house until the last few months of her life. But I will tell you that one step up from the family room and the curb in her shower became like climbing Mt. Everest to her.

What will YOU do when you can no longer climb those stairs in your house or even get yourself up over the threshold since you have no place planned for even an elevator?

You actually have the land to create a one story house unlike most of us who live on smaller plots.

why? I am not sure...

Then why don't you ask him and find out?

If you love the idea, then tell him you want it enclosed.