If the room is strictly for watching TV, it might be OK. If you will ever use that room for playing board games, doing projects, or reading a book, I would want natural light.

Ann - that's kid of my thought, too. It will primarily be used for watching t.v., but my husband and I often do other things while watching with our daughter, in which case natural light is good. I suspect we're going to end up sacrificing the easier path to the kitchen in favor of better light...

Might there be another solution that gives you natural light and a better path to the kitchen? Why must it be one or the other?

cpartist - that would be ideal, but perhaps not possible with our site constraints. I'll post plans later to see if anyone has any brilliant ideas :-).

Here is the main floor plan, top floor, and side elevation. There is a lower floor devoted to a large garage and shop for my husband, who collects and works on cars. This lets us use the slope of the hill.

We're in the Pacific Northwest, and this is a 20 acre wooded lot about 10 minutes from downtown in our major-ish city, so pretty unique; it's also the property directly adjacent to my parents. It follows a ridge of the hill and at the back will have views of 2-3 mountains. The previous owners got started with construction of a crazy, cantilevered house and sunk crazy, overkill pylons into the ground which we're planning to reuse, as they're great for our earthquake prone region. That sets the location and general dimensions of the house (though it's really the only place to put a house anyway). All of this is to explain that we know it's a site with challenges, but to us they're worth it for the uniqueness and awesome features of the property.

We're pretty happy with the back half of the plan and how it takes advantage of the views; the front half needs work. The current dual hallway is cool in that it provides an easy, straight path from "my" garage on the main level to the kitchen, but we don't like that you enter to a wall and then long, dark hallway, that the media room has no windows, and the guest bedroom is occupying prime real estate. One option we've thought of is to consolidate to a central hall, move the stairs to the corner where the guest room is currently located (nice to have light on them), and distribute the office, playroom, and media room to both sides. That becomes a less direct path from garage to kitchen, though.

One other note - the whole thing will be getting smaller, which shouldn't be too hard as there's currently an upstairs bedroom we don't need and some significantly oversized spaces.

Of all the theatres I've been to, I didn't once miss the absence of windows.

OTOH, my Millennial daughter can't bear to watch a home movie without simultaneously scanning her IPhone and checking the street for passing wildlife.

Holy cow. Alright, I can see the dilemma.

Can you keep the walkway the way it is, just eliminate the wall?

Congratulations on having a rational garage. This is the first garage of this size (small) that I have seen posted here in umpteen years I've been looking at postings. You deserve the annual Award for Garage Common Sense. Last award was in 1960!

How about some transoms along the rear hallway? Will keep sound in for movies, won't allow direct sunlight in (no glare) but can help some light get in there and when you are not in the dark for movies / TV you can feel a little more visually connected with the rest of the house? I've seen the glass interior transoms used effectively in the past to open up a windowless room.

Houseplan looks cool even though it's a little hard to read.

We have a media room too and we added a closet so it can be considered a bedroom should we ever sell the house. We also have two windows and I don't regret adding them since it would seem really closed in if they weren't there (plus you have to have at least one one window as an exit per code). Just a thought.

It's too hard for my aging eyes to read. If you'd like message me here and I'll send you my email and if you have a pdf, I can make it larger so those of us with bad eyesight can read it. :)

Virgil - thanks for the garage award, but I don't think we're actually very deserving giving that the bottom floor is a ridiculously huge shop and car storage garage for my husband (four car storage spots, each with a lift that allows another car to be stored on top). The nice, rational garage is just because I insisted on an option for my car and my daughter's bike that didn't involve carting everything up a set of stairs. At our current house he has a converted barn for car purposes, and at this house we're going to be able to bring it all under one roof, both for convenience and hopefully cost savings (v. an entirely separate building).

Please ensure that your air quality does not suffer from the downstairs garage- esp if it's heated and cooled. I would maintain 2 separate systems, and ensure the door going downstairs is a fire door.

I'm on my Kindle right now, so I can't see all the details... but a window-less media room my not add much resale value down the road. Personally, the few times I actually watch tv, I like lights on, so I can read during the ads. I also think windows during daylight hours are very cheering. It would not be easy to convert a window-less room to a bedroom, due to code if nothing else. I'd design for a window in any room larger than a bath.

Artemis - that is pretty funny about ads. But you admit you don't actually watch TV so it makes sense.

Our current house has a media room without windows. Deep in the basement - as a theater room. Honestly that is what we call a media room around here.

But a main floor, primary TV watching room? That is not what we call a media room. No room like this should be windowless. I can't read the plan so have no advice to offer.

I will add one bit - people like to increase bedroom count for potential resale. It isn't a bad idea but not always applicable. Like making a house Universal Design when it comes on a lot that few would choose if older/physically challenged.

We are building a "small for the hood" house that has a bonus room and we discussed building it as an additional bedroom. Our designer said - don't bother. This isn't a house for a large family - it is for empty nesters or 1 child family (us). He is probably right of course - but the room has a closet and egress windows. Just no access to a full bath but fixable if someone wants later on.

Thanks, all. Working on getting a more legible version of the plan, but my husband also had a chance to talk with our architect today, and it looks like a single central hall is probably going to be the way to go, moving the media room to a wall with windows, making the path from garage to kitchen a little longer. Not idea, but also not terrible given that it opens things up a lot, including allowing a view through the house and out the back from the front door and having windows in the staircase (and of course media room).

Hopefully this works.

Here are some closeups:

Do you find it odd, perhaps counter-intuitive, that the living/great room is adjacent to the kitchen, and the dining room is separated from the kitchen? Would the cooking and eating functions more normally be located adjacent to each other?

Yes, they would. The great room was located based on best view, however and the dining room based on next best view, and is also where the doors to the covered patio/bbq area will be. We want back and forth about whether the to move the kitchen, but the conclusion was the space was better next to the great room and the distance wouldn't too bad across the diagonal. Open to other ideas, though.

If you flipped the kitchen to where the kids room is and the kids room to where the kitchen is now, then you could have a center hallway access?

Should I post the other floor plans and the elevation too?

Sure, feel free if you think it's helpful.

The kitchen is notably bigger than the playroom has been the problem - we liked the space allowed by running the kitchen the length of the great room.

Also, we have concluded that we'll need to go to a center hallway v the double, as we also want to bring the size down and that's an easy way to reduce the sq. footage. Then likely move the stairway to the front corner.

Also, my husband points out the vault goes over the kitchen, but we'd need a wall there for the playroom, which would create an oddly narrow tall greatroom.

My husband didn't want any windows in our media room either. To compromise, we didn't put one in, but we DID frame for it, so we could more easily add one in the future if we wanted. (My parents did the same for a future fireplace).

Here's the other floors and elevations

In defense of your architect, from what I have seen, I feel he can come up with another alternate solution that will satisfy you.

Yes, Mark, I'm confident he can, too. We walked the site with the plans today and were even more pleased with how it will flow overall. I'm sure he can figure out how to rearrange the interior pieces. The hardest part may be waiting - environmental restrictions on our site combined with our city's notoriously long permitting process mean no starting actual construction until May at the earliest.

"Environmental restrictions"

I can relate to that. He has my sympathy.