Very cool house :-) The plans are a little hard to see, but I noticed that your office is down 1/2 flight of stairs below the first floor grade and it has a high ceiling. However, on the elevations, it shows the windows up on the first floor level. I think once you are in the office, these window will be over your head and you won't be able to look out of them. It's hard to tell though and maybe this is what you were going for.

Also, in the upstairs kid's bath, the door swings right into the toilet. Do you have enough room to maneuver comfortably around the toilet and shut the door? Maybe a pocket door would be better.

Hope you will posts pics as you build this one. It's nice to see a modern custom home.

Yeah, sorry about the small size of the plans, but just about all the plans posted on here seem to turn out that way.

Yes, the office is 1/2 flight down. The windows are up high, its 6'8" from the office floor to the bottom of the glass. You definitely won't be able to see out of them while seated. I kinda like them like that, because they can stay uncovered, allow light in, and still provide privacy. If someone walks up on the front porch they would be able to look down into the office, but from a distance there is privacy.

The door to the office was originally off of the living room, but it was taking up what little wall space I have in that room. So I decided to move the office entry to the stair landing, makes it seem more like a destination/away room, and give it a cool 3 face vaulted ceiling. There's a window on the 2nd landing that opens and overlooks into the office below.

Nice plan. I really like the stone wall on the elevation. I have only two thoughts...

1. The french doors into the master right off of the landing. I had this at our last house and we hated it. Either they both wouldn't latch, the dogs/kids would push them open when they were supposed to latch, or we would have one latched on the top so only one side opened and I would forget and run into the side that was latched closed.

I get that you want to make the entry into the master more interesting I wonder if there might be a better way, maybe a short inset hallway or something.

2. The gas fireplace in the living room, since it's in an interesting location I wonder if a 3 sided fireplace might be an option and might add an interesting design detail. There are a ton of examples on line this is just a more modern one I found.

Venado Vista House · More Info

The architect originally planned for the fireplace to be a 3 sided fireplace on the end of the spline, like what you have pictured, but we had a hard time finding a reasonably priced one in the size that we needed. And also based on how I wanted the open stair landing, there needed to be a support column on the end corner of the spline, which made it even more difficult to find a 3 sided fireplace that would work. There was just too much above the fireplace to have it cantilever like that.

Personally I might like an exterior door from the laundry, because we sometimes like to use the solar dryer ;-)

Congrats, good luck, and have fun!

The architect originally planned for the fireplace to be a 3 sided fireplace on the end of the spline, like what you have pictured, but we had a hard time finding a reasonably priced one in the size that we needed.

Take a look at Montigo Fireplaces.

Also, in the upstairs kid's bath, the door swings right into the toilet. Do you have enough room to maneuver comfortably around the toilet and shut the door? Maybe a pocket door would be better.

Agree. If you ever needed to get into that bathroom while someone is in there with the door opening in, you wouldn't be able to.

I get that you want to make the entry into the master more interesting I wonder if there might be a better way, maybe a short inset hallway or something.

Also agree. Plus I'd rather have the wall space than a door that will always be a PITA.

A few things.

I would consider putting in a window where I indicated in red so when you enter the house you look through to the "light".

Also people tend to take the path of least resistance meaning that when they come into the house from the garage, most will not actually go into the mudroom. Can you somehow make the mudroom the entry from the garage and make it wider as you enter.

I also think you have a pinch point there. Don't know if you have children, or intend to have them in the future, but try imagining getting a couple of kids in and out the door with backpacks, hockey sticks, etc in that narrow width area.

I would flip your washer/dryer because if you ever decide to go with front loaders, the washing machine can only open to the left and needs to be on the left side. Plus, usually if you use the sink to presoak, it then all goes into the washing machine to be washed. As it is now, you'll be dragging it across the dryer to the washing machine dripping.

Speaking of laundry rooms, I personally find it quite a shlep to get from upstairs to where your laundry is. I had that in my last house and doing laundry was more a chore than it needed to be because of the distance carrying baskets of laundry up and downstairs. (see green arrow.)

I would probably switch the door from the kitchen to the patio to a slider and make it wider. Why not get more light into the kitchen and also this way the door doesn't wind up in the way trying to go in and out.

Are you having an outdoor kitchen? If so, where will it go?

I would flip your ovens and your fridge so your fridge is near your pantry for when you're unloading groceries, but also for when you're prepping meals.

Additionally I'd off center the sink on the island so you don't have to make a 180 pivot to go from sink to cooktop. Much safer that way.

Actually have you vetted your kitchen in the kitchen forum? If not, I highly recommend doing so.

I'm totally fine with the laundry where it is on the main floor. It actually changed as well, and those changes are not reflected on these plans. I'm going to have alot of cabinets and storage in the laundry room, will probably keep cleaning supplies in there, so I'd like it accessible on the first floor.

I don't think I could put a window there even if I wanted to, in my county there are bracing wall restrictions that limit how many windows and where you can put them. In the office I wanted two windows on the side wall in the corners, and was going to shift the existing windows to the corners as well to make a corner window setup. Couldn't do it because of the bracing wall restriction.

I was thinking about shifting mudroom closet to the right, and moving the garage door between the laundry and mudroom closet, forcing someone to zig zag thru the mudroom to get in and out of the house. But I think that might be abit of a safety issue if you ever need to get out of the house quickly, and could make it harder to bring long bulky items in and out of that area, like bringing a ladder in the house from the garage. I guess I could always bring it thru the front door and have a straight shot though.

Mike if I recall, ILoveRed had a similar issue with her mudroom/powder room/laundry and she found another way to make all three work. You might want to message her and see what she did with her drawings.

I don't think I could put a window there even if I wanted to, in my county there are bracing wall restrictions that limit how many windows and where you can put them.

What about making the living room slider wider so you at least glimpse the outdoors?

Also definitely make the kitchen door to the patio a slider as mentioned.

Congratulations on your final plans. Since you asked, the spaces in many of the major areas appear to be on the small side. Have you done a "furnishings plan" to ensure existing and new furnishings will fit in the way you prefer?

No, we have not done a furnishing plan yet. We are going to hire an interior designer to help with this and other selections that need to be made during this process.

@cpartist - The slider off of the living room is actually 10' wide, and we cut it back to 9' I think, and saved like 7K doing so. Amazing how expensive some of those sliding doors can be. In my current house I have a sliding door out to the back yard where the grill is. I hate it, the door is heavy, leaks air, and is a pain to open and close when my hands are full with food that I am grilling. The door to the outside in the kitchen will have a full glass panel, and we'll probably put a screen door on it too.

The problem with the door in the kitchen is that it impedes into the kitchen space which is why I suggested a slider.

@cpartist - How does the door impede into the kitchen space? If I am going to leave it open for any extended length of time, I'll open it 180 degrees so that it is flush against the wall, letting traffic pass between the door and the island. Putting a slider in that spot will be more expensive, have more heat loss, and wouldn't be as easy to go in and out of.

That's fine.

Mike the house is perfect just as it is. I wouldn't change a thing.

(For lurkers, there are two kinds of folks who come to GW and ask for help. Those who are truly looking for "ideas and suggestions" and those only looking for validation.)

I'd also recommend reviewing your kitchen layout on the kitchen forums - you could run into issues with the fridge up against the wall, requiring a decent sized filler strip in order to have the door open more than 90 degrees.

I'm going to put it up on the kitchens forum in the next day or two. I need to annotate the drawing abit to show where I think work zones will go first.

First of all, great house, Mike. I just did some lengthy input on the kitchen (that's my specialty area). I didn't see this thread until later. For what it's worth at a quick glance:

- The controversial patio door:) Sorry, the slider does make better sense because of the placement for the door swing & storage when open. It would also provide more natural light & easier to maneuver with hands full on the way to the patio. Current insulated glass with low e & argon gas wouldn't really be more energy loss than a hinged door. I also don't know where you live (Florida?) but screens are extremely difficult with a hinged door but not impossible. But, I see you voiced your opinion on the slider.

- Secondly, wondered why, with a new construction, you were placing the laundry at the opposite end of where 99% of the laundry is generated & stored (the second floor bedroom areas). From personal experience & client feedback, it's unnecessary energy & time for everyone on different floors &, here's a plus, the kids tend to do their own laundry earlier if closer to the bedroom. But, I see you've stated your preference for that on the main, as well.

Carry on! Doing great.

@cpartist, Rhonda, and a few others - I did decide to replace the swing door in the kitchen with a 6' slider. Also taking the slider out of the living room area and replacing it with 3 windows, just like on the adjacent wall, so it makes a big corner window. I did this thinking it would help with furniture placement in the living room, not having to worry about blocking a door. Now access to that patio is thru a 33" swing door on the right side of the dining area.

I did finally see the light...

Mike, good for you. May your passage be easy!

Excellent. I think you'll find it much more convenient in the long run than having a door in the way.

A door from the dining room will work since your dining room is 16'.

Now that you made the sliders in the living room into windows, you might want to instead revisit making a swinging door to the patio opposite the front door in the living room. This will also help draw you to the light so to speak. I know your concern was in terms of wind loads, but with them now being windows, I'm guessing you could manage a glass door there.

Mike, just a quick response to plan recommendations. The laundry/mudroom change I suggested actually gives more light into both working areas. I wouldn't do walls or door, as drawn but, instead, put a slider between laundry/mud room & kitchen. Under the window, a drop area (vs. the bench) & the lockers on the mudroom side opposite the laundry run. The locker space is then larger than original. This plan actually provided more cubic footage of storage than the walk-in pantry concept &, IMHO & professional opinion, more user friendly as well as more aesthetically pleasing. The half bath feels much more private when not part of the thoroughfare & I'd add a full length mirror where the garage door was. A pocket door could be added from laundry/mudroom into that short hall if it serves a purpose or shortcut. Just wanted to clarify. Well, that's it & best of luck to you & your new home, Mike!

Oh, and the laundry room dryer is no longer vent run than the original plan. Looks like my red-lined sketch was removed(?)

I think its in the Kitchen forum...

Mike can you add it here too?

Here's a link to the kitchens forum, where I posted the kitchen layout. Some good feedback there as well. http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/4851758/kitchen-layout-critique-please

So about that door opposite the entry?

Ummm... No. Taking Herbflavor's suggestion and putting it on the right wall of the dining room. When you have two doors in line with each other like that the energy just flows in one and right out the other, leaving the house feeling tired and drained.

Time I add some pics, things have really come along since September...

A few more pics...

Locale shots

Looking good!

loos good but I'd be surprised if you are in within a month. I hope you are though

Wow! Everything looks great. You are in the home stretch!

Looks exciting!! (What, btw, is a FLW?)

FLW = Frank Lloyd Wright

https://franklloydwright.org/

Getting lights on now... :-)

Very cool spaces! Love seeing it all come together.

Mike, why is that electric service panel in a hole basically. Something that stuck out at me and doesn't seem right.