maybe mirror the stairway to the opposite side of the family room ... no one needs the power room need the master bedroom ... or any sleeping quarters for that matter... nice design.. who was your designer?

1-2 room deep houses are best for a lot of reasons -- proportionate/less expensive roofs, abundance of natural light (interior rooms are very dark), opportunity for cross breezes, flexibility to add on later, etc.

My only recommendation, since you already seem aware of the awesomeness of southern exposure and awfulness of western exposure, is to rework the house so that it is absolutely no more than 2 rooms deep anywhere. Covered/screened porches and patios, as well as pergolas, would "count" in that 2-room-deep ideal. :-)

I like the plan!

If it were my house on a working ranch I'd want access to a bathroom coming in from garage. Consider moving the half bath somewhere near the laundry make it a 3/4 bath by adding a shower to give the second guest bed a bathroom rather than sharing with the first guest bedroom. If you do this I'd probably keep the large bath private and make it more of a suite.

Solid plan. Don't second guess it.

Hate to be the one to disagree, but...this looks like an "anywhere" house, and not a house custom designed in and for Texas. Is regional vernacular an important criteria for your design?

What would you consider regional vernacular in this case?

While I like the house on the top there isn't a single thing that say "TEXAS" to me.

The house looks ordinary; maybe that's another way of saying "anywhere". You have an opportunity to create a home with unique character like the houses in Virgil's first two images. Engage someone that is creative, most likely an architect.

I have to agree with Virgil and Mark. It's not a bad house, but it looks very much like a generic builder's house or a generic internet house.

What is a "regional Texas vocabulary"? Well, it's a good question, especially since Texas, during early settlement, has had a rich French, Spanish, Comancheria, German and Dutch cultures.

Perhaps the most dominant regional architectural characteristics may be a use of a variety of local materials such as limestone, wood, and more recently metal, combined with a series of architectural forms which suggest initial buildings and additions over extended time periods.

These one and two-story architectural forms were developed to protect from the hot temperatures and sun which tend to dominate much of Texas for much of the year.

What does all of this look like in a house? Well, one of many approaches is this house by Cornerstone Architects. Of course, there are many, many other Texas architects who produce wonderful Texas vernacular houses.

Mr. Carter, thank you for your posts! Those houses are gorgeous! However to me hey are even more regional, specifically to the opulent San Antonio / Hill Country. In East Texas things are a bit more austere.

in this area I see three main styles of homes. The first is a cabin style with a full length porch on front. In fact this is what we are living in on the property right now:

The second is the square farm farm house with wrap around decks. Usually stone front and symmetrical dormers:

The third type is a farm house like you described that looks like it has had several different additions added to it:

Our ranch out here is very different from what is found in Crawford. We are in the Big Thicket so are heavily wooded instead of the typical wide open expanses. In fact of my 100 acres I am only clearing 20 acres or so for pasture. The rest will be left natural as a pine / hardwood forest. The new house will be on the very edge of the woods. The view from the back of the house to the left will be to the pasture and stock tank, to right and from the master will be into the woods and down to a dry creek. I will try to get some pictures this weekend showing the views.

We really like the front elevation with the craftsman elements. We plan the paint scheme to be green with cream trim with natural wood elements. It should fit into the landscape well.

We are still working on the elevations and materials. You have definitely given me some things to think about!

I think this will ultimately be a much prettier house than the CAD elevations would indicate. It looks sterile and boring with few windows until you notice the entire back of the house is screened porch. What a nice way to spend an autumn evening.

Stick with your plan. Work on the outside until you're happy with it.

I can't believe I am the first to say it. Why the garage on the front of the house? The 3 pics of local houses and the "fancy" hill country houses don't have them. Garages on the facade make the house look like anywhere cookie cutter suburban development. You have 100 acres - hide those beasts.

The number of exterior doors and openings seems out of place in a humid environment. People are doing it around here in NC so I get it. But the harsh reality is that you are not building in CA and you can't open things up that often. The other issue is the infiltration of humidity all the time through all those openings even when they are closed. I think I counted 6 exterior doors (including the garage). And 4 of them are huge openings.

The foyer is a little tunneled.

Don't make me sleep in that room with french doors to the SE. There is no overhang drawn in. Blocking light on a french door is hard. They don't seal that well so noises will get in. And they tend to not be available in as low a SHGC glass as windows or you pay more for them. My opinion is that french doors have no place in a bedroom regardless of orientation. French doors play on that romantic ideal of opening a room to the outside. I would be very afraid of what critters would get into my bed if I did that.

Plan for some shade over that pool. Pergola - something.

Is that a triple bay window into the garage? Interesting

If the old house is staying, wouldn't the kids prefer living there if they return home?

I like your layout. So the exterior is not the most unique, and it probably won't grace the covers of Architectural Digest - so what? The layout is functional and the elevation is attractive enough, and probably will be more so IRL. I have french doors in my bedroom which faces east. In the summer, I close the blinds at night and the morning sun never wakes me. In the winter, I leave them open because the sunrise is absolutely beautiful and I enjoy waking up to it every morning. I open my eyes and the first thing I see is this glowing orange spreading across the sky.

jisgren, East Texas and the Big Piney Woods are lovely places--congratulations! And your site appears to be an ideal place to build and live.

Allow me to suggest, that creative design is not limited by the types of existing houses in one's area. Just because "lot of folks have done this" doesn't make it right or desirable.

My suggestion is to talk to several architects in your area and get a sense of what could be done. San Antonio and the Hill Country are by no means opulent, but they are a good example of where one may find interesting and exciting Texas vernacular in homes and other buildings.

But these examples are found all over Texas, so give some thought to how you might create a invigorating and rewarding custom house which blends the best of Texas history and site potential for your property.

The best place to begin that journey is by talking to several architects whose practice includes appealing custom homes.

Good luck!

Jln333,

We actually open up our house more often than most people I know down here. For example since we dried out from Harvey we have had every window open in the house. 85 during the day and 50s at night. Yesterday it got warmer and humid so we did have to close things back up. Starting this time of year we will have dinner and relax on the deck almost every night (mosquitoes are the current limiting factor-hence the expanse of screen porch in the design)

The French doors in the guest bedroom are mainly there to offer a secondary egress for aging parents and guests. I think a single exterior door in a bedroom looks out of place so the french doors are mainly for aesthetics. I don't expect them to be opened much at night since they do not open into the screened area. They do open on to the covered deck so should not get direct sunlight.

As far as garages they don't bother me. They will be parallel to the entry road so the first thing you will see is the front of house. The house is not visible from the public road. They also serve as a buffer to the existing house. Even though we have 100 acres the prime building areas are limited. The bump out on the end breaks up that wall of siding and gives more room for me to open truck door. I have purposely limited extra space in garage to avoid storing stuff there -- that is what the barn is for!

Hi Jisgren - everything is looking pretty good.

I'd keep the powder bath personally - guests in the living room won't have a long trek. Also, when you have company and the full guest bath is occupied, having the second bath available will be useful.

I also like the two sinks in the full guest bath - it gives that large bath more of a "second master" feel, your guests will feel special. Plus with that large of a room, one sink may look wimpy. Yes there is some interference with the shower door, but after the first day or so your guests will get into a rhythm.

I disagree with the two sinks (but then I wouldn't want them in my master either). As a guest, I bring a toiletry bag when I travel - a small one if it's just me for overnight, a larger one if it's DH and me for a few days. It's so nice to have a long stretch of counter for it, and to unpack the things I use in there.

One sink also allows for drawer storage in the vanity.

Agree with Ann about the guest bath. I'd rather have a long stretch of counter versus an extra sink to have to keep clean. Frankly a second bath doesn't need to feel like a master bath.

I do agree about moving the garage. It can still be a buffer but not where you see it immediately. Someone, I don't recall who, just had a design done where they had a 4 car garage but if you didn't live there, you'd have to look for it.

Also agree with Virgil. What's it our mothers used to say to us about everyone doing something? :) You can do what everyone else is doing or you can do something that is really special.

Everyone who's building in my new custom development is building some variation of what my builder's dad calls a sugar cube house. I went in a totally different direction and am building a craftsman house because I love craftsman and I don't want to be like everyone else.

Plus I find that whatever the style of the day is, winds up being out of favor in 10-20 years.

Jisgren - I tend to agree with you in that the garage location isn't bothersome at all. I believe you've thought out how you'd like it to function best for you and your family and frankly that's all that matters.

I also agree with Jennifer in that every home exterior doesn't need to be a showstopper - for some simple is better. If your inspiration photo (which I like as well) speaks to you, go with it.

The guest bath vanity is huge - its larger than the vanity in the master bath. Even with two sinks you'll have plenty of space for your guests to spread their things out and there's plenty of space for drawers as well. In terms of scale, one sink on a vanity that long is going to look odd, and I don't think you want to shorten the length of the vanity as it will then look out of scale with the size of your large guest bath.

I'd take out the bump in the facade in front and have a door from laundry to kitchen. Then it's usable for all purposes.

Second, the second full bath is huge. I'd make 2 small bathrooms, one en suite for a second master and one opening onto the hall.

Seems light on general storage

You have a dining room next to a dining room and three living rooms in a row. They just seem excessively redundant because they aren't defined enough by flow patterns to different usages. A formal dining room often doubles as a project area, but there's no way for this to happen here.

The roofline looks confused and complicated and phenomenally expensive for no reason.

Overall, though, very nice!!! You really thought through the master bedroom details and the main flow.

Thanks Miley for the comments.

I am not sure I understand the reason for wanting a door from laundry to kitchen.

We do not need nor want a lot of storage in the house as we have several out buildings on the property. When we moved out here we downsized from a 2,100 sqft house to 800 and got rid of a bunch of "stuff", some of which we had moved 2 times and had never opened the boxes. I firmly believe you collect as much "stuff" as you have storage for, whether you ever use it or not.

I am considering splitting the bathroom up but am not convinced at this point.

The second dining and living areas are not part of the main house but are actually screened in porches.

I think the side elevation makes the roof look more complicated than it really is. It is simply two gable-within-gables and one dormer. My builder did not think this would add a ton to the cost. That being said I am also looking at some different options on the front elevations.

Because when people do laundry, they'll be in the main house. Laundry is inconvenient when you have to do a lot of trekking when you flip loads, fold a load, or put a load away. Chances are, you'll be in the kitchen or living room when you want that done. The laundry design respects the person coming in from outside but is obnoxious to the person actually dealing with the clothes.

As far as "stuff" goes, most people have Christmas decor they don't want outside. You're in Texas, so having a place where battery operated power tools and paint don't freeze isn't a big concern, but what about wrapping paper? Old photographs? I assume the cleaning equipment will go in the big pantry. But I generally like to have a dedicated Christmas closet if you have an artificial tree and a single "closet for everything else" even if you don't. Lots of things do better in climate control. Dampness and heat in East Texas can destroy certain things as much as freezing.

The porches make soooo much more sense! Got it!

I had actually not even noticed the apartment. That explains the size of the roof.

Oh boy- this is something I do agree with some comments. I sintered in San Antonio for the past several years. My horses were boarded in Hill Country and I stayed at a friend's million dollar new home whenever they went out of town to care for a physical needs horse, their cats and dog. They lived about 30 miles north of the North outskirts of San Antonio. I agree with comments- although your floor plan is very nice, the exterior looks like every other rural house built. In the city county of San Antonio the houses are different- but all the same and very boring! Florida is no different- all the houses built since the 80's look the same- 90's the same. 2000's the same. I absolutely hate 'Same'!! Took me almost two months to find a nice midcentury house that I could update yet keep true MCM style. Different from others. This 'neighborhood's of five houses were all built by the same builder in mid to later 1960's. Each house is totally different- farmhouse, ranch (3) and my MCM with m8nimal slope roof, windows all over. Rural enough with an acre each and private, but so much nicer than the builders of today who build one house with three variations. With not a tree in sight... Just my opinion.