Wow, your house looks gorgeous from the elevations, but I can't really zoom in on the plans enough to read them, and enlarging the text on my computer doesn't do it. Maybe it's my computer. Is there any way to make the plans bigger?

Athens, I think you've come a long way on the floor plan. It really looks great! I second mythreesons motion to put the grill on the far side of the stone terrace where there is a wall just the right size. It will be a few extra steps, but the tradeoff of the improved view from the foyer and the ability to access the screen porch from the terrace will be worth it. I would also suggest that all the doors in the living room and breakfast room swing out rather than in. It will give you so much more floor space. We have a similar sized living room now with two pairs of french doors and you effectively lose that floor space unless you want to move furniture everytime you open the door. It's much easier to squeeze behind a chair and swing a door outward. The only other two things I thought of were a) putting some good sound insulation between the master suite and the public rooms and b) shifting the kitchen window toward the front of the house. I know it is "on axis" with the fireplace, but it would drive me nuts to look out at the porch column of the friends' porch and the side of the garage storage. A few more inches to the right and you would have a lovely view of your little courtyard. It looks really great! Very well thought out! I hope you'll post the revise elevation.

This is why I love these boards, THANK YOU pps7, I never would have thought of switching the stairs for the office. It's really something I am going to give some thought to. Pros: - it really takes a bite out of that loooonnng upstairs hallway and it would provide 2 walls for windows in an office Cons - on resale, if it is converted back to a dining room, it makes it far from the kitchen area if it is moved to the far end of the house. And also, I like the central location of the office as I work from home and I go from the kitchen to my office, back to the kitchen, back to office, to the great room, to the bathroom, back to office, etc etc all day long. You get the idea. I will also have frosted french doors facing the south great room side of the house, so even if closed, I will get some light from 2 sides. It won't be a bright room though, as there is a covered porch in the plan in front of that north window. That makes me want to move it to the corner of the house hmmm... I will mention that to my architect. As for the full vs half bathroom, you are right also, and I know it, but I really struggled to get the room to put in a powder room there, as the plan called for just a closet. Adding an extra 30 or so inches for a bath just takes more space and $$. But, you are right, DH's cousin just had to move her elderly mother into her house and she had to gut half her garage to make a shower area on the main level for her because she only had a powder room and the lady can't climb stairs. 30" doesn't seem that bad compared to what she had to do. And my DH was in a wheelchair for a YEAR because of an extremely badly broken leg about 10 years ago, and we were young couple with a baby at the time, not elderly at all. Luckily our house was/is a bungalow, we would have really been in a pinch. Very much food for thought. As for point #3, I actually like NOT having the master bedroom in the corner. I don't want more windows in the bedroom. It's bad enough the master faces the south side of the house and calls for big windows. I own a rental cottage which has an almost identical master bedroom and bathroom and corners on the south and east side of the house with a 9 ft patio door facing south. We stay there in the summer and my face is about 3 ft from this huge patio window. Even with drapes, it is just soooo sunny and bright in my face, I keep waking up from 6 am onward grrr. I have pictured it below just for fun. Also, coincidentally, the master bath is almost identical too to this house plan. I designed this cottage master bedroom and bathroom 3 years ago as an addition, and I guess that's why I like this plan I found, reminds me of my cottage!

Of all I've seen so far, I like the general layout of the latest peninsula plan the best - but I would move the DW to the other side of the sink b/c the OP said they use the right door a lot and the current location of the DW will block that doorway. IF the OP can re-train his/her family to use the left door, the DW location may work - but they will need solid filler b/w the wall and DW b/c DWs usually need something to be attached to on each side. I would also consider moving the MW drawer. I think it's current location will draw people into the working area of the kitchen - and it's pretty far away from the refrigerator (where most MW'd food comes from) and a water source (most MW'd food needs water added to it). So, working off of Lisa_a's layout, this is what I came up with. It leaves the DW on the left, but adds a cabinet b/w the DW and wall for cutting board or other storage in a 13" wide cabinet (or 12" if you cannot have/get a 13"). Also note the upper cab to the right of the sink. If the hinges are on the right, then you will need filler b/w the refrigerator and the cabinet to allow the cabinet door to open fully. If the hinges are on the left, then you won't need filler and can have the full 24" of space for cabinets. The counter along the sink run is 3" deeper than normal (it's 28.5"D). This gives you more room behind the sink for the faucet, etc. It also allows you to have deeper cabinets on that wall - 27"D base cabinets & 15"D upper cabinets. If you cannot get 27"D base cabinets (or don't want them), then pull the base cabinets out from the wall about 3". Those extra 3" in the upper cabinets can be priceless - if you have wider dinner plates they will fit better; they will fit an extra row of glasses as well! The 30" plate rack above the sink is only 12"D and mounted 24" to 30" above the sink so there's more "face" room. With the deeper counters and the plate rack mounted higher, it gives you more breathing space when standing in front of the sink. The range wall has no upper cabinets and two 36" wide windows. I recommend these windows go the counter, if possible. With six feet of windows and no upper cabs, this kitchen will be very open as well as light and airy. Since you already have a tall appliance on the right (the refrigerator), adding upper cabs on that same wall will not take away from the light and airy feeling - especially since they're not as deep as the refrigerator. Note that the refrigerator will also hide any dirty dishes from the Great Room and will make them less noticeable from the DR. To compensate for the loss of storage with no uppers on the left, I added 5' (60") of 12"D cabinets on the back of the peninsula. Those cabinets will hold a lot! (12" is pretty useful - deep enough for small appliances, food, etc. without being so deep things get lost in the cabinets. And, b/c they're only 12" deep, you can have stationary - but adjustable - shelves. No loss of storage due to drawer/ROTS glides & boxes.) An added advantage to the additional cabinets is that it adds 12" of depth for workspace - very useful! On the peninsula alone, you have over 14 sq ft (over 2047 sq in) of workspace - not counting the space next to and behind the prep sink. Seating at the peninsula...I did not put seating at the peninsula b/c the DR is so close, you didn't ask for it, and it allows you a bit more workspace along the wall. If you add seats, you need another 3" or so of overhang and you need to take at least a foot off the kitchen, probably more, to have enough room for seating in both places. Your DR does not appear overly large. Now for functionality! You have plenty of prep space for 2, 3, or more people to be working in the kitchen at the same time. In addition, since the Cleanup Zone is separated from the Prep & Cooking Zones, you can have someone cleaning up while others are prepping/cooking - and no one will get in the way! B/c of the prep sink, the Primary Prep Zone (b/w the prep sink and range) is also nicely set up for one person working as well. Both the Refrigerator and the MW are on the periphery and out of the Prep & Cooking Zones - so someone looking for a snack won't be in the way of others working in the kitchen. In addition, the MW is near both the refrigerator and a water source (cleanup/main sink). They are, however, close enough to the Prep & Cooking Zones for easy access when needed. The trash pullout is in the Primary Prep Zone and next to the prep sink - but not far from the range/Cooking Zone. The most trash & recyclables are generated while prepping and cooking and for an extended period of time (much more so on both counts than while cleaning up). For the Cleanup Zone, you could put a trash can under the sink (while I don't like trash under the sink, I've come to realize that I am in the minority - most people on the Forum have no problem with them.) Other options: (1) Move the Pantry door to the "bottom " wall and use the current Pantry opening for additional cabs & counters, including a 12" (1-bin) or 18" (2-bin) trash pullout (2) Use the 13" cabinet as a single-bin trash pullout. With Zones... (fixed the Zones pic!) This post was edited by buehl on Sun, Apr 6, 14 at 18:41