Swing the door to the half bath the other way. You've got a primary passage from the garage (Through the laundry/mud room) and it swings right into the flow.

Yes. Leave the plan at home. Instead put together a list of your wants, needs and wouldn't it be nice to haves.

If you feel you must do something, create abubble diagram showing which rooms you want near one another.

Bring idea books showing what you want the house to look like, and also plan on when the architect can come walk your property to help you figure out where the best views are, etc.

What you have above is poorly laid out in terms of flow and walking through the house. Room sizes are out of whack compared to one another. Let the architect do his/her job and don't bring a baloney sandwich to a five star restaurant!

Most importantly be open to his/her ideas.

You do not have to create a floor plan before meeting with an architect. You do not have to write a brief before meeting with an attorney. You do not have to make the first incision before meeting with a surgeon. You do not have to have a million dollars before meeting with a financial planner. You do not have to meet the jet at 1,000 feet before you go on a trip. You do not have to be six feet underground before meeting with the funeral director.

Take a list of your needs and wants and a survey of your property to a local architect and start designing a home for you and your site. The architect will want to visit the site, and will ask you a lot of questions, and get to know you. They will discuss their process, services they can provide, explain their fee structure, and answer any questions you have.

Well I guess I could do that, but I already know what I want. And I want to make sure the architect knows exactly what I want before wasting their time, and they can make suggestions from here I guess. Thank you for letting me know though.

What you are missing is that if what you want to do is tell them to draw this and make a suggestion or two about changing the plan, you are missing all the benefit of the architect. The architect, who could pull out of you what you really want, the stuff you don't know you want and the stuff you couldn't conceive of on your own. That's their talent.

Heck a lot of the posters on here could do what you just described.

Have an open mind when you meet with the architect, don't limit their creativity. You just might have you mind blown!

Have you ever heard Henry Ford's quote, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”? Your architect will be spending time making a lot of changes.

I don't mind getting a floor plan as long as the clients are open to a whole new way of looking at their project. I use it as a starting point to start a conversation about how they live, how spaces should work together and how zoning, organization and circulation work to create a memorable design for their family.

If they bring me a picture of a horse and say they want a faster one, it's not a great start. (Thanks Mark)

Without knowing your lot or location and family dynamics, here are my impressions:

1. This is a long house - so make sure your lot is wide enough with side setbacks, driveway, etc.

2. I like the large open space, but a single door to the back looks odd. I would put two doors - one from kitchen and one from living. I'd also split up the windows to help define the spaces and give you at least a little wall space for hanging pictures.

3. That pantry seems to be robbing a nice space in your house where you could have a window seat or a cute nook. Get the pantry in an interior space because it does not need a window.

4. The half bath location is not ideal. It's also too small. If you leave the door open to that bath, people sitting at your island will be looking at the toilet while they are eating.

5. Not a single window in such a large master bath is so wrong! Unless I was living in a prime location (think Manhattan with a view to central Park) - I would NEVER buy a house that had no window in the master bath.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

I don't like walking through the bathroom to get to the closet. Moisture isn't a friend of textiles.

What do you love most about this plan? Make a list, and bring that with you to the architect. They may find creative ways to give you what you like best, in a more efficient way.

What part of the country? (Sorry, I didn't go back to check your previous thread). There is no closet for guest coats (or raincoats or light jackets). Which way is north?

Does the office need its own full bath?

How old are your kids? Is the TV room going to be the only TV in the house? Assuming your kids are currently young and mostly hanging out with you, keep in mind that older kids and their friends need their own space - unless the whole family will be watching Rick and Morty, or playing Mario Kart. If that is happening in the TV room, will anyone be able to work in the office?

This old saying sum's up what the others are saying: "You don't know what you don't know." Let the architect do his job.

Your job, as the educated consumer, is to know what you absolutely "need" in your new home in terms of function and feel; and, what is nice to have a cpartist stated. That list is more difficult to put together than you might think. You and your spouse may even surprise one another while you are exploring your needs and wants for this new home.

Why would you want a doorway from the garage area into the master closet? another door in a crowded hallway, and you're reducing your already small closet (room for rods on only one wall, really) by shaving off 2-3 feet...

"...but I already know what I want..."

Another strong candidate for Best Sayings of 2018...

Have you been designing homes for a long time?

If you must have facilities in the office, perhaps you should limit it to a powder room. How about doing a "Jack & Jill" bath for the kids rather than having 3 baths on that end of the house. I agree with the idea that you and the family members who are old enough to have input should each make separate lists and then have a sit down to discuss and come up with a plan that everyone likes.

If it were me, I would have a bigger closet and a smaller bathroom. Oversized bathrooms are (in my mind) a waste of precious space. I love the separate shower and would insist on two sinks, but you don't really need the open floor space.

I also am in the camp that prefers not to have to walk through the bathroom to get to the closet.

I like the great room a lot.

I like the laundry off the kitchen.

I would LOVE a three car garage.

I like the master having a view to the backyard.

To me, the TV room looks small. Maybe switch it with the office.

I've lived in homes that were not architect designed twice in my lifetime (not my designs) and both times they were, umm lacking?Because of that, I would never try to design my own house. You don't know what you don't know. Bring a list but not a design.

The kids and the office don't each need their own full bath. Take that middle one, and put the entry to it in the hall. Remove the other two. The office closet can be re-shaped accordingly - less deep, but wider. Sharing is a great skill to encourage.

More windows!!! Cross ventilation, light?

I am another who hates traversing a hot and humid bath to get to my clothing.

Yeah. What cpartist said.

You're just playing whack-a-mole here. Fix one problem by creating another. You don't have an idea how things are done right--not even door swings.

You have set the half bath up so that people step right out of it into the public space of the house, with a view right into the bathroom because of the door swing. Any unfortunate noise someone makes in that room--including flushing--will be heard by other guests in the house.

And there is no way that that toilet has enough front clearance.

Walking through the bathroom to get to the closet is just gross.

My 4-fixture master bath is 9' x 12', and I hate every wasted foot of it. Every foot. I would so much rather have that space for real living. Yours is waaaay to big, IMHO.

Make a list. Hire a pro.

Another thought... if you ever want to have the kids fully help out in the kitchen... you and they will be bumping at the sink and cooktop space in that. aisle.

Master bath - I can see leaving extra space should one of you ever need a wheelchair. In which case your bath will need a major overhaul to ever access that toilet.

The double door to that bathroom will be aggravating. A single door is more funtional.

I will put my 2 cents in , I would see no reason to enter the master from the kitchen . Too many bad choices to comment on them all, get an architect go with this drawing and be prepared to change it all.

I agree with all the other posters that say, let your architect do his job instead of you trying to do it, however, I get it. When I was building, I did what you are doing -- layouts, etc. It helped me think things through, process. When we first started talking with our architect (discussing needs, wants, what we liked about the house we currently lived in, aging plans, etc.), I was still drawing layouts. However, once I saw that the architect was able to "see" what I wanted/needed without (in spite of?) my layouts, I stopped drawing layouts -- frankly, it was a relief to let go of it, and put it in the hands of a professional. I hope you get that experience.

Did we get everything right? -- no, but a lot! Based on that - these are a few things to consider based on what you have drawn here:

The TV room -- Think about how you will place a TV in that room and how you will lay out furniture. With the room as it stands (windows, double doors), you will have a room that works for two people to watch TV. If you place a couch under the window and another chair opposite the TV, one person will lay on the couch (because to comfortably face the TV from the couch, laying down or at least lounging at an angle works best), and one person will be on the chair that actually faces the TV. If you put a couch (or two chairs) opposite the wall for the TV; two people can sit on the couch (at either end) (or chairs), but then where do you put additional seating that doesn't block the sofa or the double doors? I know this to be true because your TV room is my TV room. I thought that it would be lovely to have a large window with double (pocket) doors centered on the room...and it does look lovely; just doesn't work for more than two people to comfortably watch TV.

Pool -- it may be that you are planning some type of pool house? If not, you need to think about access to a bathroom from your pool area - right now all the bathrooms in your home are ensuite to a bedroom with the exception of the half bath, which is a wet, dripping hike around whatever furniture you will have on the patio, around the dining room table and through the kitchen from the one patio door you have. I have a pool that has direct access to a bathroom; wouldn't have it any other way. Specific to having a pool -- I installed an automatic cover and a pool heater -- I highly recommend both. The cover is a great safety item, but also, I have several trees near the pool -- I just use a leaf blower to remove anything that lands on the cover -- so much easier than dipping a net in the water to remove stuff! Without a heater, the amount of days you can use a pool is limited. I live south (central TX), and w/heater (and aforementioned access to the bathroom), am able to swim year round - 3-4x a week. It's 42 degrees here today, and I'm going to swim.

A few other thoughts:

Master closet: You've got a 32" walkway between sides of the closet (80"-48") -- while 32" might work for a door way from one larger space to another, it's just too narrow for a 14' closet.

Master bath: no windows?

Middle kid's bedroom: how will you get furniture into that room?

Back kid's bedroom : maybe rearrange the bathroom so that the toilet is not front and center (move bathtub to back wall and arrange like other bathrooms?)?

What's with the funny pantry shape?

There's more, but like I said up front, I hope you find/work with a great architect that can help you realize your vision, so that you can enjoy the process.

I'm not a designer, nor an architect, nor a drafter or any kind of artsy design professional, but I know it makes more sense/cents to place bathrooms/kitchens/laundry so that they share plumbing walls.

Kids that share bathrooms learn important life coping skills. Do you not want your children to be able to learn to share, compromise and amicably resolve conflicts?

You really want your master bedroom door to open into the kitchen/great room? Why?

The great room with all the windows and the view of the pool!!! Plus, I would kill for a garage this size!

If I recall correctly the OP family homeschools, so the TV room is also a schoolroom, and while I'm a supporter of shared baths, I think these kids will learn plenty of cooperation while learning and working together.

You know, the comments that are snarky from architects on this column are a detriment to your profession. Going to an architect, in my experience and the experience of a neighbor, can be an experience in guessing. The client is worried about that architect's style, pricing, detail, turn around, etc. And the client is afraid to give a lot of information and not be heard. Can I change what you draw? How many times? I had no idea after I left an architect's office if it will be a 8K design or a 22K design. And I respect architects and their work! In my opinion, that is a field that would do residential customers a great service by re-marketing their offerings so that the client knows what to expect before they walk in the door. Unless you are wealthy, pre-build is a very frightening time!

Trifecta, then maybe you needed to find a different architect. One who would be more upfront with you.

Oh for heaven's sake! Just ASK their price and to see examples of their work! Tell them your budget, level of finishes desired, and square footing. They can tell you if this is even doable ( We want a 3500 sq ft house, the highest finishes, and we want to pay $50 a square ft to build it!)

Architecture schooling very rigorous - they see their fellow classmates at Freshman Orientation and again at graduation! It must be very tiresome to see post after post where the OP assumes that since they live in a house, they know how to desire one. Well, I've been driving a car for 60 years and would have no idea how to design one that would actually run! But then this OP home schools so we already know her mindset - I went to school, therefore I know how to educate my children.

Anglophilia......Some of the most well educated, super high achievers, and independent thinkers I know have been homeschooled. Truly a cut above the rest in many different ways. Many parents who homeschool have much more on the ball than the teachers in our public schools. That is not to disparage all public schoolteachers (many are amazing). But I would never lump all homeschooling families as being of the mindset you describe in your post. Totally uncalled for and condescending.

We have built two homes for ourselves. Architects are quite expensive - well worth it if they listen to your wants/needs, but VERY costly if that doesn't happen. Our second house - using the same architect as our first - went astray and ended up costing us thousands of dollars (60 to be exact) before we simply had to walk away before he cost us even more. Very painful!! He could not get the concept of keeping our house under 4,000 sq. ft. We were only asking for 3 bedrooms, too!

Make sure you're on the same page as far as costs for the project.

The most glaring problem to me is the door from the garage into the laundry room. That would never be ok for me.

Sierrafoothills, I think I would have requested my money back if the architect wouldn't stay on the same page as you. It's their job to work with you and your needs.