Agree with Alison and Maybe post your plan here, there are awesome folk here who might have new ideas. Just be open minded and prepared for some strong feedback.

You are all over the place with living space basics. You appear to be "window shopping" for ideas. Before you engage an architect you need to have a basic outline of lot size, house size and style, B/B, and how you intend to live in the space.

Well...the OP's post isn't very clear as to why there were revisions and why they happened in the way they happened...so it's difficult to assess how the process has evolved the way it has.

One of the essential ingredients for all consumers is to identify and separate their needs from their wants. This includes functional issues, site and design issues and budget...or whatever else may be a "need".

My advice is to have a meeting with the "architect", if there is one, and discuss what the consumer really hopes to achieve. Right now it sounds like a fishing expedition.

Alison. "lot size, house size and style, B/B, and how you intend to live in the space."

A good architect will demand knowledge of this before designing space. These are not random ideas.

I have posted the plan several times and can post again but the design really is not the issue. At the initial meeting I had a list of wants and likes and the architect (yes he is real) has done a pretty good job of designing a plan around those. I am not looking for open plan and basically have 2 wings (living and bedroom) with hallways. I brought in to the "an architect creating a fully custom home can better guide clients into figuring out not only how they will use their living space but how much space they need. “You might buy a 2,000-square-foot plan because you think that is what you need, but maybe you can really get away with 1,500 square feet in a house that is designed with more of an efficient living space,” he said. “The square footage can more than offset the cost of the architecture fees.”

Right now it sounds like a fishing expedition.

If asking professionals and those who know more than I do about the design and build process is fishing then yes I guess that is what I am doing. I am hoping to hook the answer to a question I am struggling to make a decision on.

Maybe I am asking the wrong people and need to reach out to some local builders for professional advice.

Cooper, link again to the latest plan. I want to revisit it to see if there's a solution.

BTW: Cooper's plan is one that most of us felt was very well done with some tweaking and allowed for lots of natural light, etc. I'm a fan of how it was.

My gut is telling me you should do version 3 with 2 up (no j & j) and 1 down with 1.5 baths.

The square footage can more than offset the cost of the architecture fees.”

Sometimes even though it seems the square footage is larger still, the way it's laid out actually helps to lower the cost. For example in my build, I certainly didn't need or want a 15' x 19' studio but when I broached the idea of making it shorter, it was pointed out to me that it really wouldn't cost less because what I'd save in flooring/sheetrock, etc I'd be spending on support beams. In reality, the smaller room would have cost me more. (and of course now every time I stand in my studio, I just grin from ear to ear. I love the larger size.)

I know it's frustrating. (If you want to feel better, reread my saga from the beginning. LOL)

You're almost there. You have what will be a spectacular home for what you need. Hang in there.

fixer-It sounds like OP wanted a 1.5 story 3 bedroom 2 bath house around 1800 sq feet. My guess is the 4th bedroom got added to make the house look better.

Cooper-Sorry this process has already taken a year. Do you think it could be done with the room sizes you want for 1800 sq ft? One of the things my dad had me do at the beginning of my process was create a program of how much space was to be allotted to each room. So my 15*15 bedroom adds 225 sq ft. My total list didn't include interior and exterior walls of course. But that was helpful in determining my minimum sq footage with what I wanted to include.

Are each of these designs/revisions including going back and forth several times? Or is there a 3 month wait between each draft?

Sorry...but it's not clear to me what the OP is really asking in her post. What is the question? We understand the history. But what's the real question the OP wants addressed? Is it to design a 1,800 SF house?

My remit to the architect was a 3/3, approx 1800 sq ft but 2000 max, master and guest down with 1 bed/bath and loft up. Laundry room not closet and walk in pantry. Minimal sq ft dedicated to master suite - living area more important. Lots of windows/light. East/South orientation for main living areas.

My guess is the 4th bedroom got added to make the house look better. It was the loft and had a 1/2 wall looking down onto hall below (was a light well). It made more sense to me for it to become a bedroom for resale.

Do you think it could be done with the room sizes you want for 1800 sq ft? At the time I had no idea but now definitely not.

Or is there a 3 month wait between each draft? This is why I really need to make a decision and notify the architect how I want to proceed at this time.

We asked a lot of questions about why things were the size they were and what the drawbacks or benefits of changing spaces would be. I need to do this.

Yes, exactly! Full and complete information, with distinction between needs and wants is the starting point. Establishing a true give and take partnership with good communications is a critical point.

LeCorbusier said, "Design is a patient search." We used to tell architecture students that their first idea was seldom the best idea.

There are a great many other issues which arise as design begins and proceeds. It's why a skilled and experienced professional is truly valuable.

Sounds like the third design pretty much hit your target. Why are you posting now?

"We used to tell architecture students that their first idea was seldom the best idea. "

Did that come up in the part of the discussion where the students were asked why they wanted to be an architect?

My gut is telling me you should do version 3 with 2 up (no j & j) and 1 down with 1.5 baths. On paper and with my wants/likes this seems to make sense but it results in a totally different front elevation, It looks more modern farmhouse which is definitely not the style I am going for.

"We also had to stay on the design team and be a squeaky wheel of wanting decisions made and plans finalized."

Red flag comments from architects who aren't meeting deadlines:

-"It's at the printers"

-"The intern's doing the structural calcs now"

-"Trust me. I know what I'm doing"

-"We're working on the juxtaposition of the diametrically opposed curvilinear surfaces"....And there's no curves in your house.

-"We're working on the Parti"....(Hint: He/she actually means "Party".)

-"We got delayed because we took out that "thing" that was important to you."

07Cooper, you are posting what you don't want to do. What is it that you do want to do?

"... My remit to the architect was a 3/3, approx 1800 sq ft but 2000 max, master and guest down with 1 bed/bath and loft up..."

The design challenge with this concept is that the ground floor will be very large, and the second floor very small. In all likelihood, this is how the scheme with two bedrooms on the second floor (4 BR, 3B) evolved...there was simply a lot of unused, but available space under the roof required to cover a large first floor.

Can you articulate what you want and what's important or imperative?

Sometimes a 3000 sf house can be cheaper to build than a 2500 sf one. If the idea behind less square footage is less cost, then you are operating on some basic incorrect assumptions about building. And likely some incorrect budgetary assumptions as well.

Sometimes a 3000 sf house can be cheaper to build than a 2500 sf one. If the idea behind less square footage is less cost, then you are operating on some basic incorrect assumptions about building. And likely some incorrect budgetary assumptions as well.

I think I may well be. I tried to educate myself as much as I could before starting the process but I now realize I know very little.

If it makes you feel any better, we are over a year into the design of our house. Almost done, but still a few things to work out with a roof line here and there. Very close now though.

Better a year into the design process of a house (all of which are expensive - even small ones!), than a year living in the house and realizing all the mistakes made and things that just don't work. Good things always take time.

07Cooper. "I tried to educate myself as much as I could before starting the process but I now realize I know very little."

Realizing your limitations and asking for help is key in successful home building. You are off to a good start.

Very frustrating I'm sure. I'm 5 months in with the draftsperson and 4 renditions later. I thought I would be done within 30 days and get a foundation in before winter. Interest rates just went up again. Between that and building materials, it will cost much more to build the same house. My draftsperson is 10% over the sq footage I want to be....which had already been increased from 1800 to 2200 to get what I really wanted. My problem isn't the sq footage, but that the plan still isn't there. Living in a temporary house convincing your kids you will build a house they get to live in is frustrating.

I am loosing my mind with 30 days between drafts. If it is taking 3 months between drafts, and it isn't right, you have 6 more months until you get another 2 drafts. Then, your builder still needs to bid everything. And you may be 30-60 days out for a construction loan after that. How close is the plan now to what you want?

Do you have a builder involved? It might be helpful to get his or her thoughts on how the cost to build compares between options. Our architect sometimes checked in with our builder throughout the process on questions like this.

We had to "quit" (hate to use the word fire) our local architect...a personal friend of dh's, when it was clear that his draftsman was doing most of the work. We were paying for an architect's brain and not getting the vision. But not before we paid them 5k. This whole process can really be an exercise in frustration.

"How would you like to proceed?" What are you supposed to say to that?

not all architects are created equal. I finally hit gold when I hired the right one. Do you have the right one?

Sometimes a 3000 sf house can be cheaper to build than a 2500 sf one.

But the larger house will always be more expensive to keep: Higher taxes, higher heating /cooling bills, more furniture, more maintenance and cleaning.

No, that isn’t an absolute either. Some larger homes can be more energy efficient and have less lifecycle cost than some smaller homes. If the larger home eliminates the small rabbit warren issues that plague so many small homes, then they will need less furniture and be easier to clean both.

A better design will always live better, no matter the square footage. If containing build and lifecycle costs is a focus of a better design, then for sure a 3000 sf home will cost less over it’s life than a poorer designed 2500 sf home.

Good design pays for itself in multiple ways. Not just better flow and more pleasant surroundings.

This is another one of those threads where the OP posts about problems, and what she doesn't like but won't respond to a question about what she actually wants and why the first three designs were not acceptable...

Yikes!

More likely than not, you are right. But,,..here’s someone actually using an architect, and clearly something isn’t going right. Maybe iLoveRed has got it...how does one tell If they need to quit their architect? This, with $$$ attached is maybe what scares people away from architects. Is it always the OPs fault? People post saying they want XY and Z and people tell them, no you don’t, you need an architect....

Allison, that's not how I read it or infer from her initial comments and how the design progression took place. Of course I could be wrong. And that's why I'm repeatedly asking for the OP to tell us what she wants, and what was the problem with the first three design studies.

It's my understanding she initially asked for a house of 1,800-2000 SF with master and guest bedrooms downstairs and a third bedroom and bath upstairs.

So from the outset, we have to understand that the first floor was going to be much larger footprint than the occupied second floor. The only reasonable way to achieve this design is to have a 1.5 story house, with a large attic and some of that space as the bed and bath. A full second floor just for one bedroom and a bath seems ill conceived.

Of course I could be missing a lot here, but I'm guessing that the second design with two BRs upstairs evolved since there was a great deal of unused attic space, which could be made habitable for reasonable extra cost.

Finally, the third design attempted to economize by reducing the first floor foot print to only provide a MBR on the ground floor, and to put the other two BRs up on the second level. This design approach would tend to balance the occupied floor area of both first floor and second floor, as opposed to the imbalance created by the owner's request in the first scheme. This approach might reasonably be achieved through a 1.5 story or a 2-story approach.

The third scheme is very close to her 2,000 SF limit.

Of course, I have no direct knowledge of any of this and could be totally off base.

This is why I have repeatedly asked the OP what she really wants. I'm still waiting for a response.

Out of curiosity, I went back to review the OP's previous posts. It sounds like a long process, and I can see why you're frustrated, OP.

That said, from reading them, I'm just wondering...when you say architect, do you mean the draftsperson to whom your architect friend referred you to turn your design into plans, or do you mean the architect friend him/herself? From your past posts it seems that you came up with a sketch, showed it to an architect friend, and said friend referred you to a draftsperson. That is very different from actually having an architect design your house for your needs, and I think much more likely to result in the budget problems you describe.

Perhaps the answer should be to go back to your architect friend and ask him/her what he/she recommends, letting him/her know you're open to actually retaining him/her and starting from scratch with a more traditional design process?

Alison - I'd suggest reading the past threads. I was doing so to find info to defend her, actually, because I also thought some of the posters were being too harsh. They clearly remembered more than I did, however, as it seems she really has just given a draftsman her sketches and asked them to draw them up, then told them specific changes and asked to have them made. In that case I don't think the draftsman is responsible for it not meeting her needs.

Pardon me for saying so...but a great majority of folks who post here regularly use the term "architect", and have no idea of the difference between an architect, drafter, CAD operator or a friend or employee of the tract builder.

That may not be the case here...but if so would also go a long way in explaining the situation.

I repeat, however, the third scheme seems very close to the OP's requirements.

What is it about the three schemes that isn't acceptable? What improvements are desired?

And what is it that is truly important here? We can't help if we don't understand the situation...