Usually a keeping room has a fireplace, otherwise, is just an eating nook

I would making it a dining area. The dining room in this plan is too far from the kitchen to be used with any frequency.

How do you live? Do you like to sit at a table to read the morning newspaper with your coffee? Does your family sit together for nightly dinners even when casual?

We find sitting at a table in our breakfast room much more comfortable then sitting at the island. .

I've never much enjoyed eating at an island bar in a kitchen. We have one and only use it as a phone station.

I had a breakfast nook in Houston and used it a lot and loved it - I've never heard of a keeping room - what is it supposed to keep? It would help if we knew what geographic region you are in, as your floor plan does not make much sense to me in general, but again that might also be geographic. I've never had a mud room, but if I did, it would be next to an exterior door instead of a garage. Bedroom #4 looks difficult to access, and it looks like you have to go through several rooms to get to the office.

I would put a round breakfast table with chairs in the breakfast nook. I much prefer sitting in dining chairs when eating rather than in barstools. I never eat at my counter, but then I have not put seating there either.

My breakfast nook in Houston had windows on three sides and overlooked the back yard, which was very lush all year. Again, climate/geographic zone plays a part.

The term keeping room is not used where I live but if you want it get it if you are going to use it to me it is just a brfst. room.

Because the room labeled Dining Room is smaller than the room labeled Keeping Room, you could have your table in the room between the kitchen and the back garden, so that when you eat or have company you can enjoy the view. Then the room at the front of those can have bookshelves and a couple of comfortable chairs and a table, as here isn't much space for bookshelves in the living room. This gives you a quiet, but not too isolated, spot to read or work.

Try erasing the labels from the rooms and imagine for yourself how you would use them.

Keeping room is used in NC, or at least it was 10 years ago. It meant there was a fireplace and it was common in the 2005-2008 higher end spec house. What it meant is that you had 2 fireplace rooms - one the keeping and one the living/great room. The 2 rooms were usually arranged in an L like OP's floor plan.

Many were both open to the kitchen which seems a bit duplicative. At least in this plan, one is open to kitchen and one is partially open to kitchen.

We never purchased any of those homes with keeping rooms and built one without. Ours had a large eat in area off the kitchen which we used daily.

I am amazed that everyone has resisted the temptation to comment on other things about your floor plan. Well, except for the comments about the small sized dining room and the distance from the kitchen.

I have to say it. The center of your house will be dark. Both the kitchen and family room are completely shaded. Have you laid out furniture in that living room? Do you watch TV? You have to float the couch which gets cramped with a TV over the fireplace. And then have you pictured the dining room which is interestingly a perfect cube? Have you ever been in a room that is a perfect cube? Probably not. Scale typically dictates that high ceilings belong in large rooms. Also have you noticed that those 2 front rooms have only 1 window each? I have built 4 times and only one of those was a stock plan - because it was a production builder. You can always, always, always do better with a house plan designed for your lot, climate and orientation of the sun.

Thanks everyone of the insight.

I am amazed that everyone has resisted the temptation to comment on other things about your floor plan.

David, had gurley asked I'd have given a treatise, starting with the door from the house to the garage (and its accompanying step) and going from there. But if they are getting ready to build as they say, and asked about only the name of a space, then maybe they cannot consider starting over.

Okay, I can't help myself. Is there a step from the house door into the garage? It's code here, may not be for you. If there is one, does it interfere with moving around the car or getting in and out of the car? But even without the step, the door brings you right into the side of the car. You will always have to walk all the way around the car. If the passenger side door is open, can the other people get in and out of the house? When you're all getting ready to go somewhere at once, this is an issue. But, if you are a one- or two-car household, just park in the other bays and use the first just for the bikes and trash cans and such.

Keeping Room | Definition of Keeping Room by Merriam-Webster

Define keeping room: a common room (as in a colonial house) usually used for multiple purposes.

In your case, I'd see a large table, maybe with comfortable settee, used for casual meals and homework. Plus, I can see that it will play a major role in your more informal entertaining.

http://decorallure.blogspot.com/2013/06/settees-and-dining-tables.html

I think the architect/builder knows "keeping room" is a trendy term & threw it in to show he/she is up on the latest trends. :) It misses one critical thing though: an FP. That was the main function of the keeping room during Colonial times: to keep/stay together and /keep/stay warm. It was also the heart of the home where most things were kept.

Although not called that, we actually did have a true keeping room in our 1960 home. A large room, 17 x 19 approx, it contained the kitchen, kitchen table and across from the table, a good sized seating area for a sofa/chair in front of a large FP. It was also the main access to the covered porch and yard so we were coming and going all day long through there. It wasn't an open concept home. We did have a formal DR/LR, but this is where we spent most of our time.

I also hesitate to say this, but I have to agree with David Cary on all his points, particularly that of how dark the interiors will be...esp the primary living areas. You said you were getting ready to build...is that ready as in next week or are you still tweaking the plan? Given half our house also had a long porch it was dark much more than I would have liked and that was WITH southern exposure all day and huge windows in sunny Denver. If it isn't possible to make any significant changes at this point, you should strongly consider putting in skylights over all of those main areas and those front bedrooms if the house allows.

Oh, meant to also say if your family is like most nowadays, your TV will probably control where people will gravitate. We did have a small portable (dating us!) that was hidden in the island where we could watch news etc while I cooked but our main TV was at the opposite end of the house. We didn't watch TV much though....just a few hrs in the evenings. It's all about how you live as to what you do with this room. You might wait until you've lived here a bit before making a decision on how to handle it. At least a kitchen table and then go from there.

you should strongly consider putting in skylights over all of those main areas

Solatubes! In the butler pantry hall, mudroom, half-bath, the kids' sink rooms, over the stairs, and two in the kitchen.

bpathome ....Solatubes are OK but the light isn't as good as a skylight...& it's a "different" kind of light. My BF had them installed years ago. It's usually done because of lower cost or a building issue which prevents skylights. They'd be good in smaller rooms if they wanted more natural light or needed to keep costs down.

Your home would be perfect for an in-law suite! Close off the dining room to be used as a sitting room then the private bath and bedroom. The office could be a laundry room. All would enter the same mud room and share kitchen. I know this is not what you are interested in. But I couldn’t help noticing. Our son built his home with a parents suite for us. To answer your question, I would use the “keeping” room for a dining area. I would close off the dining room for an extra sitting room. I would add the double doors to that room in the foyer.

Jam a, that's why I suggested the solatubes for the hallways and small rooms. They can also have integrated lights and vent fans, and the lenses can vary the type of light. I installed them because it was in an older house and we didn't want to be cutting out the roof too much or do framing. They were wonderful.

Skylights are great for more natural light and good in a larger space to feel more spacious. Oh, and my friend had skylights installed in her porch roof to bring light in to the porch and the room behind.

Any way you can bring light in, do!

New builds are exciting!! At a minimum I would recommend a table in the space as the dining is not a direct adjacency to the kitchen, but ultimately, re-work the layout to have the kitchen closer to the front of the house/exterior wall where it can get some natural light. Good luck!

Thank you all for the comments!! We are still in the planning stages, so all of this helps. Thanks!

I would add more windows throughout the house.

The bonus room could be a really nice space, but not with one tiny window

Gurley, since you are still in the planning stages, note that the space off the kitchen is not 14x14 as shown, but more like 14x7. The walkway between the living room and mudroom cuts it in two. And by the way, it gives a great view of the mudroom and laundry room from the living room. Anyway, don't worry about it becoming more used than the living room because there isn't room for it to be.

How do you plan to use the living room? There isn't much space for a tv, I suppose. It will go above the fireplace? But it is also a walkway from all the bedrooms to the kitchen and garage, and probably the laundry because it is a straighter shot than winding through the warren that is the front-left portion of the house.

In Bedroom 2, consider flipping the closet so that the door is closer to the bedroom door, or somewhere along its wall. That gives the bedroom another usable corner, making furniture placement much easier.

In the master bath, do you need a knee-hole vanity space? I'd go with one straight vanity with two sinks, it will be easier to move around.

If you think you will use the room labeled Dining Room as a dining room, consider changing the kitchen around so that the two are better connected.

In fact, the front-left corner is a bit of a rabbit warren as I said, do you plan to use it as labeled or would you like something a bit more efficient?

Gurleye2.....I hate to suggest this but given the issues that have been pointed out with this floorplan, is it possible for you to look at other homes at this point? You mentioned you were only in the planning stage...not sure where that might be though.

Oh, meant to also say if your family is like most nowadays, your TV will probably control where people will gravitate.

Not in my family with 5 kids ranging from 6 to 16. Everyone has their own device. TV is usually a last preference. People are usually together and interacting, even if using devices. But this takes place all over the house even though our TV is in the finished basement.

anele-gw That's why I said "most" families, not all. With streaming so popular now, I'm sure TV is starting to possibly lose it's impact for some. I personally couldn't care less about TVs; very happy streaming on my laptop.

jama, but that’s my point. I’m guessing it’s not even “most” families anymore, unless there is a big sports fan in the house or someone who likes the noise/company of the TV.

My parents have a keeping room off their kitchen with a similar location of the one on your plan. And now, in our new build that just started, we also have one. Theirs is a 13 by 13 room and in the center, they have 4 swivel-rocking leather pub chairs and in the center of the 4 chairs, a large leather ottoman. Whenever there is a gathering at their house, everyone hangs out in this area, and people always comment at how cozy and relaxing this area is to hang out in. It is open to the kitchen and great room, but is still where everyone gravitates to. No tv in it, but there is a small woodburner-type stove (but runs off gas). Those of us who are not TV watchers hang out in there in the evenings on our laptops or tablets or books, and have our own space, but yet close enough to everyone in the great room. Anyway, we love this keeping room so much, it was a "must-have" for our new build. I hope this is helpful!

I'm imagining the trek you will have carrying food from the kitchen to the dining room.

You might want to take a clearer photo of the plan and post it on the Building a Home forum. The details of the plan are hard for me to read with the paper not laying flat.