The plan is workable, but could be improved, depending on personal preferences. For example: --The counter space above the sink appears largely wasted space, since the range for cooking is placed between the refrigerator and double sink, making this the heavily used area. An alternative is to exhange locations of the sink and range, perhaps exchanging the range for a cooktop and adding a seperate oven stack at the end of the counter line above the sink. This would position the sink closer to the refrigerator and pantry, reducing the steps for getting and washing food stocks, while making use of the underused counter run; --Looking at the dining area, where will dishes, place mats, napkins, serving pieces, etc. be stored? Looks like this may not have been considered. If it were my house, I'd plan a build-in line of upper and lower cabinets for the purpose. Pushing the dining room wall (one or the other) 2'-0 will allow the addition, and make the room look like more than blank gyp-board walls. The diagonal walls are somewhat odd, but it's clear they are there to attempt to define a "dining space", part of which is also circulation space. There are probably better appearing and more functional ways to do this using 1-2 free-standing columns (square or round) of some sort and a dropped soffit at the column line. Good luck on your build.

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!

but wish is had some FUNCTION to follow the FORM. I wish it had brick on the inside of the house to "ground" it and connect the 2 floors. That is exactly what is going on here. If you look closely at the main level floor plan you will see this. There will some sort of stone or brick veneer on the outer surface of the spline, and that will be both inside and outside of the house. So you are standing at the front door, and on your left is the stone. You walk in, the foyer is open to the 2nd story, and the stone continues on the left wall. On the first floor it will wrap around above the 3 sided fireplace, and continue on the powder room wall.

Try posting this in the Building a Home forum. They are excellent with layouts.