I have to respectfully disagree with some of what shifrbv writes. 1) Yes, long span joists are costly, but a rectangular box is still the least expensive shape to build. I do agree with shifrbv tho that you appear to be going overboard on the "open floor plan" idea. Some interior walls that could also serve as support walls for the second floor would reduce your costs significantly by allowing you to use much smaller joists. And, some interior walls would make your home much more liveable. As it is now, your downstairs lacks any areas where a person could have a little bit of privacy or a couple could hold a quiet private conversation. Imagine adults trying to visit in the great room while a bunch of kids play in the playroom? Or part of the family trying to watch TV while someone in the kitchen is using the blender? Total chaos! Too much openness can be a very bad thing. Studies have even shown that productivity in the workplace is significantly lower in "open plan" offices as compared to traditional offices with walls separating offices. I think it is better to have a nice mix of open spaces and some "quiet niches." 2) Framing in multiples of 16" or 24" to save on lumber really doesn't save all that much. No matter how carefully, you design your exterior walls to perfectly fit 4ft wide sheets of plywood and/or OSB, the interior walls WON'T perfectly fit 4ft wide sheets of drywall so you wind up wasting drywall. Size your home to fit drywall sheets, and you waste exterior plywood/OSB. Bottom line, size your home to fit your needs, not the standard dimensions of lumber. 3) Yes, you do pay extra for bumpouts. And the extra cost is not just for the foundation. Bumpouts force a more complicated roof line - which is more costly to build. Plus, bumpouts result in a lower ratio of "exterior surface" to "interior square footage" so your cost per square foot goes up. Not saying you shouldn't have any bumpouts. Appropriately used, bumpouts lend style and allow you to design a more elegant home...but they do come at a price. 4) The statement that "You absolutely cannot run plumbing in exterior walls" is not necessarily true. It depends on how cold it gets where you live and how much insulation you're willing to wrap around the plumbing. Here in central Texas where the temp drops below 32F all of about two dozen nights per year and it almost never stays below freezing for more than about 24 hours, it is actually quite common to run plumbing lines through exterior walls.

Overall I like it a lot! Other than the door conflict issues, my only concern is that you might find it difficult to get large pieces of furniture down the rather twisty hallway to the bedrooms. You also need a bit more space at the bottom of the staircase. I understand that the bumpout and closet are there to help define the Great Room space but I think you might do better to make the bumpout only half as deep and get rid of the little closet entirely. If you did that, you could hang a large mirror hung on the wall where the closet door is now that would reflect the stairs and you could put a small bookcase or a narrow table with a vase of flowers below the mirror to create a lovely "focal point" at the bottom of the stairs. Then, on the hallwayside instead of a tight corner, you would have a nice wide space to move furniture around. And, when you're not moving furniture down the hall, you'd have a niche where you could put a family bulletin board or the house telephone, or a wall of pegs for family jackets and bookbags. Just an idea. As for door conflicts and other door issues, here's what I would do to address them. (This thread had gotten pretty long so I admit I didn't read thru all of the comments so others may already have made some of these suggestions) 1) Masterbathroom/closet conflict. Lose that conflicting closet door entirely and instead put an opening between the two closets so one door serves them both. You wouldn't lose any useful space and the change would probably actually make the smaller closet MORE useful because you wouldn't have to walk around the closet door to get to clothing hanging on the east wall. 2) Your masterbath toilet room really isn't large enough for the door to open inward. I'd either open that door outward or consider using a pocket door there. Or you could use a bifold door there. It could probably open either inward or outward. (BTW, this isn't a door issue but while I'm talking about the masterbath, I'd also suggest moving the sink that is closest to the bathroom door about 4 inches closer to the other sink and then cutting about 3 inches off the corner of the bathroom vanity (so the vanity a 45 degree angle)...especially if you're planning on granite countertops! Don't know about you but I am a born klutz, especially in the early mornings when I'm only half awake - and I would bruise my hip on that 90 degree corner on a DAILY basis. You will never miss the lost couple of inches of space between the two sinks - but if you or your spouse are at all klutzy, your hips will thank you for easing off that corner. 3)Southwest bedroom/closet door. Incorporate about 18 to 20 inches of the hallway (right up to the bathroom door opening) INTO the southwest bedroom to create an entry alcove for the bedroom door. I think you can steal just enough hallway space for the alcove so that when the bedroom door is open it will clear the opened bifold closet door. 4) Bathroom/bathcloset. Instead of a closet, consider using open shelving or cabinetry such as one would put in a kitchen. You might actually get more useable storage in the space if you didn't have 4" taken up with the front wall of the closet. And, if someone left a cabinet door open, it would just bump closed when you opened the bathroom door instead of blocking the door the way a bifold closet door might. 5) Pantry/laundryroom doors. Shift the pantry closet to the southwest corner of the area (where the door to the garage is now) and bump about four feet of just that westermost section of garage wall out into the garage about one foot. You'll actually have more useable garage space because the wall won't come out as far into the garage as the door does now. Then, move the door to the garage the so that it sits between the pantry and closet in an alcove that is BUMPED INWARD so that it is even with the edge of the panty. That way the garage door will no longer jut out into the garage. Okay, I'm struggling to describe what I mean and realize that my description isn't at all clear.... Guess I'd better just take the time to sketch it out for you. Without seeing the second floor plan, it is impossible to tell whether your great room has a vaulted ceiling (and thus the possibility of having some clerestory windows over the roof of the covered porch. If you don't have clerestory windows, I think you may find your great room a bit dark - surrounded as it is by the deep covered porch. You might want to look into putting some sky lights or a couple of those "light tubes" (solatubes?) into the covered porch roof. I personally don't like skylights because where I live (central Texas) they admit WAY too much heat along with the light. I understand that light tubes don't admit so much heat and if you could position about three of them so that they throw light right over your patio doors, that would definitely help brighten your great room. Hope some of this is helpful and best wishes with your building project!

Let me start by saying I hope your expeience this time goes better than your first on. I hate to see people spend so much money on poorly layed out plans. Its not life and death but most people have no real experience with design and its to important to get wrong up front. I am an architect and do only residential design /remodeling and constrution. The thing that happens is people get attached to a plan or idea and cant get passed it or have limited experience on how to look at multiple plan layouts . I always show my clients 3-6 plan ideas and discuss the pros and cons of each with them based on their wish lists. I am concerned that you plan has problems with many issues of cirulation, window location,size of rooms, space( between counters and islands etc.) The plan seems to be 1 story or 1 1/2 so the location of your stair up leads it to the lowest part of the roof and wont allow the head height you need to reach an apartment above. It will need to reach the highest point in the roof to get ceiling height and then the roof pitch needs to be higher to get that height. Please be sure to check this out closely with a design professional or builder as it is a potential costly mistake. Im not fond of the sunroom blocking the view of any windows that should be in the living room maybe consider moving it in front of the dining area ? I prefer to see the bed in master be on opposite end of room so you see it acroos the room and not have to walk around it so much. Move or eliiminate centered window or use higher wider transom over bed. Be sure the shower is big enough I like 42" wide minimum x 48" plus a bench making shower 42" x 72 overall. Benches are nice as you age, shave legs, sprain ankles etc or just enjoy a steam shower if desired. Be sure to have linen storage cabinet/closet. Consider eliminating one door to hall to save space and cost in bath. Doors swings can also be issues be sure they have room to rest and dont block other doors. Consider 36" doors for furniture moving and possible walker or wheelchair use in future( sorry) Reduce one door in sunroom, and its size seems small to me but too much circulation reduces a smaller space even more. Kitchen island is awkward in orientation and seems to limit your location to stand. Keep shape simple to reduce cost if in solid surface. Dont make windows to small reduce numbers if needed but make them larger for better views. Flow of space is important as is noise in open spaces to consider but not critical if you like open plan. Im not going to try to solve every issue I see as Im not sure whats all important to you and my solutions may not be right for you and every change I speak of causes one other thing to change or more and needs addressed then to find a final answer that works to solve your problems andmakes you feel good every day and functions for you and any potential buyers in future. A few well invested thousand dollars now will save many headaches later, can reduce costs, increase functionality and increase the value later in resale if needed. It will be recouped in higher sales price as well. Good luck and really look closely at these issues or conider an architect. Not all are overpriced arrogant eggheads!!! or consider plans from such online arcgitects as Donald Gardner. He has many plans and versions of said plans with many different square footages for different budgets. Hope this helps some. Consider flat screen tv on end wall not corner to make furnishing more flexible and windows in back wall for view.

My 2 cents: Bedrooms would benefit from having windows on 2 walls for cross ventilation and natural light. The master bathroom is totally enclosed with no windows. The master closet is in a very awkward place: it precludes windows on that wall of the bedroom and occupies a space better suited for living rather than storage. The "open to below" space is a waste of space. Two story foyers were a bad idea when they were introduced some time in the 1990s, and they are a worse idea now. I'd rather have larger secondary bedrooms, with the closets as buffers between them, and the laundry room where the "open to below" space is now. The closets in the other two bedrooms are unbalanced--one is way too big and the other is too small.