My opinion is that this could be much better. Eliminating the cost of the unnecessary hallway by the utility room would go a long ways towards hiring design talent and create an opportunity for that room to have a window.

I would err on the side of making the 3rd car bay deeper. 21.3 feet is plenty for most cars and SUVs but not a larger SUV plus storage.

I would like to see theentire floor plan. IMO the kitchen is not very interesting for such a large house.Is ther another 1/2 bath on the main floor? What is a dog room? I think the utility room is in an odd spot in the layout.

The main garage isn't big enough.

Consider the Chevrolet Suburban - it's just about 19' long. Even in the larger garage, you now have 4 feet to get around it. Consider that you won't drop the garage door immediately behind the rear bumper if you have your druthers - so add 2 feet there. (Especially if you want to move around behind it - if not - think about a foot - but then make sure you get a park stop to help position the vehicle.)

So even at a foot (no walking behind it) you have 3 feet in front of it. That's not a lot in a high traffic area, and in an area where you will be bringing packages.

AND - possibly the most important - unless you specifically design it otherwise, you'll end up with stairs into the house from the garage. Where will these go? And you'll want a landing to stop and get your keys, etc. that can easily take 5' or more in front of the garage entry door.

the 3rd bay is sized for a weekend toy or storage.

If your house is 6500 sq feet - the garage is inadequate.

A good design spec for a double car garage is a minimum of 24' X 24', which will accommodate two vehicles. I don't see why you would make your garage depth less than 24' minimum, if you want to park vehicles in it. If it's just for storage, of course it doesn't matter, except come resale time.

One of the reasons your house is so large is that so much of it appears devoted to corridors and circulation space. That long corridor is a sign of poor design. Sorry to have to tell you...:-)

Incoming...

Taking cover... :D

I love the piano-shaped pool!

Oh. Oh my.

Bedroom 2 is for the black sheep in the family?

Do I spy a sliding bookcase?

We also love the piano shaped pool, that's why we're keeping it! lol

Bedroom 2 is the guest room. We like them enough to stay over but don't want to see them all the time.

The problem with the garage entry is that you bump into the breakfast table.

But yes, enter into the mudroom, not the hall.

If you're going to have a dog room, shouldn't you have a dog wash station too?

Someone mentioned about lots of circulation space. Here is a majority of it, and I didn't include the circulation into the actual bathrooms or closets or kitchen

You know how the police read people their Miranda Rights ... we have just come up with our own Bischak Rights! Well done Mark! ;-)

This needs to be posted as the first reply to any post that includes floor plans or elevations.

Bischak Warning/Rights:

"WARNING: Posting your entire floor plan opens you up to facts you
may not want to know, but should. Be prepared for suggestions that
will make for a better design. Keep a thick skin, open mind, sense of
humor, and a glass of wine within arms reach. You may not enjoy it, but
everyone else will and you will be better off in the long run if you
heed well the advice."

Ok, back to looking at today's floor plan!

It would be interesting to compute the gross area, then the net area, and thereafter compute the efficiency of this design. It won't be a good percentage...

Directions to the guest room and bedroom 2: go to the dog shower and turn left...!

And where do the stairs lead?

I did the rough math...first floor circulation area is 1,181 sq ft, which puts the circulation area at roughly 27% of the first floor living space.

I was wondering if the building lines and lot shape could possibly contribute to this? (i.e. wide, shallow lot)

Well...my first reaction to the high gross area is that the circulation was simply not a major consideration in how the design was conceptualized and developed thereafter. The torturous circulation past the dog shower is one good example of that.

Was this house designed by someone who has designed houses before? Did you and your spouse play a role in the design? What do you think would be the result if you took the design back to whomever designed it and said that the house must be designed much more efficiently...?

You're going to pay a lot of money to build a house that is simply full of places to walk from here to there...

Aim for 10-15% circulation space.

You are getting real good feedback, and from what I see, there is room for more (like the master bedroom suite, and the maid's and butler's quarters).

Is this a real life setting for the game Clue...?

The Draftsman... In the oversized foyer... With the CAD program.

The family friend... in the hidden back room... with cut/paste options.