Not modern. Not even close to a farmhouse. Not a good plan, period. Fat roof syndrome and schnozzola garage dooms it.

You can do a heck of a lot better.

Hi Sophie - I was simply giving the name of the plan on Architectural Design's website, which is Modern Farmhouse. Not sure what "fat roof syndrome" is, so I can't address that, but I do love the design of the garage. Thanks for your feedback ;)

I don't know where they get those names from! 12 years ago they'd have called it something else. It's a very traditional layout.

The garage isn't too bad, especially compared to some. I like your idea to shift some closet storage to garage storage. Make that storage door a double, so it's easier to access everything, or leave it off altogether. If you need some closed storage there, add some upper cabinets.

Why do you want to line up the fireplace and cooktop? I know symmetry can matter, but that kind of line-up is not something that matters, especially if it affects workflow. And if you move the hall door back, then you walk right into the kitchen table.

You might consider keeping bedroom 4, moving the bathroom to between 3 and 4, and use bedroom 2 as a den/study.

I know barn doors have been trendy. Have you used a bedroom with this type bath door? Does your hubby rise earlier that you? Are you a light sleeper?

1 - center the island, range hood, and cabinetry with the fire place. Will require the shifting of the kitchen entry toward the back of the
home.

I wouldn't do this. It would reduce the space for your breakfast table, which is probably the table you'll use most often. It'd mean every time you enter that door, you'd run right into the table /have to scootch around it.

2 - possibly remove bedroom #4 off the home completely and either have playroom, sun room, or porch area. Honestly depends on the gender of our next child.

This would work, and you still have the bonus room for an older-kid space. Would this mean two kids would share a bedroom? If so, be sure they have adequate floor space and closet space.

Losing that back bedroom would allow more light into the main living space.

On the subject of the kids' area, I'd drop the bathroom to one sink so you can have a stack of storage drawers on each side of the sink. Storage trumps repetitive sinks every time. Also, I'd lose the door in the middle of the bathroom. It'll give the kids two opportunities to lock themselves in the bathroom, it'll get beat up, and they'll never share the bathroom anyway. Simple bathrooms work best.

3 - decrease size of master closet to allow for more garage storage

Be sure to harness the space under the large switchback stairs. Half-height storage is still valuable.

I like that you have a connection between the laundry room and the master closet.

Since the dryer is on an interior wall, do consider how it will be vented /how you'll be able to clean the dryer vent.

4 - foyer will be 2 stories to allow for more natural light

If you're trying to bring more light into this area, add a side window to the dining room too. The space where you really need more light is the great room; tucked back into a "U" and under a covered porch, it won't get much natural light.

5 - sliding barn door on entry from main bedroom to bathroom

Ick, no. We stayed in a hotel once that had a barn door on the bathroom. It doesn't "close" tightly like a regular hinged door, so it offers little privacy.

I would, however, move the bathroom door "down" a bit so it's more in the corner; this will keep the door away from the sleeper on the right side of the bed.

I was simply giving the name of the plan on Architectural Design's website, which is Modern Farmhouse.

Modern Farmhouse is whatever the designer wants it to be. Farmhouse style tends to be simple (rather than having lots of jigs and jogs around the edge), have single windows, a steeper roof, and traditional dormers instead of shed style. But so what? It's just a name.

Not sure what "fat roof syndrome"

This means the house is "deep" rather than "wide", which is less than ideal because it prevents natural light from reaching the center of the house, and it forces the roof into large proportions. A large, complicated roof is exponentially more expensive, and it allows more opportunities for leaks.

I do love the design of the garage.

Eh, I don't like the exterior much. I think I'd like it better if the shed dormer over the front door were a traditional triangular dormer.

Looking at the pictures of the house on the website -- you're fortunate to be able to see so many versions of the house! -- I have several opinions on the exterior:

- One house shows the front dormer made into a traditional dormer. Looks better.

- The back of the house is (much more) attractive than the front.

- I like the red double front door on one version.

- I liked the living rooms that did away with the duplicate doors to the same porch ... and instead centered one set of doors, which were flanked by windows. Makes sense. Windows are cheaper and more energy efficient, they don't inhibit porch furniture placement, and they make for one less door to check when you leave the house.

@bpathome-o-my Great idea on the double doors and cabinets in garage storage area. The house I grew up in had a closed off area of garage storage and I can't imagine a garage without it now.

Regarding lining up the fireplace with the island and the range, this is personal preference. This home has tons of "real life builds" on architectural designs website, and one thing I kept noticing was it really bothered me that these 3 things were off center from one another (particularly when looking from the fireplace into the kitchen.) They have since removed nearly EVERY photo showing the house from that angle, so I will have to track down some photos from a few of the accounts I follow on IG. I think I will have to tape it out to figure out how much space I'm going to lose with the walkway being shifted into the seating area and see if it's something we could work with -- otherwise I'll have to look into the kitchen layout some more.

Using bedroom 2 as a den/study is also something I've considered. With the orientation of our home, the corner of bedroom 4 will be facing west, so by opening that up in some way, we are trying to utilize the late afternoon/evening sunlight that will flow into the kitchen/living area from that room.

@ma in Michigan - we have the same schedule and neither of us are light sleepers. Good thinking though! We have not used a bedroom with this type of bathroom door before, but my sister just built their home with this feature and they like it! no complaints so far.

@Mrs Pete Whoa! Lots of great feedback. It will take me a bit to go through all of your help/suggestions, but I definitely will. Thanks so much!

@Mrs Pete

1 - I have the same concerns. I will have to map this one out to see if it's doable. If it's not realistic to shift the door, do you have any suggestions on arranging the kitchen in such a way that it doesn't look misaligned with the island/fireplace?

2 - Regarding sharing bedrooms, we currently have a 10 year old and a 1.5 year old. Planning to have another baby in the next year or so. The plan is to have the little ones share a room until we finish the upstairs bonus room, at which point that will become the older child's bedroom, and the little ones will have their own rooms.

I totally agree with you on the bathroom suggestions. Losing the extra sink and that extra door!

3 - Thank you for pointing out the under-stair storage. I'd be so disappointed if I'd missed that! For the dryer, I plan to run it under the master closet out the right side exterior wall, or possible to the corner area between the breakfast area and the master BR (whichever the pros suggest!) We rented a home where the dryer vent traveled nearly 25 feet to get outside and that was a nightmare, so this is definitely on our radar.

4 - Yes! That's what I like to hear! More light everywhere :)

5 - With a toilet room, we don't plan to close the bathroom sliding door that often. I kind of like the placement of the bathroom door because of how it's looking directly into the center of the tub and through the window. Can you further explain your reason behind wanting to shift it?

6 - The roof: Is the roof on this home considered large and complicated?

7 - General Design: Agreed on the triangular dormer! I'm not a huge fan of shed dormers. I will have to look more closely at the living room porch door modifications, but I like the sound of that!

Thank you SO much for your feedback!

Your DR is a virtually unusable size. My own is almost 13x13 and is very small - can't get around table with people sitting there. I would move the kitchen to the back and find a way to incorporate the breakfast room with the dining room for a usable space that can take a table that can be extended with leaves.

Say no to the barn door to the en suite bathroom from the bedroom. Allows noises and odors to waft. Way to have either you or your SO get TMI right before getting into bed.

Regarding centering the hood/island/fireplace - you may find the comments/discussion on this thread helpful

[https://www.houzz.com/discussions/should-kitchen-island-be-centered-with-lr-fireplace-when-open-concept-dsvw-vd~5223644[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/should-kitchen-island-be-centered-with-lr-fireplace-when-open-concept-dsvw-vd~5223644)

I'd drop the bathroom to one sink so you can have a stack of storage drawers on each side of the sink. Storage trumps repetitive sinks every time.

MrsPete, this is one thing I say over & over & over. However you said it way better than I ever have. I'm stealing that line "Storage trumps repetitive sinks every time."
Well said!!
Ditching the double sink in our Master was one of the best things I ever did. I have so much more room, and DH & I manage to share that sink just fine. I needed the SPACE not the extra sink, extra plumbing, extra cost!!

Personally I love the barn door idea, but the ones against it have valid points if those things bother you. We don't have a door on our bathroom at all, it's around the corner from the bed, so we just shut the bedroom door. Also we apparently aren't very modest people. lol

I'd actually planned for a barn door for ours and then the electrician put the smoke alarm & an extra switch I hadn't planned in the "landing" area for the door. I just nixed the door. It hasn't bothered us a lick.

I love the Laundry room/Master closet, I tried so hard to get that to work in ours but I needed it to fit into the rectangle footprint, and ran out of options.
It still works really well for us the way it worked out, I'm just a bit envious of this one!

I think, unless you're putting this on a full basement, your garage storage is going to be the only place to put your mechanicals. Furnace, water heater, water softener, etc.
Are you in a subdivision, or small city lot, where you're limited on space for an outbuilding? I think I'd keep that master closet space, personally, and plan for a small barn/storage building for your needed garage storage. ymmv.

You're very lucky to be able to see so many photos of this home in different ways!!

Good luck!!

ETA: I think the island/fireplace center thing will be WAY less obvious IRL than on the plan. I am a FREAK about things lining up, but once you have furniture, and decor, and people, I think this will be the least of your worries. The way the master suite is set up, I'd leave it alone! :)

Lori Wagerman_Walker Thanks for your input! We will be on farmland, so we have plenty of space and a small barn may be a good option for mechanicals. I'm not sure how all of that works, but would it be possible to have it in the bonus room space?

Just had an idea. If I extended the back wall of the breakfast nook to be in line with the rear porch, I think that would allow space for a shifted kitchen entry (to let me align my island, range, and fireplace), and still allow plenty of space for the breakfast nook. Even though it's adding additional square footage, is it possible it would break-even given there would be one less jog in the foundation? Anyone? Attached an example of what I'm thinking.

^^^ That was actually my first thought, but I forgot to say it!!

I was meaning your out building would take place of your garage storage, because your garage storage is going to be taken up with mechanical stuff. You don't want to put it up stairs. :)

Nice quick concept! On its way to having a stronger sense of organization and flow. (And eliminating any need to line up the fireplace, island, and vent hood.)

and one thing I kept noticing was it really bothered me that these 3 things were off center from one another (particularly when looking from the fireplace into the kitchen.)

When you are living in the house and you look at the fireplace, you won't be able to see the stove and visa versa. And as for symmetry, the only time it will look symmetrical when you're standing in it is if you're directly in front of one or the other and since you can't see both at once, it's a moot point.

4 - Yes! That's what I like to hear! More light everywhere :)

Well you don't want this house then especially since the kitchen will be dark. It's too far into the interior to get enough natural light. Ask me how I know?

Additionally the bedrooms will be dark because there is not windows on two walls.

Plus the great room will also be dark with the porch blocking natural light and the walls from the bedroom and breakfast room also blocking the light.

The pantry is far from the garage so means walking through your work zone to unload stuff from the garage to the pantry. Poor design. Plus why would you put a pantry on an outside wall with a window?

If I extended the back wall of the breakfast nook to be in line with the rear porch, I think that would allow space for a shifted kitchen entry (to let me align my island, range, and fireplace), and still allow plenty of space for the breakfast nook.

So what you're saying is you want to make your kitchen and living room even darker!

Thanks for your input! We will be on farmland, so we have plenty of space and a small barn may be a good option for mechanicals. I'm not sure how all of that works, but would it be possible to have it in the bonus room space?

If you are on farmland why are you building a house meant for a suburban lot with the garage sticking out like a sore thumb in front? I'm sorry but I agree with Sophie. You can do so much better. Have you considered working with an architect to design a house that would truly work for you and your family?

PPF's rough idea is so much better right from the start from what this canned factory internet plan is.

I had a Modern Farmhouse in northern Michigan. It was built in 1955 when it was modern. It was built on a farm by a farmer that hired out the work. Lester Walker, Author of "American Shelter: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the American Home", would classify it as a "Contractor Modern".

This one does away with the formal dining. Again, just a rough concept.

@PPF Thank you for taking the time to work these up! I really appreciate seeing what the possibilities are. So I've been told by various individuals that having a "spread out" house is more costly than something compact. Is this always true? What things influence how expensive a specific home plan is? Let's say we have 10 homes, all made of the same material, all the same square footage....what factors most drastically influence the cost of the home? I know various foundation jogs is one, but that's about where my knowledge ends.

@cpartist Thank you for your feedback. Regarding the fireplace, island, kitchen lineup, perhaps it's not the fireplace involvement that bothers me so much. Take a look at these photos. I can't be crazy. I'm not the best at visualizing things, but I'm usually decent at knowing when something is "off".

4 - Light:

I see a theme in your comments. I have to ask, is there a farmhouse style home you've seen that you thought had adequate light? You mention porches often and how they block light, which I understand. I'm curious if a farmhouse with good lighting can be done, or if I need to choose between the two.

@PPF Thank you for taking the time to work these up! I really appreciate seeing what the possibilities are. So I've been told by various individuals that having a "spread out" house is more costly than something compact. Is this always true?

No it's not. A house with an oversized and complicated roof for example could be much more expensive than a spread out house.

A house with lots of of bump outs (jigs and jogs) can be more expensive than a simple spread out house. For example the one you posted above has 22 jigs and jogs.

There are many factors that influence the cost of the build.

What things influence how expensive a specific home plan is? Let's say we have 10 homes, all made of the same material, all the same square footage....what factors most drastically influence the cost of the home?

A two story home with a simple shape will usually be less expensive to build than a 1 story spread out home.

In the long run it might actually be less expensive to work with an architect who can look at your land etc and build something that works for you and your family versus taking an internet plan and plopping it down. Do a search on this forum for working with an architect. Lots of good threads.

You can work with an architect in your neighborhood, or you can work remotely with one. Architectrunnerguy comes to mind on this forum.

@cpartist Thank you for your feedback. Regarding the fireplace, island, kitchen lineup, perhaps it's not the fireplace involvement that bothers me so much. Take a look at these photos. I can't be crazy. I'm not the best at visualizing things, but I'm usually decent at knowing when something is "off".

You are correct. The balance feels off to you based on the photos. In real life, they may or may not be. You don't need symmetry in a house or especially a kitchen, but you do need balance. Here is a picture of my brand new kitchen. The only thing symmetrical in the whole kitchen is the cooktop and hood and upper cabinets between the two windows. Even my lower cabinets are not symmetrical. And my sink on my island isn't centered!

However, my kitchen does have what is called asymmetrical balance. One doesn't stand in my kitchen and feel something is "off".

4 - Light:

I see a theme in your comments. I have to ask, is there a farmhouse style home you've seen that you thought had adequate light? You mention porches often and how they block light, which I understand. I'm curious if a farmhouse with good lighting can be done, or if I need to choose between the two.

Yes a farmhouse look with good lighting can be done but not when the kitchen is put in the middle of the house. Note again my kitchen. I have windows on two walls there. It provides me with bright filtered light (north on the cooktop wall and east on the prep sink wall) all day long. Opposite the island is my dining area and that slider behind my table and chairs is south facing with a covered lanai. In summer the light is filtered by the lanai, and in winter, I get more direct light because of the angle of the sun.

How can a good farmhouse look be achieved? By having a house only 1-2 rooms deep with windows in each room on 2 walls. By locating things like pantries, closets and mechanical rooms in interior rooms.

Again, my kitchen/dining area is 2 rooms deep and gets light from windows on 3 walls. My living room is 1 room deep and has windows on both the north and south walls.

Additionally, you can help a house with passive solar heating/cooling by siting the house to take best advantage of the sun and how it travels through the sky in summer and winter.

@cpartist

Thanks! Very helpful information :) I have been in touch with Doug a bit, but finally followed up with him earlier this morning (we've been swamped with moving the past few months)

There's a lot of give and take in home cost, and it's important to consider the operating costs as well. For instance as far as operating costs go, in a cold climate, a compact house will be more efficient to heat but the trade off is that if it is too deep, you will need to have your lights on in the middle of the day. This is where posters have pointed out that it's a shame that your pantry has a very nice wall for a window while the kitchen has to make do with borrowed light from the breakfast area. Similarly, a house that is designed to take advantage of cross-breezes, both in form, arrangement of windows, and orientation can save on cooling, but one with too much glass, or glass oriented in the wrong directions can experience overheating or greater heat loss.

Looking at construction costs alone, a spread out house will incur greater costs for perimeter size of foundation and exterior finishes, but that can be balanced with savings by keeping the number of corners on the foundation down and by reducing the size of the roof. The roof on this house plan is so large you could easily fit a full second floor with 4 more bedrooms under it.

If you are in contact with Doug, we can consider this thread closed. Doug will provide you with a functional, attractive and economical plan that will meet your family's needs, desires and future requirements.

Consider yourself to be in good hands. We can't wait to see the reveal in a few months.

Nooooo!!! Don't close the thread!!!

Wait until we get to see Doug's concept. RIght here so that anybody else looking at this plan can see how much better it can be done. ;-)

Given that we are not on a tight timeline, I have a meeting scheduled with architectrunnerguy (Doug) in a couple of weeks! My husband and I are so excited to work with him. Thank you everyone for your input and advice - I know we are in great hands with Doug!

I'm excited for you. I'm sure Doug will come up with something that will work within your budget and be beautiful.

I am so excited about seeing what Doug comes up with... Please keep posting!! I love some of the exterior elements of the original plan, so can't wait to see how he makes it better!!

ETA: I don't feel like the garage is a big schnozzola on this one. It seems to be a part of the house. Ours is on 23 acres and the garage is what you drive up to. Doesn't bother me a lick.

ETAA: THIS is schnozzola!!

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjxy5Ds5-_cAhWkyoMKHf9uDDQQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=http%3A%2F%2Fartsvik.com%2Fmodern-farm-house-plans-image%2Fchoosing-modern-farmhouse-house-plans-design-vi-cltsd-inside%2F&psig=AOvVaw1hMSsYOb5Wb0vp_oXqJmWT&ust=1534446621119653

That is what makes it a "farmhouse", the garage is so large it is a barn.

I have been working with Doug on my farmhouse plans and have been absolutely thrilled! Should have drawings back soon - can't wait to share!

You'll want to keep all your master bedroom closet space and add a sturdy high shelf all the way around the top of the wall, perhaps even over the closet door, so you'll have plenty of space for luggage and other items you use less frequently than clothes.

To add more storage in the garage:

You could bump out those front bay windows a full 3' so you can create a row of base cabinet storage with a "shop" countertop there that would be out of the way of cars parked in the garage; and/or

You could also add shallow shelving floor to ceiling along the back wall; and/or

You could add a single high shelf above head and car height (at least along the back wall) and/or,

Depending upon garage ceiling height, you could add hanging shelves -- whether built/sold for that purpose or that you create with thick/heavy plywood and swing chain.

Consider putting an exterior door across from the laundry room to open to a patio outside the breakfast room.

Consider putting a door at the bottom of the steps to the bonus room. Heat rises, and heated automobile exhaust smells with it. Whether summer or winter, you'll want the better control over your heat exchange and any heat/ac bills.

You could put a door (perhaps a frosted glass French door or pocket door) on each/both side of the fireplace to access that hallway behind the chimney. This addresses not only visual symmetry but adds an extra door for sound privacy and potential fire escape access.

Rather than make your pantry separate and walled off from your kitchen, you should make your "pantry" a walk thru butler's pantry by increasing the space for the pantry by having less of an indent between front porch and garage. The butler's pantry is a short hallway with floor to ceiling cabinets on both sides through which you may access the dining room directly from the kitchen without going through the living room. You could have an 18" countertop beneath the butler's pantry window and floor to ceiling 18" deep cabinets on the rest of the walls.

You could make the built ins on each side of the fireplace be more shallow so they could serve as bookshelves for the living room side and linen and/or shared game/toy storage closets for the children's hall side of the wall.

You could save some cost by straightening the exterior walls of the home.

If you straighten the back wall of the house, you could add a roofed indoor/outdoor living area -- any combination of pergola w/semi-clear roof and/or sun room and/or open porch and/or screened porch the full back width of the house from the master bedroom wing all the way to the left back corner of the home.

You might want to swap the locations of the laundry room and powder room, putting the powder room closer to your master bedroom -- the better to enable both his/her powder rooms for the master bedroom as needed.

Flipping the locations of the laundry room and the powder room would also move the smells of the powder room farther away from the door to the breakfast/eating area. You could also make that powder room a 3'-4' wide "L" shape, with the longer side against the master bedroom wall and a pedestal sink in the corner angle of the "L" and the toilet in the short part of the "L", enabling you to have more room in your laundry room by keeping you from having an inaccessible base cabinet corner in the laundry room.

On the left side of the house for the children's bedrooms, do straighten that left exterior wall of the house (rather than having those unnecessary angles at the front and back corner. Then, rather than three small bedrooms, build two larger bedrooms with a bath-and-a-half and the closets for the bedrooms between them. More sound/privacy issues addressed.

(Depending upon the gender of your next child, you could make one of the children's bedrooms larger than the other. As the eldest child becomes a teen, the bonus room above the garage could become an extra children's bedroom.)

The bath-and-a-half would be three small connected rooms: a single shared bathtub w/shower in the center room accessible from each side via a powder room, each of which would be accessible from one of the children's bedrooms. Then add a larger closet for each of the children's bedrooms between that bathroom (bath-and-a-half) interior wall and the children's hall wall.

(House rules: everyone rinses out the shared tub/shower after each use and no child leaves anything in the tub room other than their towel drying on their assigned towel rack on the back of their own powder room door and/or exterior wall and no one ever leaves the doors to the tub room locked from inside unless they're actually in the tub room.)

Size ell did you not see that she is going to be working with Doug instead of using this plan?

Any updates? Lots of interest in building this plan!

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/arg-house-plan-feedback-pt-2-dsvw-vd~5610715

My husband and I are building this plan and should be breaking ground soon. The modifications we made were: Bedroom 2 will be an office (husband works from home) with French doors in the foyer and closing off the original entrance from the hall. We have decided not to build the bonus room so this will eliminate the stairs and open up the area. We are switching the laundry with the backside of the master closet, adding windows in the laundry room and a door with a small covered stoop to go outside We do have this drawn out and when I find it, I will post the drawing. We are wanting the builder to change the boxed dormer to a pitched dormer.

There is currently an already built version of this plan with the pitched front dormer that is nice looking. Says it was built in North Carolina - wish I knew where so that we could go look at it.

I have had this plan for almost a year after looking at so many other plans for the past five years and we have visually walked through this one and toured one similar. The light that shines through the home is really wonderful as the front dormer really brightens up the inside.

Also, we will be using Smart Siding instead of concrete board.

Best wishes to anyone else wanting to do this plan.

P.S. I just edited this post as I found the rough version of moving the laundry room. This is done so that we can fence in a section outside and let the dogs out to do a quick potty.

As you can see, we did make a few other changes - adding some windows to the master bedroom and taking out the door to the shower in the guest bath (no need for bathroom doors). We currently have a sitting area in part of our master closet so that we can sit down and put shoes on, get dressed, etc. We love it.

kitchen will be dark. laundry not directly vented to outside. another internet plan.

Kitty Rocha - laundry dryer will be on an outside wall and directly vented outside. Kitchen will be very bright as the sun will come in perfectly in the late afternoon into evening. As mentioned above, I toured this home which is already built not too far away from us and the main living/entertaining area is very open and bright. Thank you for your review.