Thanks guys! I have no imagination when it comes to house plans. I think I need to tour a bunch of homes before we settle on something. Since getting married 11 years ago we have only lived in two homes - a very small, very poorly laid out chalet style mountain home (900 sq ft) and now we are living in a 3 bedroom single wide (980 sq ft) on the 20 acres where we are going to build. All I know is what doesn't work! I like the look of that house and I actually like the shed roof in the back so we can get a full floor upstairs. We are planning on getting an architect to help us with the home but I need someplace to start! And I agree, there are not enough windows on the front.

I am back after some thinking. I certainly do not want to present unattractive facade to the world but beyond attractiveness there are other things that I care about: usability, cost to build and maintain, energy efficiency. With the majority of the suggestions so far, it seems to me that improving appeal of the garage is done to the detriment of usability and "total cost of ownership". Longer and costlier driveway; additional windows that are purely decorative which means again higher cost to build and also more cleaning without the benefit of bringing light and views into the living spaces; longer walk from parked cars for us and guests (we usually do not park in the garage during summer); less sun on the driveway which means we have to scrape more ice or use more salt; game room too far from lounge area; more complicated roof; etc. The one exception is Janicone's idea of shifting garage right (north) and back (west). I really like it but I do not think location of the septic will allow us to do that . Virgil, I really liked what you said about making garage into something appealing which is also integral part of the house. That is exactly what I would love to do. I do not want to hide it - cars are important part of our live , at least outside of urban areas ( I would love to see better public transportation in US but ....) , so I do not want to pretend they do not exist. Ideally, I would love to use functional features that are required (garage doors, outdoor lights, siding, ...) , not purely decorative, to make garage interesting. Is it not possible with the original plan? I know I sound stubborn but even after all the pushback everybody is giving me I still think the original layout gives us the best functionality. Or am I just slow and missing something? It happens more often than not :) Mark, it is interesting that I was thinking to use garage doors with glass panels to achieve something similar to what you did in sketch 3 or 5. I'll attach some inspiration pictures when I have better connection. Of course now, that I saw number 4 (over the limit one) I am really thinking of doing exactly that. Our neighbors will love us ;) On the windows and rhythm - I think right now we have Piazzolla. Not very danceable but I love to listen :) On a serious note, I've already confessed that functionality is more important to us but if we can improve the looks without losing functionality and adding to the cost of the build I'd love that. If any of the greatly talented architects here would consider working with us, please message me privately. If not , I think we are getting ready to commit a sin of building another snout and rhythmically challenged house :)

I am going to use a car analogy. Both of these cars were built in 1957 by the same car company (Ford-Lincoln-Mercury). One is essentially an expression of every trendy element of the era. The other rejected almost all of that and was based in spirit on a car almost 20 years older. One, in retrospect, has been called one of the ugliest, most excessive cars ever built by a number of automotive critics and historians, However, people liked it at the time, and it has also come to be embraced as an example of the period and collected as a curiosity. The other was almost immediately honored by the Museum of Modern Art, and is considered one of the most beautiful American cars ever built, and it continues to directly influence automotive design to this day. I think a lot of people are building houses analogous to the former during this period of time. I have also posted this analogy before and there were a number of people who said they clearly preferred the Mercury Turnpike Cruiser, not the Lincoln Mark II. They considered the Mark II "boring". I think you have to decide what you want to build. Mercury Turnpike Cruiser Mark II

First off you put this in the fireplaces category(?) so not sure how many responses you’ll get. I would NOT plan a kitchen around a table. Do what you want and like, trust me tastes will change and you might want a different table down the road.