I am not sure if this is helpful, but we are in the midst of building a house on our ranch. It sounds very similar in design--great room with large living, dining and kitchen area all essentially in one room. I chose a wideplank maple hardwood floor. Had the same concerns as you do about dirt (it's a ranch, after all!), dogs, traffic, etc. Our walls are also off-white with lots of windows and light. THey are being installed next week, so I don't know yet, how they will work, but at the moment, I am excited about them!

Far too much space devoted to the kitchen. When we're at the lake, we spend most of our time outside, and most cooking is done on the grill. Your plan doesn't lend itself to that at all. And anyone coming in with a wet swimsuit to get a snack is going to drip through half the house to get there. You've already pinpointed that as a dislike. I'd be tempted to get rid of both the banquette and the island seating,a nd use the table. You didn't post dimensions, but this is not a huge space, and I think paring down to one seating area will free up more space for other needs. Is this a year-round home? Who will live there? Do you have visitors for the day? Again, I'm thinking about how we use our lake cottage. It would be nice to have a shower on the first floor, so guests could easily shower and change after a swim. I do like the idea of the study/sunroom being separate, however. No matter how well your family gets along, sometimes you need quiet time for just one or two people, without retreating to a bedroom. Here's is a really ugly, quick and dirty idea, putting the stairs in the middle of the house, moving the kitchen to the front, and eliminating the redundant seating. I'd expand the powder room into the pantry, and perhaps add cabinets in the dining room to use as pantry space, if necessary. The kitchen is very rough, obviously, but I'd put the fridge where the black box is, and range where the white box is. The sink side could be open to the dining table, or enclosed (if so, I'd swap the sink and range). Now the great room is the entire top of the room - expanding into the stair area as needed, or the current stair area becomes a cozy sitting area, reading nook, or game table spot. I would eliminate the bump-outs on both sides. They add a lot of expense, without a lot of benefit. Bay windows would serve the same purpose.

Your place looks amazing. I live in a lake house full time. Something to consider is the way you use your home, especially the bathroom. I can tell you the number one best thing I ever did (aside from buying the house itself :) was putting a door to the outside in one of my bathrooms. It gets used constantly all summer and keeps the sand and grime some what contained in the bathroom. Before I did that we would walk all the way through the house to the bathroom...no matter how much you brush / off rinse off etc... you get lots of sand everywhere! The bathroom is the most worked room in the house! Now they can go in and jump in the shower at the end of the day and come out without 10 pounds of sand! Don't get me wrong I love the sandy days, but it is nice for everyone not to feel bad about traipsing through the house with wet or sandy feet just to use the toilet. I would LOVE to have a toy garage that faces the lake, so much easier to get all the stuff put away and drying at the end of the day. A place to hang the 64 thousand wet things...

when I buy houses I get every contractor there is out to inspect the critical elements, someone mentioned above HVAC, roof, septic if applicable - to cover the big stuff... if I think aesthetic work needs doing I get a contractor out (usually your realtor knows at least one) and get an idea for costs from them. I then use that info to decide whether I think the aesthetic updates make sense vs the purchase price or you if they're even in my budget at all. if not then I either have to live with things or work around them or walk away. If this is going to be your forever home you can do it over time but plan on big bucks for the columns and the kitchen. professional painters are big bucks too.