Is the front door the one one the right? Does it have to face that direction? And is the large closet required to be a walk-in?

How does the plan respond to the site?

Yes, the front door is the one on the right. The door opposite the office nook will be to the patio.

The house is sited to face directly south.

I like a lot of things about the floor plan too, but to know how best to add addition space for eating (or even which wall orients your TV) we need some site details.

bpath - I could potentially change the direction the front door faces.

Can you tell me what you mean by site details? I am really unsure how to answer the question.

Good design starts with the site. Any home should be designed with the site upon which it will set in mind. Terrain, vegetation, soil conditions, orientation, wind direction, path of the sun, wanted views, unwanted views, utilities, water features, vehicular circulation, wildlife, and adjacent site conditions all influence the design of a home. Without considering the site, you're just plopping a building on a plot of land and not taking advantage of what the environment has to offer.

How much natural light do you want? Our house faces north/south and our foyer is set up like yours will be. We’re in Zone 5 as well and the window in our door really helps to provide natural light. Depending on the direction you’ll be facing, closing that space in might hinder any natural light you might benefit from.

Another question to consider is that if you enclose the entry how will you accomodate traffic during the winter months? All the winter wear and shoes require space to put it on or take it off, especially if more than one person is entering, I would worry that closing it off would cramp the space. We installed a storm door and that helps a lot with the cold air that can come in.

I love how open and airy the living areas are. Have you considered using your furniture to define the spaces like a sectional?

ETA: As a way to tuck the coats and shoes away and out of site, I’d be tempted to expand the closet by the front door a bit and turn it into a mud area with a few built ins. And to change wording in first paragraph

To start with, I would switch the office nook and walk in closet locations for obvious reasons of convenience and privacy. Secondly, walking through a laundry room to get to a half bath is suboptimal at best. Is this a stock plan?

Alternatively you you could move the location of the front door to the short left window wall of the living area and enter directly into that space, leaving the office and closet where they are. If you are concerned about drafts and cold weather, a well constructed and well fitted door should take care of those issues. Or you need a vestibule if there is arctic air blowing across your site.

The mechanical room will hold the furnace and the water heater? Is there room to work on them? Are you on a well, or municipal water?

re the office nook, you have an office nook upstairs, right? Just making sure you need two. (DH and I certainly each need our own!)

Apologies, I read the other comments and see your front door is on the right of your plan. In that case I would still move the patio access door to make the office nook less of a traffic pattern. If the patio extends all the way across the living space, ould you substitute French doors for the windows of that area?

For draft concerns a vestibule or covered entrance seems like a good solution still. Same problem with half bath placement.

Do you want guests to have to walk through your laundry to use the bathroom? I would switch the powder room and laundry and flip the powder room so it is entered from the entry area.

Does that closet have to be a walk-in? Do you have storage anywhere else? Wondering if e front door can be where the closet is, keeping the left-hand wall to divide the living room, then have a reach-in closet up by the laundry. Or, a laundry closet.

i know you don't have measurements here, but is the shower big enough? It's shown as about the size of the toilet...

Thank you all for your feedback. I owe lots of answers......

Site: Our site is part of a parcel that is currently a wooded lot, with 15 year old trees. Prior to that it was pasture, ie it's relatively flat. Our lot's SW and SE borders abut conservation land. The house will be sited facing due south, overlooking this land. NE is the road, this is a dead end country road, this boundary will be wooded. NW also has a wooded border it abuts a neighbor. The lot will be cleared to make greatest use of the southern aspects.

Laundry/Powder Room: I have switched these two. Visitors will not go through the laundry to get to the PR.

The Office Nook on the first floor is for my DH. He wants it there so that he can walk outside and sit on the patio during calls when weather allows. I dont think traffic patterns to the patio door will be a problem since there will only be the two of us living in the house.

The mechanical room hold the circuit panel, the well tank, the panel for the solar array, the hot water heater, and heating units(ducted heat pumps).

The shower in the Master is 36x48. That's fine with me, it's what we have now.

The Closet area in the front hall will have built-ins for storage and room for a bench.

I discussed the air coming in the frontdoor with the designer. He explained that the wind will be blocked by the garage, but the position of the garage still allows someone in the kitchen to see into the southern yard and the treeline. I feel good about the door position now.

Thank you all, again, for your feedback. It was all thought provoking and enabled me to work through some good good lines of questioning.

One thing about your bedroom....can you eliminate or move the window behind the bed as shown? I think it looks awkwardly placed, especially for considering bed placement. You have two windows in the side wall already, which will face west, and should provide plenty of light. I love a lot of light in any room, but think of the money you will save on draperies.

Also, can you show the front elevation view? Is there a front porch or entry you have planned? Is there any reason you can’t square off the living room corner to be flush with the closet? I don’t really know what it might gain you except perhaps some deep bookshelves, and perhaps a hidden closet for A/V equipment behind a tv with access from the closet.

I like where the front door is placed with respect to the LR. Seems like the best entrance spot. As for dining, without dimensions it’s hard to tell, but will the space near the island accommodate a long-ish narrow table for 6? If you don’t need a table that large, perhaps just a square or round table with a leaf.

The only thing on here that I would change and I see you have is the powder room entrance and the master closet entrance. Looks as though you can only get in there through the bathroom? I understand it's just you and dh but honestly, I don't like when people come into the bathroom when I'm in the shower or on the toilet, even dh, lol

Outside, thank you for making me think about the windo behind the bed. The plan is for the window to be above the headboard, but maybe you’re right.

Lyfia, the closet entry via the bathroom works for us, but thank you for your feedback.

Sorry you must have me confused with someone else. I only commented on your powder room.

I personally like closet access from the bath.

Lyfia - sorry, and me too!

But you still have to access the laundry through the powder room? That is still not optimal design.

No. They are separate. I will post updated plan and elevation with revision in a day or two.

One thing I learned when designing our house is you can't design the interior separate and apart from the exterior...they need to work in concert.

The other thing, in looking at your plan, is I would add furniture to that living area to see if it will work for you...right now it's a big open space but that may not be optimal for things like where to put the sofa, the tv, the dining table etc. You can learn a lot by adding the furniture that will help you see how you will live in that space.