If you move the kitchen like I sugggested you could also look at switching the dining area to where the livingroom is now and making the livingroom area larger and across the back of the house (where the formal dining and part of the kitchen is now) Then your livingroom would have the view of your back yard and that pretty shade tree. You could even connect the family room and living room together to make one big great room.

Thank you - hadn't thought of sliding the kitchen toward the garage. I'll play around with that idea.

Just to clarify, it's a mudroom only (no laundry - laundry will remain in the basement, which is my preference), but your point still stands. Guests have to turn into/toward the mudroom to access the 1/2 bath. Thanks for that!!

The few points that bother me are, as the other poster said, the powder room in the mud room. Guests should be able to easily access it. Also, the two entrances in the mudroom to the breakfast area seems pointless and will make it harder to decorate.

The dining room feels like of tight so if you're open to one dining space I'd knock the wall down between the kitchen and dining room and slide the kitchen over that way.

I prefer to have the kitchen nearer to the garage so when you bring in the groceries you don't have to lug them half way across the house. Also nice to have the kitchen closer to the covered patio for grilling and eating out if you do that. Can the covered patio be more centered to the living area of the house instead of directly behind the garage?

Who can I consult with to help me work through these things? Do I need a different architect, would an interior designer assist in space-planning like this? Thank you. We're spending a lot of money on this project....I want to get it right. Appreciate everyone's help.

Agree with one larger dining space. This would free up some needed space for a larger family room. Do you use the living room? Do you have a need for a small office or away room?

The mudroom does seem a bit awkward. Better access to the covered porch from main living areas would be nice as mentioned. But, with the back facing north, you also don't want to block more windows, otherwise it will feel dark. Some added windows on the side of your house would be great for some additional light into those spaces.

I know you had said, the laundry is in the basement, but I might plumb for them in a mudroom, especially if you're going through the trouble of remodeling. On that same thought with the powder room, maybe consider a shower as well if you plan to stay in this house for a while. Might be a time where stairs proves to be difficult for any number of reasons. For instance, if an adult or even a child has a broken foot or leg, having an accessible bathroom on the first floor would be a benefit, not to mention for selling.

Good to really evaluate your needs and how you want to live in the home. Make your architect aware of all this, conversation is key and should be a team effort. If you honestly don't feel she is listening, then yes, maybe you find another. It's your home and you're money.

Might also post in building a home forum for advice or critique. The kitchen forum would be helpful once you have worked out some layouts.

Good luck!

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Definitely reconsider the powder room in the mudroom. The issue of guest access has been brought up, but my biggest complaint would be anyone (like my kids) using the bathroom will end up walking back and forth through the mudroom in their socks and then tracking dirt/sand/snow through the house. We intentionally designed our mudroom with separation from any other living space, so that we don’t need to walk through it to access a bathroom, laundry or pantry.

Remodeling an existing structure involves balancing a number of constraints inherited from the existing structure (unless the budget is unlimited, that is.) I think your architect has done a pretty good job of adapting the existing home to address the needs/wants you indicated without excessive "surgery."

I concur that revising the design to include a single dining area for all occasions will free up valuable space.

I suggest you ask your architect to do some quick (tracing paper overlays) concepts that eliminate the eating area in the kitchen. These would include options for a redesigned laundry/mud/powder room/desk area and an option to shift the kitchen and make the dining area larger and maybe some others.

Best wishes for a successful project.