Hello Everyone - I'm new to these forums but am looking forward to hearing everyone's ideas on the floor plans I drew up. We plan to start building in spring. We'll be meeting with the architect soon and wanted some opinions on the plans before then. Thanks in advance for your thoughts and help! - Kelly Image link:

I agree with Green that the garage will dominate the facade. Re: the kitchen size issue: The corner pantry and angled island make it feel cramped. You could try this: rotate the front hall closet and move the pantry to the space that was kind of unused to the right of the guest bath; change the door to swing in. Straigten the island. Move the refrigerator to the end of the range run; this means that diners can grab a beverage refill without walking past the work zone. If you are rather formal diners and don't like the looks of a fridge so close, consider getting a panelled fridge. (See mockup.) Also, post your plans on the kitchens forum - there are loads of talented layout folks there.

Yes, I do understand. There are literally millions of houseplans floating around. Probably several dozen thousand of them will meet your stated requirements. I don't understand why your planner is having trouble with this, unless s/he simply doesn't understand what you mean by a "southern" house. I can understand that too, since just off the top of my head I can visualize 8 distinct, non-similar styles which could each be called "southern", meaning you likely won't find that exterior in the North or Northwest but likely would find them in the South or Southwest or even southern mid-Atlantic. To get past this problem, I would suggest spending some more time online, looking at 3- and 4-BR/1 floor styles as well as the usual 2-BR. The other two BRs have the potential to be converted into (or provide the square footage) for your laundry and computer rooms. When you find a plan that *looks* right in general, print it out and then highlight exactly what appealed. Do the same for floor plans even though they may be shown with an exterior that doesn't appeal to you. Then you will be able to show the planner examples, and s/he should be able to come up with a satisfactory design. BTW, instead of mentioning furniture, use dimensions for the dining room. Tables for 8 may be round or square and can run from a petite 30"x60" to a rather impressive 50"x 120" --- and the same variation applies to all the other furnishings you mentioned. Get some ¼" graph paper; measure your furniture and make outlines on the graph paper after translating the measurements into scale... say that each square on the graph paper is equal to 3" so that if your table is 30"x60" you will outline a rectangle 10 squares wide and 20 squares long. Repeat for all of the furniture including each chair. Now you can cut out the outlines (for easier handling, I'd glue the cutouts to thin cardboard), and arrange them on another graph page. You may find that a comfortable arrangement requires a room size of 12'x15' or 15'x18' or 16' square, etc. Whatever... your planner can use that dimension for the DR area, and you'll know that your furnishings will actually fit. Also, don't *tell* your preferences to the planner. Write them out, and in as much detail as possible. Few people, designers and planners included, can quote verbatim a half-hour's conversation. It isn't reasonable to expect the planner to remember each qualification you mentioned, so list them on paper so that everybody will know what is wanted.

Is this easier to read: Original plan: Our version so far: Here with furniture, our concept of course: We have made the kitchen on one wall only (and some high cabinets to utilize more space). Something like this: We would like ot keep 2 separate rooms for the kids. The 2 bathrooms cannot be moved a lot unfortunately as the main piping goes in the upper left corner and it would mean a nightmare to change. Yes, the in-between windows are there for some additional natural light to flow in. Also the positioning of washer, sink, toilet and shower cabin/doors are still under consideration ...