I kept losing my post mid typing so thought I'd post floorplans and then provide details.

Want open floorplan but not too open.

We will mainly live on main level. Kids will have upstairs. We will have a forced lookout basement for entertaining and maybe another guest/ exercise room.

I enjoy cooking and we entertain often. Want a large pantry / butler / 'messy' kitchen idea where all my appliances can hide and an extra sink and maybe dishwasher [extra].

Trying to keep main level < 2k to be budget friendly. Prefer courtyard side load garages so will tweek a little. Also love a front porch and want covered back patio.

House will face west or maybe southwest. It's 3 wooded acres but we plan to clear at least 1/2 acre around the house for yard light view etc.

Thanks for the help.

Trish

anyone? thanks. am i on wrong board?

No, you're on the right board. Seems you just posted at night when there wasn't a lot of activity.

I honestly don't like any of these plans, for reasons that I can't really articulate right now because no caffeine yet. But basically they all have weird flow.

Of the three, I like the second plan. I don’t like plan one because I don’t like the master near the garage, so I didn’t look at the rest of the plan. I don’t like 45 degree angles unless absolutely necessary so that took plan 3 out.

All of the kitchens are buried because there's too much crammed into the ground floor and the kitchen has to suffer to get it all to fit on the site. This problem began when people accepted the idea of putting their cars inside their houses.

Start by rethinking the orientation of the house facing west. That’s the worst. Startby reading about passive solar heating and cooling.

Next all these plans are awful. As mentioned the flow does not work and if you are empty nesters you also need to think of building a house you can age into. These are not empty nester homes

I'm liking plans 1 and 3. Like the fact that foyer and stair are well connected. As far as fascades plan 1 seems the best developed and most pleasing.

well. I want a garage attached to my house. so that's non negotiable.

the lot faces west...can't really change that but could shift the orientation of our back yard a little...

not sure where to go from here.

we are in our 40s so ideally 15+ years.

thanks for your thoughts.

IMO the first thing to address if you are being budget concious at all is the fact that all those roof angles are not needed and cost lots to build and lots to reroof and if you get snow a real PITA to avoid leaking at some stage. I agree none of the floor plans are perfect and I never like kitchens in the center of the house with no natural light .I see no place for an actual butlers pantry and IMO not needed if you plan your kitchen properly. We entertain a lot and I have never had the need to have a separate place for the mess just clean up as you go. We are empty nesters and honestly those plans are in no way designed for later lfe when anything can happen. MBRs with a closet to reach only through the bathroom is bad always.Vaulted ceiling height adds huge $$$ to heating and cooloing and in bedrooms are really not ever needed. Plan #1 is more farmhouse the other two a lot more contemporay which exterior do you like best. # 3 has the garge front entry which there is no need for on 3 acres. My suggestion is go back to the drawing board and plan for empty nesting and entertaining,

does anyone have a floorplan with a good flow? thanks.

i didn't expect such harsh words. i entertain a lot now and have lived in a house for 20 years so i know what i like and don't like. i agree none of the kitchens are on outside walls. i do like looking at the backyard from my sink so i will definitely ponder this.

i have a closet in my master bathroom. great for getting ready after showering in the morning. i am not sure what you mean by no access except through bathroom? do you have door from room and bathroom?

thanks again for tips.

i am planning to hire an architect but am trying to get ideas of what we can afford from builders etc. to then present to architect.

trish

All of these plans are much too large for empty nesters.

How much linger will your children be at home with you? Would it make sense to wait to design and build a custom home until the children are gone?

On a different note, west facing public spaces in a house are the absolute worst of all orientations because of the strong glare and light of afternoon suns.

Your west facing property can be mitigated by designing an "L"-shaped house where the house's public spaces face south.

To achieve this you will likely need a talented and experienced architect who understands what is needed.

Good luck with your project.

Don’t be discouraged! Since you are going to be working with an architect anyway, this forum is just pointing out some things you may not have thought of...which is a good thing at this stage!

Actually, even thought the elevation is way too contemp for my taste, I think the 2nd design has some great aspects to it. I love how there is a view from the front door to the back! I can picture some incredible pool or hardscape/landscape to provide the view in case you aren’t lucky enough to have a built-in view.

I personally like the ”mud side” configuration of this house and it’s location near the garage, and the master side can be configured differently in order to provide some windows in the bathroom part. It’s nice having the bedroom on the back of the house & away from the garage side. And although the minority on here... there are some people, myself included, that really like having the closet NOT open into the bedroom part of the suite. My husband travels a good bit for work and can easily get ready in the morning without waking me up.

The kitchen in this plan can easily be re-worked to get your sink/prep area on an outside wall.

Anyway, just wanted to give you some encouragement! Just read a lot about design and keep a file of pictures of interiors & exteriors that appeal to you.

good tip for L shaped. I'll have to dig for some to help with west issue. i was excited for sunsets. lol.

The empty nest aspect will be the main level when it's just us...no need to go up or down stairs....

the up or down will be when we host. Plus good for resale if we decide we want to move.

We will have 6+ years of our kids being with us off and on and also family stays with us and it will be nice not to have to play musical rooms.

I didn't notice no windows in master bath on #2. wow i need to look with fresh eyes.

I have a file folder and pinterest board full of pictures and ideas. I've been touring homes for about 5 years to see flows that I like... but can't really find a floorplan that has it all..

we will have a pretty yard with a pool and woods in the back...nothing amazing but not bad...but not sure since it's west and everyone says no to west how we will do it. if i angle the house might not be as pretty...

you all have given me lots of food for thought. so thanks.

anyone have an L shaped floorplan? i don't think I'm following this exactly. Thanks.

An "L" shaped plan is likely to be a custom designed plan, not a generic plan from an Internet plan factory site.

If you're not familiar with this forum and haven't read through other "critique my layout" posts in the archives, the unvarnished and honest advice here can come as a surprise : ) . To borrow from the wonderful Kitchen forum FAQs, when asking questions, keep in mind that the dedicated amateurs and professionals in this forum are trying to help, not criticize maliciously. Some can be blunt, but no-one is out to deliberately insult or hurt anyone. When your house is finished, we want you to have a house that functions wonderfully well for your family and looks nice overall -- but the process takes time and often involves comments and critiques (for example, when a layout is dysfunctional) that you probably won't want to hear.

As an example, here's a thread from last year where the poster was willing to listen and ended up with a much better plan than the one she started with,

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5307456/need-help-with-picking-exterior-materials#n=113

Trish, the plans you posted are all what are called "fat plans". That means a plan is more than 2 rooms deep, and what that means is, among other things, 1) that there will be interior rooms not getting any natural light (like the kitchen) and 2) a complex roof that is expensive to build, and expensive and problematic to maintain.

The way to avoid a fat house plan is avoid an enlarged square shape and choose instead, as Virgil suggested, an alphabet letter shape -- L or C or U.

Some helpful reading,

"What Not to Build" by Sandra Edelman, out of print but worth tracking down secondhand

"Designing Your Perfect House" by William Hirsch

i am planning to hire an architect but am trying to get ideas of what we can afford from builders etc. to then present to architect.

The best way to get the best from an architect is not to constrain them with other plans. Some more helpful reading, mostly provided by Virgil over the years,

What's A Well-Designed House?

Tips for Buying Land, Designing and Building A Custom Home Part 1 of 3

Tips for Buying Land Designing & Building Custom Home Part 1 Continued

Tips for Buying Land, Designing and Building A Custom Home, Part 2

Tips for Buying Land, Designing and Building A Custom Home, Part 2 continued

Tips for Buying Land, Designing and Building A Custom Home, Part 3

and also

What are you doing to make your house enrich your life?

By the way, it's worth visiting the Kitchen forum, reading through the FAQs and the archives,

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5500754/new-to-kitchens-read-me-first#24134168

Make sure you click to open all the comments because the meat of the thread is all in the first few posts. And when you have a house layout that works well, it's a good idea to run the kitchen plan through the Kitchen forum.

thanks. I remodeled my kitchen in 2008 and used what used to be gardenweb extensively. great resource. that's why i've returned. i've read through this form for a couple weeks but not necessarily floorplan stuff...floorplans are really hard for me to read so i usually gloss over those... i'll look into the articles and books you've recommended.

we are still trying to reign it in...trying to find something i can afford. i have gotten quotes >100k over my max budget....so i'm trying to find simple but effective. i was told sticking to rectangle shapes and keeping main level square footage down would help...

this is why i wanted to buy existing. lol

A follow-up regarding western exposure and using passive solar principles -- if you orient the public spaces of your house to the south, you can use nature to help cool the house in summer and warm it in the winter, and just make the house a more comfortable house to be.

I live in Alberta, and we built our new house so that the front door (entry, office, and bathroom) is facing north and the back of the house (living room, kitchen, dining room) is facing south.

We have neighbors who oriented their house so that the kitchen, dining area, and living room to face west for their view, but they have heavy lined curtains closed for most of the day, especially in the summer. They also built a deck on the west side of the house, but it's virtually unusable until the sun sets.

unfortunately i am stuck with western exposure unless i sell the lot. the lot is longer front to back than side to side. and i am losing a ton of backyard if i make the house sit sideways on the lot. the next door neighbor backyard faces west and he seems to be just fine...so perhaps I just won't have a wall of windows on the back of the home.

this is why i wanted to buy existing. lol

Not a bad idea : ) .

As Patricia mentioned above, "IMO the first thing to address if you are being budget concious at all is the fact that all those roof angles are not needed and cost lots to build and lots to reroof". Those are expensive house plans.

What region/state are you in? Often it helps to look at regional house styles to find something that works well, in terms of both aesthetics and function (ie climate).

Indiana.

these styles seem like things I've seen around.

can someone show an example of roof that is more affordable?

also I am hoping for around $400k not including lot as we've already bought the lot [including septic well and driveway]. we might leave basement unfinished for a bit and save for hubby to do [he's handy but busy].

An architect will find a way to maximize natural light on most if not all lots. I'm attaching a house plan just as an example, from ARG's page, that shows a layout that takes advantage of the southern sun while having its back facing NW.

Remotely Designed Houses · More Info

Find a local architect and ask them about the importance the site, upon which a home is proposed to set or emerge from, has on the home's design.

There are decent (if not great) internet plans available, but they can't do things to accommodate the site, as other posters are trying to describe and show. The advantage of working with an architect is that the eventual house design can meet your specific needs in the context of your specific site.

If you do work with an architect, you don't need to have sample plans to show him/her, and many would prefer that you don't. This is a common misconception. You need a list like "We want the master on the main level, with two guest bedrooms. We want an attached garage. We entertain a lot and want a large kitchen with island seating. We want/don't want a formal dining room/living room/game room/whatever." You can also have some images of the style you like (contemporary, colonial, craftsman, etc.). Note you don't have the know the name of the style, just pictures of what you like. A good architect can take it from there.

As for the "letter shape" plans (I, L, T, etc.), this is one I've always thought was among the better internet plans. Notice how the general shape is a capital H? The result is that all the windows get great light and the roof doesn't dominate the house.

https://houseplans.co/house-plans/1240c/

And while I'm NOT recommending you go build this house, this is another example of how a house can take advantage of a southern exposure even if the lot faces west. (With three acres, though, you should be able to do better than this very compact box of a plan that clearly meant for an urban city lot).

https://houseplans.co/house-plans/1260aa/

thanks for the feedback. just had another meeting with a builder. I'll let you know when I get a plan for your thoughts.

Fellow Hoosier here. I've had west facing houses and houses with principal rooms opening south, which are infinitely better. Those south facing windows help a whole lot during our excessively long short days gray season.

From long experience I can tell you that If the architect you hire has any skill, your plan will be discarded in the first meeting. The only purpose in finding one now is it might give the architect an idea of your space program but you could save time by giving him/her the same information you just gave us.

I cannot change the direction the back of the house will face. I understand you prefer south, etc. but it is what it is. That advice has been repeated. I will be facing West. Somehow, I will have to live with it. Thanks.\

does anyone have a floorplan with a good flow? thanks.

Yes MINE has great flow but it was designed for my very small 9100 square foot lot in a downtown infill area. It was designed for how DH and I live and took into consideration what happens if we ever have issues with our getting older. The bedrooms/exercise/studio upstairs can be reached by stairs or by an elevator.

However, it was designed for my lot, my lifestyle and my needs. You need to do the same. Very few internet plans will give you that.

And lots of other folks here on GW have great plans with great flow that works for how they live. However that is different for every family which is why we keep suggesting you get an architect to help you design your house.

i am planning to hire an architect but am trying to get ideas of what we can afford from builders etc. to then present to architect.

A talented architect will probably have some builders he/she already works with and will be able to design within your budget. You don't need to show the architect plans. You need to put together a list of must haves, nice to haves, and pie in the sky haves. Make a bubble diagram of what rooms you absolutely want near one another, etc and then create idea books of what you like and don't like.

Make a list of your hobbies, or other things you might need space for, etc.

i was just trying to use them to show builders to get an idea of cost to build...that was it....i will show my designer/architect pictures I have collected of interior and exterior and give her the details of how i want to live in the house. thanks again. i think I'm good now.

I cannot change the direction the back of the house will face. I understand you prefer south, etc. but it is what it is. That advice has been repeated. I will be facing West. Somehow, I will have to live with it. Thanks.\

And what we keep trying to tell you is that a good architect can design a house so that your house gets good southern exposure even though the back of your house faces west. That's why you hire an architect. Because they think outside the box.

Don't get too set on any one layout. Give your architect some space to work, so to speak. While the "back" of the house, as opposite the front entrance, make need to face West, it may still be possible to orient the main living spaces to the South.

Elsewise, you will need some trees, awnings, a pergola, or other strategy to mitigate the late afternoon sun in those rooms. Or perhaps some sort of screen porch, etc.

I do agree that of the three, the middle one has the most appeal. The angle on the third plan will mostly add expense and waste usable square footage.

Follow the links Beckysharp posted above. What you probably most need to do is sit down and make a list of your needs, wants, and "like to haves.". Also look at what those plans above have in common, that you are drawn to.

Ours faces south east, we're in central Indiana. It's perfect. Lots of natural light, and nothing too direct. I'm sure your architect can help get something perfect for your lot! Good luck! :)

we will have a covered patio on back so that will help and then when sun gets lower our woods should help too...

thanks for more ideas.

we will have a covered patio on back so that will help and then when sun gets lower our woods should help too...

That will help a bit but not as much as you think unless the covered patio is well over 12' deep. You'd be surprised how much that west sun intrudes.

i was just trying to use them to show builders to get an idea of cost to build...that was it....i will show my designer/architect pictures I have collected of interior and exterior and give her the details of how i want to live in the house. thanks again. i think I'm good now.

Yep it does sound like you're good now.

The problem with trying to get costs is it's almost impossible unless you have everything picked out. Every single thing from the type of siding and roof material, to how many corners on the outside of the house, or how tall the roof is, to the door handles will add or subtract from the cost to build.

Any builder who gives you a price based on an internet plan without knowing all the specs is just guessing.