Both of those plans need work.

Were you working with a real architect?

That ranch has so much wasted hallway space.

Yes, the top plan we used an architect. What do you not like about the bottom plan? I agree with the hallway space.

For starters, having not one but 2 long hallways in a small house is a horrible waste of space. A 3 car garage in a 3 bedroom house is not typical in most parts of the country. The garage seems close to the size of the house.

Hope someone doesn't leave coat closet door open. I realize this is a warm climate (Fl or AZ I guess) so the coat closet doesn't get used often but still. Where does one put shoes?

I have had WIC off the bathroom for years. But this one is small and could easily lead to high humidity in your clothes (leaning towards AZ).

Evaluating incomplete plans without orientation and climate misses a whole dynamic.

I agree with David on the extra hallway ... but wanted to urge you to keep the 3rd garage bay if you can. That is very common in new homes in New England (at least my area) because there is often a need for storage that requires a shed or a garage bay (mower, snow blower, bikes, small boat/kayaks, etc). I wish I had one - but with a house from the mid 60's I am lucky to have 2 bays.

All depends on the settings and your age. You may want to have some second story rooms for kids / or secondary bedrooms. Personally I think that 1.5 and 2 story houses looks more attractive.

We are in the country setting, will have main master elevated [mezzanine level] for safety. I would have at least one bedroom downstairs. Our Kids bedrooms all are upstairs [for safety]. In our area we must [want] to have a basement because of tornados [we got hit the twice]. I would rather not be in the closet even when I know it suppose to resist high winds.

Saying all of that, it will be your house. Design to your liking.

"I would like the living room entry 12ft and 10ft for the rest." I am with you on that one: 12' - 13' living room very nice, personally never cared about the entry - imho it is a transitional space. If you do custom build with 2nd story - I would not use anything over 9'. With larger lot you will need a riding mower three car garage is no brainer.

Neither one is a good plan. Your drafter is NOT an architect.

What a great opportunity to build your own house!

I would only consider switching the garage and bedroom 2 and 3 because of the light/ sunfall.

And it might solve one of these long hallway "problems".

Houses are always site specific. You changed your property...so the best strategy is to change your house design to fit your new property.

A new home is a significant investment. With that in mind, I suggest you start over and design a home suited to the site and which balances your lifestyle needs and budget.

Best wishes for a successful project.

Are you sure you used a licensed architect for the first design and not a draftsman?

That second home is a hot mess

My brother in law and his wife built a home with a 2 story living room and entry. The rest of the house has 9 foot ceilings. The living room looks like a big box and it's their biggest regret in regards to their new house.

IMO we need a lot more info about the property and your life style. I would never have 18’ ceilings they are a heating and cooling nightmare and gobble up $$$ for no reason at all.I think 10’ ceilings are the max and in bedrooms that could be 8’. As for the actual layouts I can’t enlarge the 2 storey one so I can’t comment on that but the other one is a hot mess and you need to get an actual architect not a drafts person . Also a kitchen designer not your architect for that. You have a huge piece of property why does the garage need to be front and center with this house . I happen to love ranch style houses but this one does not work at all.

As others have said, I would use an architect to design a house specific to your new lot to take advantage of the pool, view, sunlight and specific features.

Loss on plans: -$6k

Savings on pool: +$20k

Overall savings: +$14k

Getting the right house designed for you and your property: priceless

I can't read the first plan, but the second plan is just terrible. It wasn't a good layout to start with, but it looks like someone made some edits to the original floorplan which has resulted in the two long hallways. The kitchen is on the opposite side of the house from the garage? Imagine coming home with a carload of groceries and having to trek clear across the house multiple times to unload the car. Maybe you think it'll be okay because it's only once a week occurrence. I have to carry groceries a total of 20 feet from garage to kitchen. I can't imagine carrying them 50 feet.

As someone who started all over with our plans when our tastes changed unexpectedly, I urge you to take as much time as you need in this phase. We kept the same lot, but after paying someone to design the plan, priced it out with different builders, etc - we scrapped the whole thing and started over. After staring at the initial plan for over a year, we just decided we didn't really like it anymore. Found something new and are SO glad we did that.

Take your time - this isn't the phase to be in a hurry.

Get it right on paper. It's a heck of a lot cheaper than getting it wrong during the build and having to fix it then.

My experience in MI, AZ, PA - most Architects have a draftsman on staff who draws up house plans for "the common man". Sadly, very few Architects are willing to spend their time on a residential project unless the budget exceeds one million USD.

Hi Jen,

Can you go on Zillow, Trulia, Redfin, etc. and plug in your new neighborhood? Get ideas from what your neighbors in similar situations have bought/built?

"Is it crazy to start all over?"

no

"Is it crazy to use a good local architect?"

no

Do most Architects have a draftsman on staff who draws up house plans for "the common man"?

no

"Is it crazy to interview several local architects to find one that is a good fit?"

no

"Is it crazy if the local architect is a long ways away?"

no

"Are you too busy right now to take on new work?"

yes

speaking of long hallways -

here is one designed by an award winning architect in my area

so as always, it all depends on your needs and the lot, not any specific "rules"

Yes, this design clearly demonstrates that there are rules in the design and construction of a custom home. The overwhelmingly obvious rule here is that the design of a house is greatly influenced by its site.

Here, a seemingly unbuildable lot sparked a highly creative design for this house.

Perhaps not a design for everyone, but workable for the right family. I'm guessing the site may be in a highly desirable location, inspiring the owner to be creative and think outside the box.

@Virgil, the linear, long-hall plan gives me new inspiration about how to incorporate in-law suites for a long haul. Just don't tell my wife.

On the 3 car garage. We are at peak car. Even people who really haven't been following what is going on are starting to realize that we individual ownership of cars is on the decline.

In 10 years when robotaxis take you whereever you want for a lower cost than owning a car, how silly will 3 car garages in front of your house be?

We purposely went down from a 3 to 2 car garage and put it at the back of the house since we won't need it for cars for the length of time the house will survive.

Charles, how to be close but keep one's distance!

David Cary

"On the 3 car garage. We are at peak car. Even people who really haven't been following what is going on are starting to realize that we individual ownership of cars is on the decline.

In 10 years when robotaxis take you whereever you want for a lower cost than owning a car, how silly will 3 car garages in front of your house be?"

they COULD repurpose it into living space and not tell the city :)

I don’t know David Carey, I doubt it actually. People loooove driving their cars. This last Memorial Day weekend saw record-breaking numbers of cars on the road. And especially as cars get more fuel-efficient they become lower-cost. Plus all the people who love driving their cars. And also, not everyone lives in a densely populated area where the cost-benefit of robotaxis and the frequency rate of use would be a worthwhile effort. Your theory sounds cool and millennial and all that, but outside of major metropolitan areas, not realistic.

Also, the way you talked about going from a 3-car to a 2-car garage made me LOL on several levels.

Are you sure you used a licensed architect for the first design and not a draftsman?

Could be an architect who isn't very good.

That second home is a hot mess

Agree. Unless, of course, you're a family of vampires trying to avoid the sun.

I would
never have 18’ ceilings they are a heating and cooling nightmare and
gobble up $$$ for no reason at all.

Totally agree ... but, then, I've never quite jumped on the high-ceilings bandwagon.

Take your time - this isn't the phase to be in a hurry.

Get it right on paper. It's a heck of a lot cheaper than getting it wrong during the build and having to fix it then.

Two pieces of excellent advice.speaking of long hallways -

here is one designed by an award winning architect in my area

Even "award winning architects" have a bad day.

@Virgil,
the linear, long-hall plan gives me new inspiration about how to
incorporate in-law suites for a long haul. Just don't tell my wife.

I was wondering if it belongs to an Olympic speed skater -- or runner -- who wanted to incorporate a training area into his house.

On
the 3 car garage. We are at peak car. Even people who really haven't
been following what is going on are starting to realize that we
individual ownership of cars is on the decline.

I suspect you're right.

When we were first married, we only had one car ... when we were forced to add a second car ... OUCH, did it hurt the budget! Now we're approaching retirement, and we're going to downsize to one car. It'll be a painless way to stretch our retirement dollars.

Reasons I think more people are going to decrease their individual car ownership:

- More and more people live in cities, where public transit is possible.

- More and more people work at home, meaning they don't need a car on a daily basis.

- So many things can be delivered right to your house: food, clothing, daily needs. It's easy to keep your household supplied, even if you don't have unlimited access to a personal car.

- The news tells us that younger people are postponing getting their licenses /buying cars. That's the generation that'll make changes ... not those of us who are already firmly entrenched in adulthood.

- If a family owns one car (instead of the traditional two), it's easy to supplement this car with the occasional Uber ... or to rent a car when needed. I don't think we'll see a lot of Americans giving up their cars; rather we'll see them downsizing to one vehicle per family.

Personally, I wanted a small car ... so we agreed to buy what I wanted, and we'd rent a big van when we needed it for vacation or to move a kid into a college dorm. It's been a great solution for us ... and a money saver.

Another personal story: our youngest needed transportation to/from her internship last fall semester ... but we didn't want her to take her old-as-the-hills car to college /didn't trust the car /didn't want to pay $700 for a parking sticker. I paid for her to take Ubers ... it cost about $300 total.

Thank you so much for every comment. I really appreciate each one, even if it's something I might not want to hear. I don't have my plans on my phone so I will update with photos when I get home tonight.

We live in Northern California so temperatures range from 30s to 115. No humidity. New lot is positioned same direction but one street down. It's 100' across, 150' deep with pool about 75' back on the very left.

I'm slightly frustrated at the harsh words about our architect. Yes he is a real architect that has no one working under him. Our original lot on one side was only 58ft deep. With the size and our requests I don't know think it's fair to judge him off of one plan.

A 3 car is a must for us. We originally had our individual cars and my fiance's sports car. He may buy another later or we may buy a boat. We are very close to a large lake.

So the second home is a hot mess because I tweaked it for what we wanted really quickly for this post. I'm clearly no architect, just wanted to show an idea if what I like.

I

@DE, interesting floorplan. Do you know the dimensions of the house and/or lot? BTW, that is one loooong walk carrying in the groceries from the garage. ;)

girl_wonder

"@DE, interesting floorplan. Do you know the dimensions of the house and/or lot? BTW, that is one loooong walk carrying in the groceries from the garage. ;)"

Hi, I believe the house is 20ft wide, so that would make it 185' from front to back, with a 114' hallway, not counting the circulation path in the kitchen/living/dining :)

Funny thing about the Millenial comment. I heard a 53yo and a 65 yo talking in the lounge at work about the future need for cars (as in not needing them). Honestly it sort of surprised me.

The majority of Americans realize that climate change is a real thing. The only way to make progress is taxing cars and gas to the next century. Sure rural folks will have cars and most people under 50 don't want to live in rural areas..

OP's lot doesn't look rural.

Jennifer C

"So the second home is a hot mess because I tweaked it for what we wanted really quickly for this post. I'm clearly no architect, just wanted to show an idea if what I like."

https://www.lifeofanarchitect.com/dont-let-the-internet-design-your-project/

Here are the updated plans

I like somethings about it but what is the point of talking about that.

Does the garage enter into the dining? And the mudroom?

Have you lived with a 2 story living room? I have with no kids and it was fine - one house had temp stratification issues and the other we just lived on the first floor so it did - but I didn't care. Now with a kid - absolutely not a 2 story living room.

How does one cover a sliding door into a bedroom - in 2019?

How does one cover a window 2 stories up into the living room - they don't I guess and it is North so that isn't a big deal.

You have a large window into the master closet from the street. I have similar but it is a small window. I realize it is probably more of an elevation issue. It just isn't ideal.

I find the long front porch an unnecessary expense - very long and wide. How many chairs do you put out there? Or just a bunch of plants sitting on expensive masonry and covered by expensive roof.

Sliding glass doors are a regional thing. They wind up being a lot of glass and have to be supported by a lot of wood. Hence they are terrible from a insulation standpoint.

Your back covered patio is very narrow. No dining for sure - just crowded chairs? Does it extend to an uncovered patio?

Have you figured your range venting plan? No one in the kitchen forums like a gas range on an island. The homework goes up in flames. And downdraft vents are not for cooks. So you have a big island hood going up into the ceiling blocking your view of the 2 story living room.

I look at this and find the rooms a bit small and myself just wishing I had more room rather than a 3 car garage or a 2 story living room. Examples - the upstairs rooms are small with tiny closets, the laundry room is not a room. The WIC will be a little small with that large window. The gas chamber is tight. The mudroom is tight. Even the living room might be tight with seating at the island but it depends on your furniture layout. There is no area for linens in the master suite - where do the costco 24 pack of TP go? In the food pantry?

I come from an area with larger houses (although i was born in Palo Alto). This house from my regional perspective is a bit tight with features of a larger house. Those features are things you do when you have excess space. Again - I fully understand this is regional.

It really is a moot point if you buy the bigger lot and if you buy the bigger lot, do yourself a favor and work with an architect to design new plans that fit the new lot. Try and orient the house with a north/south orientation.

No point nit picking if this is not what you're going with and if you decide to keep the smaller lot, then yes, there are some other things I notice.