Needs more windows.

Every room (other than baths, storage, etc.) should have light from two sides.

________

Light on Two Sides of Every Room

This pattern, perhaps more than any other single pattern,
determines the success or failure of a room. The arrangement of
daylight in a room, and the presence of windows on two sides, is
fundamental. If you build a room with light on one side only, you can be
almost certain that you are wasting your money. People will stay out of
that room if they can possibly avoid it. Of course, if all the rooms
are lit from one side only, people will have to use them. But we can be
fairly sure that,they are subtly uncomfortable there, always wishing
they weren't there, wanting to leave - just because we are so sure of
what people do when they do have the choice.

We have gone through this with our friends, in offices, in many homes -
and overwhelmingly the two-sided pattern seems significant. People are
aware, or half-aware of the pattern -they understand exactly what we
mean.

_________

Browse a copy of Christopher Alexander et al. Pattern Language.
http://www.patternlanguage.com/

________
More here:

A Pattern Language: Light From Two Sides

For a More Successful Room, Bring In Daylight From Two Directions

https://www.houzz.com/magazine/a-pattern-language-light-from-two-sides-stsetivw-vs~620334

you asked for the good, bad , and ugly, so I'll oblige.

some will come after me who will give you "the bad, the ugly, and the nasty!, and you should tear the plan up immediately and go hire a local architect!(the AIA marketing force is strong in this board :)

the good:

-standard layout that ive seen many times in some variation or another

-minimal dedicated hallway space

-compact layout with everything within reach - master bedroom close to kitchen, laundry, and garage

-living and dining have good views of backyard

the bad:

master closet at 6 ft wide I think needs to be at least a foot wider.

master bedroom has no view of backyard. instead that goes to the closet and bath ( I would find a way to redo this)

the covered porch at 12 ft will really reduce the amount of light that reaches the living room. I would remove or greatly reduce that if possible

the ugly:

the front elevation looks like a garage with a house attached

the two bedrooms downstairs are going to hate taking a bath as they have to cross ever so slightly through the view of the living room

thats all I have. good luck with your project, and if you redo it , I recommend you do not post it here.

I recommend you do not post it here. there are some truly nasty folks here.

What did my mother used to say about the pot calling the kettle black?

this looks like a standard house in central to south Florida. It's called a Florida split, except of course that Florida houses tend to be one level.

Put a pocket door in the living room going to the side wing of two bedrooms and bath. Closing the door gives privacy. Make it a solid door to provide sound insulation.

Agree about the master bedroom not facing the backyard.

The exterior doesn't seem to have an organizing theme or style so its difficult to suggest improvements. If you saw a 3D model of it I suspect you would not like it.

The basic kitchen layout looks OK. Since there is no landing space below the MW, I'd suggest flipping the layout. Most MWs open right-to-left, so it will be easier to use the counter to the right as landing space, rather than worry about the open door being in the way. That will also put the fridge closer to the dining area, and if you flip the island layout, the DW is closer to incoming dishes. You could almost load the DW from the table. :)

If it would be acceptable to have the master bedroom entry in the corner of the DR, the whole master suite could be flipped to put the closet and bath on the inside wall, leaving the exterior for more windows. The master closet could become a pass-through, connecting the bedroom/closet to the laundry area. If the closet needs to be wider, the kitchen could be set forward a foot or so.

Add windows in the garage, master bathroom, master walk-in closet, and both bedrooms. Natural light and ventilation is good for you

Have the stone go all the way around the house. That will tell the neighbors you did not run out of money and this is not a movie set.

Get rid of the angled walls.

Make reach-in closets six inches wide than their doors.

Make the space you walk into from the garage larger.

Provide more counter space in the master bathroom.

Reconsider the 'trayed up' ceilings.

Consider grills in the windows.

My first thoughts as well...but others have it covered: Switching the master bedroom and laundry/closet. Other benefit will be better insulating noise from the laundry to the bedroom. Having the walk in closet so close to the laundry is awesome. Had that in my last house....was awesome!

Another good source of info is Sarah Susanka, see her "More Not So Big Solutions for your Home" among other volumes, source for figures below.

Is this is a suburb or rural area? Consider the connections this
house will have to sunlight or for getting outside: Porch, Deck, Backyard area, Somewhere to grill or to have morning coffee.

What direction does this house face? What Climate region are you in - do you need to worry about hot summers, cold winters, hurricanes?

Mark Bischak has mentioned continuing the trim around the entire house.

Best wishes on your build.

Is this a zero lot line home?

I ask that because the left elevation you posted in the OP shows no openings except in the stepped back wall which shows one window.

It makes a difference as to the comments you receive if this is a tract home in a subdivision of zero lot line lots because that particular constraint wouldn't be able to be changed at all.

Who all will be living here? Will there be children? What ages?

We have a 3yr old and a 10 month old. They are very active and I suspect they will destroy stuff. My son already put a few holes in the drywall in our current home.

Building in South Dakota...tornados, extreme cold, extreme heat, and heavy rains.

Not sure if we are on a zero lot line lot, but our lot is in a cul de sac and we are very close to our neighbors.

Hesitant about adding more windows. We only have 1-2 nice months a year to open windows. Otherwise, they're generally shut and the blinds drawn to keep the sun from heating up the house on a hot day or keep the cool air from seeping in during the winter. I can usually feel cool air near our current windows during the winters. It is not uncommon to have temperatures 50 degrees below with the wind chill here.

We are doing coffered ceilings. Otherwise, I agree...not a huge fan of plain trayed up ceilings.

Unless it is a million dollar house, most houses here only have brick accent in the front of the house. So, the running-out-of-money look is common here hehe (enjoyed reading that comment, thank you!).

This is a custom build, we are able to change whatever within code...for a price. We actually walked through a spec home similar to this. Based our original floorplan on that house and made small changes. We increased sqft to make room for a 6 ft soaker tub in the master bath. It cost $190/sqft to increase the floorplan...so my dream of a separate bath tub and shower in the master bath was squashed. My husband is very athletic with wide shoulders and he would not be able to fit comfortably in an economy sized standalone shower.

What else...it has been a long day with family, I'm sure I missed touching on other items brought up. My apologies, midnight now and time for bed.

I read everything throughout the day and checked out all the links. I loved reading all of your feedback, the good, the bad, and the ugly. It made me reconsider a few things and rationalize other items.

Thank you all for your time and valuable feedback <3

If you are worried about maintaining warmth in your home, think very long and hard about any sort of raised ceiling. We just moved from a house that we loved overall but that had high ceilings throughout and tray ceilings in the living room and master bedroom. Those ceilings cost us a fortune in utilities and if given the choice between wasting money on utilities due to lots of windows or weirdly high ceilings, windows would win out every time.

I am by no means a pro or even well-versed in this stuff, but one thing that caught my eye is that it looks like your dishwasher and fridge/freezer are going to compete with each other when open. We had a French door fridge in a similar set up and didn’t have enough space between it and the island. Make sure that you’ve got plenty of room and that it’s not going to be a total pain to move around if the dishwasher is open and being loaded.

Congrats on getting to build a new home and kudos on posting here. Though some feedback can feel harsh, folks here really do know their stuff and are trying to help. We ended up buying a new (really old) house rather than building, but the things that I learned from lurking here helped so much in making a good choice. I think that since this is a custom home, I’d want to go back to the drawing board and really make it my own. Right now the outside looks very much like a typical spec build going up in a thousand neighborhoods around us. Since you can have anything you’d like, I’m almost positive that it can be improved upon. (P.S. WINDOWS. Really, truly.)

That kitchen would be totally inadequate for me and I’m an elderly widow! I’d swap the kitchen and dining area. You can have a great spit under tge window for your sink and have cabinets on 3 walls, plus your island as a 4th wall.

Good quality windows should not need constant covering by curtains. I know you live in a brutal climate, but I’d still want lots of windows.

The first thing that jumps out at me is that the roofline is angled on one side and square on the other side. Why don't the two sides match?

I mean, really. Look at it from the back. Doesn't it look wonky on the right side?

I can't read the numbers in the living room, but be sure you have ample space for furniture ... after leaving a 3' walking aisle around the edges. What's up with the French doors in the living room? Why do they appear smaller than the ones in the adjacent bedroom? Oh, wait ... are those casement windows? This would be the best place for a door.

The dining room has TWO exterior doors ... doors that don't match ... two exterior doors that won't be easily accessible once you place a table in this spot. Get the living room doors right and skip the dining room doors. You don't need multiple ways to access the back door ... within arm's reach of one another. Remember that doors are more expensive and less energy efficient than windows.

Your kitchen is rather small ... note that you're only going to have 3 good-sized lower cabinets and 1 skinny lower cabinet. However, the adjacent pantry looks nice. If you don't cook often, this might be okay ... but only you know your habits.

The kitchen and living room will receive little direct sunlight, so they won't be nearly as pleasant as they might be ... if they had direct windows to the outside (and if those windows weren't blocked by the covered porch).

The door in the master bathroom is awkward ... it forces you to make a 90 degree turn upon entry. If you move the door just a bit to the right, you can walk straight into the bathroom, AND you have space for a linen closet in the bathroom. Actually, I'd opt for open shelves to avoid a problematic door-upon-door. I'd downsize to a single sink so you could have a stack of drawers on each side /allowing more storage.

You say this is a 6' tub? Are you tall? I'm not, and I wouldn't like a 6' tub ... I'd "slide down". If you went with a 5' tub, you could opt for a separate shower. ... though I'd be hard pressed to choose between a separate shower and a linen closet.

I don't see a good location for the bed in the master:

- First picture -- you walk into the bed as you enter the room /no space for nightstands /anyone entering or leaving the room disturbs the sleeper on the left.

- Second picture -- anyone entering or leaving the bathroom disturbs the sleeper on the left.

- Third picture -- you have a smaller space for the bed /no space for nightstands /you don't see the bed upon entering the room, and the sleeper on the left is kinda squished against the wall.

I think the real theme is, Don't be the sleeper on the left.

I like that the laundry room is near the master, but do consider how the dryer will vent, given that it's not on an exterior wall.

The small stairway-to-bedroom hallway in the basement is kinda awkward with the angles. It's going to feel small and uncomfortable. It'd work better all around to have the stairs open directly into the family room and place the bedrooms on the left side of the basement. This means guests could go direct to this downstairs space ... without passing by the bedrooms. And the stairway entry problem would disappear.

The sleepers in the upper right bedroom will hear the toilet flush at night ... if you could flip-flop this bathroom (meaning, just place the three bathroom items on the left wall instead of the right), this problem would disappear. It would also open you up to having a door between this bedroom and this bathroom.

You have three bedrooms on the main level ... with two kids, do you really need two more in the basement?

This really is a small kitchen. With the large pantry (which is very nice! I'd want pegboard on that side wall.), it might be okay ... if you're a minimal cook. It's very attractive, but it is apartment-sized.

I like your granite choice -- is it Alaskan White? I like the arabesque white tile too.

I question the dark cabinets in a windowless kitchen.

you should tear the plan up immediately and go hire a local architect!(the AIA marketing force is strong in this board :)

I never say that. I have no problem with stock plans -- but this one needs some work.

master bedroom has no view of backyard. instead that goes to the closet and bath

Good point. This would allow you windows on two sides of the master. Could you flip-flop the master and the bath/closet? Additionally, this would bring the closet and the laundry room closer together.

Unless it is a million dollar house, most houses here only have brick
accent in the front of the house. So, the running-out-of-money look is
common here hehe (enjoyed reading that comment, thank you!).

I'm caught between saying, "It makes sense to be consistent with what the rest of the neighborhood's doing" asking "If everyone else in the neighborhood jumped off a cliff, would you do it too?"

Wish I could make the master bath and closet bigger, but $$$

You're building a three-car garage and five bedrooms and a living space to be finished later ... but skimping on your own closet. Consider, too, that this house has a complicated perimeter and roof, which are expensive choices. You are driving the bus here. You are the boss of what gets built. Is that how you want to allocate your limited funds?

You can help the closet problem by making one side hanging space and the other side 14" deep shelves and shoes ... but this is a bandaid /not a fix for a 6' wide closet.

Since there is no landing space below the MW, I'd suggest flipping the layout. Most MWs open right-to-left, so it will be easier to use the counter to the right as landing space, rather than worry about the open door being in the way. That will also put the fridge closer to the dining area, and if you flip the island layout, the DW is closer to incoming dishes. You could almost load the DW from the table. :)

Good catch on some important details!

We have a 3yr old and a 10 month old. They are very active and I suspect they will destroy stuff. My son already put a few holes in the drywall in our current home.

Wow, things I missed by having all girls! Are you sure you want to build while they're still so small and destructive?

Building in South Dakota...tornados, extreme cold, extreme heat, and heavy rains.

Okay, so the basement is a necessity.

We are doing coffered ceilings. Otherwise, I agree...not a huge fan of plain trayed up ceilings.

Yeah, I have no love of tray ceilings; however, coffered ceilings can be added later ... you might consider using that money for a larger master closet.

Good quality windows should not need constant covering by curtains. I
know you live in a brutal climate, but I’d still want lots of windows.

Everyone does!

The roof has a lot of valleys, which tend to collect snow and lead to leaks.

You've received great feedback. Your floorplan will be greatly improved. Best of luck. Keep us updated.