Have you considered an Architect? With a sloping lakefront site with size restrictions, an Architect can give you a design built specifically for you and your lot.

Contact Visbeen Architects directly to have them design a house with you to meet your needs and fit your site.

Thank you. We are going to be hiring an architect but our thought in asking for suggestions/advice and possible photos of The Elmwood, would allow us to better prepare. We read lots of excellent ideas from fellow Houzzers. We would appreciate tapping in to that expertise and experience! We live in Canada so would prefer an architect who could actually visit the site but will purchase the plans from Visbeen and make changes from there, if that makes sense!

It doesn’t make sense to purchase the plan at all. Go to an architect and check their reference and bring a list of your wants and needs in the house.

If you are committed to using the plan in your OP, then you need to go back to the architect that designed that plan for modifications. You might not be aware that the architect owns the copyright to the plans and documents, subject to your agreement with the architect. You don't have the authority, usually, to modify the architects plans with another architect.

However, the best way is what lyfia suggests: have your own architect draw up the house for you based on your lot and your list of wants and needs. This way you get just what you are looking for in your new home.

I agree with Lyfia. You are trying to fit a pre-baked plan into your specific parameters. You should have an architect work from scratch. And a good one, not a draftsperson.

I didn't look at the interior plans, but from just the exterior, I personally don't like a garage facing the street. I also don't like a lot of different rooflines. In a cold climate, that is an invitation to snow and ice getting into those crevices and having a freeze-thaw situation going on all the time leading to eventual water infiltration. Plus, those sort of roof lines lead to awkward interior ceilings. For quick example, the pictured living room - explain how the window treatments will work.

Start from scratch with a good architect.

^Have to agree with RES 3d here - looks like an ethical violation.

Thank you for the feedback. We appreciate your comments. We didn't think of the ethical implications, so thank you for drawing our attention to that. Since we have difficulty visualizing from a floorplan, what about the overall flow as it stands now?

How did you choose this plan in the first place? You might be better off telling your architect what you liked and didn’t like in your Dutch colonial, what you like and don’t like in your current rental,.

As to this house, I‘m not sure how you would lay out furniture in your living room, but notice how the suggested layout shows the sofa in full view of the front door? My chair in our living room is like that, and it kind of bugs me especially at night. Changing it would require an overhaul of the living room, which might happen someday.

The master suite is kind of odd, like there were two bedrooms over there and one was converted to a bathroom. It’s just too separated from the bedroom. And the shower and toilet, both of which get used more than the tub I’ll bet, are tucked away in a tiny space. not so pleasant and won’t age with you.

If this is your retirement home, do you want to be going into the basement to change the furnace filters etc? My folks reached a point in their 80s when they just stopped going downstairs, especially after my dad’s 3rd fall on the stairs. We moved his office upstairs and had to take over all the basement mechanicals checking and filters. Fortunately we live 15 minutes away.

Talk to an architect with some common sense.

The only--only--access to the master closet is through the bathroom. What kind of sense does that make?

Most of the corners (with 2 views) are bedrooms, which you are rarely in in the daytime.

The dining room is not a real room; it's a wide hallway to the deck and the sunroom.

No idea where the sun comes in, so hard to say about light.

Do 2 people really need a den and an office (and whatever that area is outside bedroom 3)?

Thank you tatts and bpath Oh Sophie. This is exactly the feedback we are looking for! Tatts, we had felt that the master closet door was a problem and thought it would need to be relocated. And your comment about the dining room being a hallway is right on the money! There was something that wasn't sitting well with me, but I thought maybe it was the kitchen layout that needed to be tweaked. Point taken regarding bedrooms taking up the lake views too. Bpath Oh Sophie, your comment about the furniture positioning in the living room hadn't occured to me but I see what you mean. And, the whole master bath isn't great...thanks for pointing it out. As you suggested, we will make list of what we like and dislike of the two homes we have lived in.

Removing 20% of a house plan typically would require a complete redesign I would think, at which point it may be less expensive in the long run to start from scratch with your architect.

tatts: interesting comment about accessing closet through bathroom. I made that same observation about another house and got dumped on by lots of people who insisted that there was no humidity, access, or smell problems. They said to just run the exhaust fan in the bathroom. They see it all the time and have it in their houses. I agree with you - why would anyone want to go through their the bathroom to get a pair of pants? Or have to wait to get dressed whilst their partner is using the bathroom? The bathroom is the last bastion of privacy left. It shouldn't be a thoroughfare. Of course, now I am paranoid that people are picking on me. :-() !

Given the plan, changing the access of the closet so that it opens in the bedroom does not look too complex (at least for my non-pro eye). I also do not like closets opening in the bathroom, but many people have them and like them, so I consider that as a personal choice.

Lisa no one is picking on you. It's just a difference of opinion. I get dressed in my bathroom. Why would I want to go in and out of the bathroom to get my clothes from the closet outside the bathroom? Our bathroom has a separate toilet room( yes another hot topic) so there's no waiting to get dressed. I lived in one house(rental) where the closet was in the master bedroom. I couldn't stand it. Not only was I woken up every morning by my husband going in and out of the closet but it drove me nuts when I was in the bathroom and realized I forgot something and now had to go back out half dressed to fetch something from the closet. All the other houses I lived in had the closet in the bathroom and I prefer it that way. There's no wrong or right here just preference.

If my client wants the access to their clothes closet directly from their bathroom, I give it to them; but after I explain to then the potential hazard of mold growth and sometimes providing an alternative layout that eliminates the potential hazard. Constant positive air flow from the closet into the bathroom greatly reduces the potential of mold growth, but I like to eliminate the potential entirely.

I also try to design bedrooms to be within the naked zone so it is not uncomfortable to be naked in it.

As far as gas chambers, most I see here on Houzz are three feet wide and five feet long with at least a nine foot ceiling without a window. I can not think of a more unpleasant space to be in in a home. The occupant can not gaze out at clouds or the $2,515.00 faucet they chose for their bathroom. If there must be a gas chamber, add space and windows and as many plumbing fixtures possible; or eliminate Mexican cuisine from the diet.

As far as this thread, find a local architect (or Visbeen) to design a home with you that meets your needs and fits your site . . . no matter where the closet is.

So then no linen closet in the bathroom either?

I have no idea who Visbeen is but you are much better off in Canada to get a local architect and start form the beginning there are tings on that plan that are really not good. The pantry outside the kitchen would be a no go for me do your really want to clean that over sized bathroom for the 2 of you to build on a site that has limitations is not a thing you do from some stack plan .Get an architect that understands bulilding in Canda

Visbeen is a southwest Michigan architect mostly known for custom home designs. They have (he has) been working in variations of shingle and crafsman style for probably 20-25 years now. Apparently at some point they started putting some of their plans on the market for mass construction. I think I've actually been in the original Elmwood when it was open on parade (or one of the similar styled houses in the same subdivision) maybe 10-15 years ago.

Thank you all so much! We are still giggling about the gas chamber, Mark Bischak!! Lisa, we agree about the bathroom being the last bastion of privacy :) While not a problem now, I do remember locking myself in there to get away from two cranky toddlers a time or two!