You are trying to fix something that is broken. Why not create something that works?

I’m not sure I understand. Did you design the house? Yet there are things you want, that you didn’t design into the house? And why not name the “unnamed space”, maybe something like, oh, “sewing room”? Do you and your partner between you really have only 6’ of clothes? Even if so, you would never be able to get dressed at the same time in the small closet.

I’m only going to comment on the egress, I stopped at that point. There is a lot packed in to that garage entry space and not much consideration for what you will need, which will be space for shoes, boots, bookbags, hats, gloves, coats....and most traffic short cutting right through the kitchen, including the laundry

Kudos to you for putting so much time and effort into thinking about your space. An architect will be able to help you achieve your wish list and get the most from your budget.

The ideal home is a 1200 sq. foot sewing studio, with about 300 sq. feet for everything else. That gives you room for your machine in hydraulic lift table, your serger, your cutting table, your stash, and maybe a longarm quilter.

If you want something more conventional, then bedrooms with cross ventilation, more windows than you have, no step up into the house (aging in place), no door from the entry to the garage.

There are some good books on building efficiently. Skip the walk-in closet in favor of wall closets. I'm not convinced big islands are the best use of space, or will stand the test of time. A large table is easier for older people and can be used for gatherings, crafts, cookie decoration, etc.

Look at kitchens with baking centers, usually a lower counter for rolling dough, etc. I keep my stand mixer on the counter, but some people prefer a lift.

I have a plant-filled sunroom that also functions as a breakfast room. The space for chairs to be pulled back cannot also be occupied by plants....I've tried.

Do you not envision an outdoor eating or grilling area, or at least spillover space to the garden for parties?

It would be economical to enlarge the mudroom & then it could possibly serve the sewing & crafts and have at least a wall of hooks for family's coats & boots. A service door to the garden would also be highly desirable for young children and dogs. If the entrance to house proper were through the dining area then traffic wouldn't have to go through the kitchen work space. I think the end of the living room, however, spends more space than strictly necessary as a traffic area, though certainly it would contribute a sense of spaciousness and a place for floor play. No, I wouldn't want sewing or studying in that traffic way.

Try to configure the master closet as a more efficient reach-in on an inner wall, which could make space for the second bath to have a window. In terms of aging in place, I strongly advise a shower that doesn't require stepping into a tub.

Where will you store linens? And guests coats & cleaning supplies?

Way more storage needed.

Sewing space in exposed basement? Sewing projects need room to be left out for multiple days ( weeks if you have busy childrens’ lives to deal with).

Master bed placement very bad. Beds don’t belong in windows.

Despite the great new window glazing technology, and all the massive fenestrations seen in modern houses, windows in central MA will be COLD. Use southern glazing to let the winter light pour in, but PLAN for drapery rods/ tracks at this initial design phase. Those openings need to be aesthetically covered at night.

So the main consideration at this point is finding a south sloping lot; not an easy task as that is what everyone wants. It could take years of searching.

I'm confused as to how the top is the southern exposure, but you said you don't yet have any land. That is my first concern.

I think we need more info on the size of plot you are planning for , we have a 1956 MCM it is BTW larger than what you are planning but one thing I love is that it is only 25 ‘ deep so all the entertaining spaces are windows on 2 sides so you really see right through the house so lots of natural light with no skylights the house has big overhangs so in the summer the sun does not come directly into the house but in the winter the sun is lower and actually heats the house on sunny days. I love that you know what you want but when it comes down to it a good architect and a kitchen designer will be your best bet.

Bay windows increase building costs and make arranging a room a PITA you could eliminate the walk in closet and rearrange that area to have a nice bedroom, decent sized master bath and a huge reach in closet system like Pax from Ikea . IMO you do not have the space to have a big dining table and your LR seating is not conducive to large parties Do you really need a huge garage jutting out to the front of the house , this is where you get into building for the lot and to be honest until you know what your lot is designing a house is very difficult.

If at all possible a walkout basement is a good choice , lots of light and lots of extra room for kids, sewing entertaining, storage etc.

You can’t design a house before you have land because a house needs to be designed with the land in mind. Home design isn’t putting tetris boxes together and then sticking an exterior facade on it and then plopping it onto a plot of land.

A well designed house designs in 3d with the interior, exterior and how the house sits on the land all being worked out at the same time

Not a pro, but I'll give my 2 cents as I have 2 teenagers.

I only see 2 bedrooms. Where are you planning on a third one (per the title of your post)? If you have a boy and a girl, they're not going to want to share a bedroom when they get older.

I agree that you're putting the cart before the horse seeing you don't have the land.

The more juts that you have it means having a complicated roof line. I would not have a bay in the master bedroom. I don't like having to go through the bathroom to get to the closet. You also do not have much closet space.

Ideally, a walk out basement would be great because you could put your sewing area down there and it doesn't always have to be neat. My mom sews and her area was in the basement and it worked well because she didn't have to worry about cleaning up every time someone came over. You're also going to want to have a separate space for when your kids are teenagers and they want to hang out. They're not going to want to hang out in the one common area of the house.

I don't think your island is big enough for seating for 4. But I'm sure people more knowledgeable than me will chime in on your kitchen layout. You also only have room for a small table, not a grand one that you're envisioning.

I don't know why the trend is now not to have a closet in the front entry. In MA you have all 4 seasons, right? Where are you going to store all the different kinds of coats you need? I live in the Midwest and we have coats for all seasons. I have a step in closet in my foyer and it's one of my favorite things about my house. An area that just has pegs to hang coats becomes messy quite quickly. One of my friends removed her front closet to make the entryway bigger and she said it's one of her biggest regrets.

I am not a pro, but I live in a smaller condo (about 1500 sqf) in Central Mass.

I think that what you have planned will be perfect for now. You can use the " unnamed" space as your sewing room and the other room as your guest room. Sure, you can improve your master as the bed placement is not great. I would like to be able to see outside this beautiful windows there. I have plenty of windows and it is not cold at all, even in a day like yesterday (temperatures in the 10s), as long as your HVAC is well balanced. BTW, I dont see a place for your furnace and I do not see a lot of space for storing things you do not need now (luggage for example, VC, ...). Do you plan to have it in the basement? In this case, it will not be good for an age in place house.

But you have to think hard on how you will live if and when you have two kids. At some point, you will need two separate rooms for them, and will be missing a guest room and a place to sew and to escape the noise if you want to). May be you plan to have them in the basement, but then you wont have light and you will need to have egress windows). You will also find your entrance way is too small, particularly with young kids and strollers). You would need a real mudroom. Of course, it is hard to give you advice as you do not have a land yet, but I think you will find you probably need two or three hundred square feet.

Also, I just noticed the laundry was in the pantry. You may want to find a place for it where the bathrooms are, so that you do not have to haul clothes from one end of the house to the others.

Concerning large parties, it depends what large is. I have about the same space as you plan. I can extend my table to 8 people (and have 2 seats at the island), but I normally have a round table for 4, and have space for 5 or 6 people sitting in the living room. I can probably bring a couple more chairs if needed, but it would be tight).

Good luck.

Something that wasn’t thought through is the master bathroom doorway. At 5’ wide, it would have to have double doors. But of course, double doors present their own set of problems: where is the light switch? Does one door stay closed all the time? And you’ll have to open or close a door every. single. time. you want to go into the closet or commode. If the doorway is narrower to accommodate a single door, then which side is the door hinged on? On the right, and you always have to close the door to get to the closet, a bother if you’re just getting a sweater. On the left and it risks being in the way of the toilet and shower, and you’d have to open it completely to be out of the way so you can check your hair at the vanity.

Unless, of course, the door(s) swing out into the bedroom, and that’s not great, either.

Instead of drawing a plan for a lot you don't have, you're better off making a list of needs/wants which should include some of the items in the above critiques. Once you find the land, have a sit-down/walk-over with a highly recommended architect in your area whose products you have visited. Talk over your needs/wants list and walk the property with them. Be sure your list includes what you want the outside look like (inspopix will help here,) aging in place as a must in the design, bedrooms for each family member, a garage that doesn't take over the front elevation, and such. If you're still crazy for tiny homes, maybe a separate tiny sewing/crafting space separate from the house would scratch that itch.

Don't think of these reviews as brutal, think of them as people being deeply caring for you and your family's health and well being.

(in an architectural way . . . we don't care what you eat)

As others have pointed out, you really need to have the lot selected before building a home. Additionally you really should hire an architect. While you might know what you want in a home, an architect can really help design the best plan that includes that. There are so many little things in home building and design that the average person doesn't' even know they don't know.

The OP has asked for a critique of this plan. Perhaps she can find a lot to build this on, perhaps not. The advice to find the land before designing the house is valid and should be followed, however...it's still possible to critique a stand alone plan. Here are my comments and criticisms:

• With the exception of the dining space, all of the rooms have windows on only one side. Major spaces, including bedrooms, should have light coming from two sides wherever possible.
• The master closet and the laundry/pantry occupy the two most prominent and sunlit corners of the house, southeast and southwest. This is wasting valuable and sunny real estate.
• The garage faces front and will be prominent on the entry elevation. Why not face it to the side?
• The laundry is far from the dirty clothes and should be closer to the bedroom. The laundry/pantry will actually function as a mudroom and should be designed as such.
• The second bath has no windows.
• There is a general lack of storage space throughout.
• The space between kitchen island and seating area is very tight. The space between living area and stair is generous but will actually function only as circulation.
• There is no real outdoor space shown.
• And the kitchen itself is small with limited counter space. It won't function well for a family of four.

So, in my opinion the plan itself has many issues. If you are serious about building a new home, you need to search for available land, create a realistic budget for both land and house, and begin to look for an architect to help you create the best house you can afford.

Without the land, you don't know what orientation the living spaces will have. That's critical. Don't box yourself into a design until you have that key piece of information. It takes proper planning to have the natural light you're craving so you don't want to mess that up.

Also, as a mom of four that are ages 10-16, I can tell you that it is extremely difficult to predetermine what your family's needs will be before ever having kids. With age and experience comes wisdom. Life doesn't always go according to plan. That being said, I also think this home underestimates your storage needs for kids of all ages.

What if you decide to have a second child and end up with twins or triplets for that second pregnancy? It happens, so don't plan or design this house as if it was your last house. It might not be.

What if you decide to have a second child and end up with twins or triplets for that second pregnancy? It happens.....

Yep, happened to me!! TWINS :) If you are okay where you are for now and can make space for a baby (if one comes) then I'd hold off on making too many plans for a house right now. Give yourself time to analyze your needs and desires if/once that happens.

"Our ideal would be a space that's cozy but not cramped, light-filled, peaceful, and with a strong connection to nature."

Usonian?

Living in the Netherlands I have no idea what temperatures you have, but I suggest having both geothermal and wood/pellet burner. Carbon-neutral-ish is mandatory over here now and loads of peple complain about their geothermal heating. It simply doesn't get warm enough when it freezes outside, even with the best insulation.

Our 2 storey house is a little under 1000sqft and we have one child, no dogs. It's sufficient, but not 'extra' space. The original 1950s floorplan is 800sqft, a mudroom was added before we moved in (boots, coats, fridge freezer and washing machine are in there, very important space!) and recently we've added a 'study', as crafting at the dining table is not very practical. We have 1 full bathroom upstairs (and 2 bedrooms) and a toilet downstairs, very dutch.

I agree with most comments above, especially on the roof type and future plot layout. You might want to look for floorplans online and consult an architect and/or concept planner when the plot is found. And an extra room for sewing/crafting/etc would be lovely, you don't want to sit in a hallway, especially not with kids and pets around.

Not a pro... but ... my thoughts:

Like the way you opened up the back corner to light by putting windows/doors on two sides.

No house with a garage built into it is anything resembling a "tiny" house. Even a carport makes that comparison difficult.

Garages connected directly to a house can let in smells/fumes/sounds from the garage.

A screened porch or "sun porch" acting as a link/breezeway between house and garage (w/sliding doors on other two sides of the porch) can make that less likely.

A sun porch can be either heated or unheated, depending upon intended use. It can serve as a craft room and/or play room and/or mud room (with cabinets/closets for the home and/or yard). You can even have a pass thru kitchen window open into the sun room and use it for a link between indoor/outdoor living.

A sun porch on the west side between your home and garage can enable you to have southern sunlight in the porch but shade for part of the west side of your house.

A sun room or screened porch could even double as either entry and/or mud room -- placed to h ave an opening into either a front entry and/or mud room.

A sun room or screened porch could be sized to be only half the depth of your home, leaving you an area on the west side of your home between it and your garage for a shaded (by the garage) outdoor patio (south of the porch) to enjoy during the heat of summer, with or without an arbor or outdoor living room/porch roof.

EVERY bathroom needs to be against an exterior wall with a window.

Any feature that makes your exterior walls not straight is going to cost you more: angles and turns and bump outs, etc. Not sure a lot of angles in your exterior wall is the best use of limited space on a budget.

For privacy AND leaving one corner and side of the house open for windows/doors/light, three "bedrooms" in a row with two baths in between the three of them (master accessible from bedroom; other from hallway) and closets in between as well can help with privacy, especially sounds. Either of the bedrooms without a private bath can be used as bonus rooms -- guest bedroom, office/study, sewing/craft, playroom.

Putting a walk in closet in a bathroom also puts bathroom smells and sounds into the room where you store your clothes, which will absorb those smells.

Putting a walk in closet in an outside corner, especially a southern (or eastern or even western exposure), especially one without a window, is a waste of any potential natural light you might want for your home. Not putting a closet between the living area and the master bedroom deprives the master of sound privacy it could have provided for the bedroom.

Shoving a bed into an angled bay window turns the bedside cabinets at an awkward angle for access to any cabinet/storage space within it. It will also put them in the way for making the bed -- and look odd as well. If you want the morning sun to awaken you, put the foot of your bed aimed at the east side of the building with the head board at a wall or against a pair of wardrobes for clothing storage that you can wall all the way around. You can still create a bay window in the south wall for a built in desk or window seat, etc. to let south and west sunlight into the room.

STAIRS? Two and/or three story homes are never compact/tiny. Do your stairs go up or down and why are they OPEN stairs if they don't live to additional living space? Heat rises so open stairs are not economical to heat/cool. What is in the upstairs or downstairs?

Putting closets and/or pantry cabinets in hall walls can make using precious limited space for hallways more worthwhile and help create separation between living and sleeping spaces. A small hall with door between it and the living area can mean neither the bonus/children's bedrooms or second bath open directly into the living area. That can also apply to any master bedroom and bath and any walk in closet.

Wall ovens require you end up with about three feet less countertop space to accommodate them; however, I confess I really liked them when I had them. The over oven cabinets, however, are like over refrigerator cabinets -- not that easy to reach what's in the back of them. Might consider vertical drawers both places.

You seem to have a large "wasted" space between steps and living area. Your fireplace decreases the windows/doors in your window wall. Have you considered putting your fireplace on an interior wall or do you have a dual sided fireplace facing a backyard patio n mind?

Hope these ideas help you continue to consider all your options. Do keep us advised of your progress.

I concentrated on the kitchen/entries, and took a stab at wall ovens. The only space for it is recessed into the pantry area, so you give up some storage. However, I included some shallower storage in the front entry/hallway. The shaded square beside the fridge could be used for hall storage, or kitchen storage, depending on the direction of the cabinet/closet door.

I moved the pantry window to the wall above the W/D. That leaves room in the corner for full-height storage, and will allow more light from the window to enter the kitchen. You could frame in a wall between the pantry and laundry, with a door opening into the step-in pantry area. That would block the view of the pantry from the garage entry and laundry, and keep foodstuffs in the dark.

I noticed a mixer on the counter in the pantry; I would prefer to work in the more open kitchen, so I tucked a mixer just inside the kitchen. It could be kept in the nook by the ovens, but I think that area below the MW should be used for landing space. Normally I would put the MW closer to the fridge, but there's already a lot going on in that aisle.

The island layout was also flipped. I'm undecided about the DW in such a small work space--I put it to the left of the sink, to get it out of the prep space, but that puts it in potential conflict with the fridge door. More time is usually spent prepping than in clean up, so I'm staying with that layout. Dishes could be stored in the cabinets beside the fridge--another reason not to put the MW there.

Is that a folding counter on the island? I love convertible spaces like that. Good luck with your cozy house. :)

A lot of good things about your lay out.

I am guessing you are a little bit minimalist, but nevertheless, one word that really helps living in smaller spaces work: Storage. Ample storage helps one see what they have and don't need - or do. Accessible storage can reduce clutter.

Easily accessible storage. Even large homes often lack storage - storage doesn't generally help sell a home - but it helps a home serve your family. If you kids are active, think about sports, or back packing, skiing, books, projects and more. A lot more storage - you will never regret it.

Google '4 bedroom floor plan' and see if there are rectangular/L-/T-shaped plans you can adjust. There are plenty, no need to reinvent the wheel. Also consider two storeys, so every room can have enough windows and the house won't take up a big chunk of your future plot.

Example (imagine a garage somewhere, probably detached):

The major problem with the kitchen is because of where the entry from the garage is, the kitchen becomes a main thoroughfare through the work zone. Not good.

In addition to what everyone is saying, don’t put the garage in the front of the house. Hide it in the back.

You need the help of a talented design professional. Use this as the bubble diagram for the space relationship ideas only.

This plan is not tiny. Nor even little, that's for sure. But your needs don't seem to be tiny or little, either. They are quite a bit more than basic, especially by the time you get into wall ovens, master baths with two sinks, a tub and a shower, and craft spaces.

I do like much about your plan, but it's all theoretical. ALL may have to change once you get your lot. Suppose access to the lot is from the south, and your garage will end up on the sunny side? Your big rooms will face north! Suppose water runoff means you can't build a square house?

So, consider this not even as a draft, but as a wish list. Find yourself a lot. Do all kinds of reading on different ways to build, how much things cost relative to each other (like the example above on complicated roof lines). Will the house be netZero or high-efficiency, or solar, or..... These features have to be accommodated in the floor plan and construction budget....

You really want breeze on your head while you're sleeping? That seems very odd to me.

Read up on universal design. Even little things matter, like the height of the light switches, lever handles, C-shaped cabinet pulls, location of the microwave, door widths, window choices, etc. You can install a ramp to the front door, but different levels inside or a lot of corners and tight spaces to navigate...NO. All of these things are part of home-design, not after-thoughts.

What are the stairs for? They seem very monumental unless they go to living quarters.

If you consider this the upper level of a raised ranch, it makes a lot more sense. The stairs go to the lower level. The storage is on the lower level. A fair number of things are on the lower level.

However, adding in the lower level makes this house larger than my two story colonial.

It also looks a lot less livable than the raised ranch my parents built in 1970.

Why is everyone trying to detach the garage or put it sideways or in the back? it is much easier to pull straight Into a garage than sideways, also depends on future lot size if side entry is possible.

Try not to be discouraged by feedback. A lot of what is said is very accurate but you can still dream and come up with floor plans and ideas. We did a lot of that before buying our lot. We were then able to tell our designer what our must haves were with more confidence but we then turned the design over to her as the expert. She had to deal with bylaws and rules about height and location on lot but knew our main needs and made them work in the design.

So many people here hate the front garage but meh we have one and it’s awesome. And it’s attached to the house and not a single aroma comes into the house. It’s super convenient to pull in, close the garage, open the door and unload easily to the nearby kitchen.

Lots of other stuff you will need to adjust to your unique lot but knowing you want an attached garage, a mid room that leads to kitchen and then open concept main area is a start.

All of our bedrooms have one large window in them and that’s it. Not once have I ever wished for more light etc. Now we live in a city so neighbours are quite close. If we had acreage I might have different thoughts on this.

Anyway my rambling is really just saying dream away and have fun with it but know it can and will change.

I like the layout. What kind of windows are you going to have over the toilet and shower in the M bath? You have stairs in the plan, is this for the basement? If so, a room there could be your sewing room and probably another bedroom down there. The 'Unnamed room' qualified for a bedroom with a window.

Chispa.......most people don't marry millionaires.

My best advice: Google 1200 square feet houseplans. You'll find a ton of them, and they'll actually go up to 1300 square feet, maybe a little more. You'll find houseplans that're a bit more polished than your freshman offering. Search for:

- A simple perimeter that doesn't have all these jigs-and-jogs around the exterior. It'll be more efficient /cheaper to build, and it will lead you towards a simple roof that -- again -- will be more efficient /cheaper and will not be as prone to leaks.

- Look for more storage. That really is your house's biggest issue.

- Look for a plan that pushes bathrooms to the outside walls and keeps closets in the middle of the house.

- A dining room banquette is one way to keep your square footage down.

- Search for a plan that gives you big windows on two walls of your living space; it'll be more pleasant and will make a smaller space feel larger /more comfortable.