You probably know that goldfish grow to fit the size of their bowl, then they grow no more. Closets and garages are somewhat subject to the goldfish principle: The stuff we want to store in them accumulates to fit the size. So -- to some extent -- a larger closet gives you "permission" to accumulate more clothes /more stuff and excuses you from weeding out things that just aren't being used. I suggest you take a look at what you have now, and measure it. If your current storage is lacking, ask yourself how much it should expand -- half again as much? double the space? same amount of space, but with more shelves /less hanging space? If you had more space, would you add more clothes? Do you need more clothes? What else will you store in your closet besides clothes? Do you want to store your suitcases there, or do you prefer to keep them elsewhere? Do you want a spot for jewelry? Do you want ALL your clothes to store in the closet, or will you have a dresser in the bedroom as well? How many handbags /shoes do you have? How about oddball stuff like gift wrap? Do you store coats in your bedroom closet? Ski wear? Your old wedding dress? A box of baby clothes even though your kids are teens? Again, measure your own needs. I don't know what's "enough" for you, but I can tell you what we're thinking: - 8x12 rectangle closet in the master bedroom -- based up on our current wardrobes, this will hold everything we have (and more) and will allow us to e x p a n d our clothing storage so that things aren't just crammed in. I like the idea of things being easy to see /easy to reach. - We're placing the laundry room next to the closet -- the convenience feature being obvious. If not for the door to the laundry, we'd have gone with an 8x10 closet. - We're leaving a "blank space" on the wall for some hooks. This'll be for hanging worn-once jeans, etc. - This is to be our retirement house, and the 8' width allows space for a walker. Also, my 99-year old grandmother keeps a chair in her closet so she can sit down while choosing clothes -- the extra width would be valuable for that. - I do not want a window because sunlight bleaches clothes. I do hate walking into a dark closet with my hands full of things to put away, so I'm planning to use automatic lights. - I would not plan an island. Given that you need clearance space on both sides, an island would require more space than I'd devote to a storage space. - A mirror is a good idea, but I'd try to put it on the back of the door rather than allowing it to eat up valuable hanging /shelf space. - I intend to have a medium-sized dresser in the bedroom, which will hold undergarments, swimsuits and pajamas. Everything else'll be stored in the closet -- we'll have shelves for jeans and sweatshirts.

Not worth the gas to drive to nearest ReStore (unless we were doing a major remodel). But I'll try Craigslist. I did pull a silver 12" lazy susan out of the attic (has ceramic pieces that fit inside, 1 chipped). Put an old Tupperware container of my mom's (maybe she has 1 missed a lid) inside, fit oils and vinegars (except my quart & gallon bottles of canning vinegar) inside, but even positioned right in front of clip in stud, it wobbles. Might work on wood shelf. Large square Tupperware canister fits 5 lb flour. Too bad I only have 2, and where the shelves are positioned now there is space above for half size (maybe 3 lbs?) canister of sugar, but I use that in 1 batch of jam. Have 2 shorter square containers, but all I could find in the basement were the oval containers I used to use for pasta (before DS started eating 1/3 lb by himself, now I find it easier to just grab a box even if I have a tiny bit left, rather than filling a container and using most of it for 1 meal. I currently have 1 opened bag of elbow noodles and 3 almost-empty boxes of 3 different-shaped pasta in the pantry, unopened boxes are in basement but right at bottom of stairs. The oval containers don't fit together on the shelf as nicely as the boxes, so am I right not to go back to using those? Now, the quinoa bag has a zipper (that's in the cereal cabinet), the barley and bulgur don't so I had to put them in ziploc bags - might it be worthwhile to put those in the oval containers? They're on the same shelf as the wooden boxes, all the way over on the right, just above the flour canisters (and the partial bag of Bisquick - a 40 oz box didn't fit in the small red-topped canister - grr). Steel-cut oats and cornmeal (which has expired - don't know if it's any good for dusting a baking stone?) leave in original round containers? I swear I had more Tupperware... I did pull a couple of small wooden crates I use on my table at farmer's market (mostly to stack things on top of when they're turned upside down, they're not good size for jelly jars - I do have 1 that has a divider that is perfect for a little "bookcase" when turned on end so I don't want to use that in pantry, and another that I use for paper lunch bags that I put produce in). Not sure if they work here, but I did corral the Japanese food in the smaller one and dried fruit in the larger one. One thing about having things visible - DS eats them. You can see I have only half a bag of white chocolate chips I bought at the holidays - I didn't open them but when I found them open I put a twist tie on the bag. A few years ago I found a good price on Scharffen Berger chocolate squares, used them to make peppermint bark and put them on the top shelf (in front, I was too lazy to get the step stool out) and later found half of them gone - he had been eating them like candy bars! We've never restricted the kids' candy consumption, they go trick or treating, get candy for Easter and Xmas, but last year (mind you, he was 13 1/2) I found wrappers from his Easter candy in the supply vents in the family room. At least he didn't put them in the returns! But there was no need to hide them - I don't care if they eat the entire contents of their Easter baskets in 1 day (other than they might get sick, but then they'd never do it again) or 3 months. I just ask that eating be restricted to the kitchen, dining room, or rarely, the family room. Not the living room with wool carpet and leather furniture, and not upstairs. But I do like to keep baking supplies for baking, not snacking (esp. expensive things like that chocolate, candied ginger, etc.) and don't like going to use something to find out that I don't have enough b/c someone has been eating it without telling me. I *am* going to throw out the old (who knows how old) confectioner's sugar in the green Tupperware canister, and the cocoa (very light) that my mom gave me - we weren't even sure if it was hot chocolate mix or baking cocoa, b/c it doesn't even smell like anything, she put it in a Rubbermaid container!

@LisaKoback We are building the La meilleure vie plan by David Wiggins also and we are looking for a basement plan with steel beams and I-joist instead of the wooden laminated beams that Wiggins provided for us. Would you be willing to share steel beam size and I-joist dimensions? Or your basement page of print only? Thanks so much. jamesmelson34@gmail.com James

Ok I'm going to play devil's advocate. Wow, I was not expecting all the comments with issues regarding this plan, but I have welcomed them! Some things you all have pointed out have made complete sense and I didn't even notice the other things you all mentioned. Here are some of the reasons we like this floor plan, and some some ideas that we have about changing some things: The floor plan is just bad. I asked above and will ask again. Have you considered working with a talented architect to design a house that truly works for you and will also make you happy every time you walk into the house? With this house you will need to fit your needs to the house whereas if you work with a person of design talent, you will wind up with a house that fits itself to your needs. - This floor plan has exactly the number of bedrooms and bathrooms we need. We need a master bedroom, one bedroom for each of our two children, one guest room, three full baths, one half bath, a formal dining room, an island with counter space for barstools, a breakfast nook, a walk in pantry, an office, a laundry room, a mud room, and storage space. Are you sure you need a formal dining room, an island with counter space and a breakfast nook? Do you entertain that often that you need three separate eating areas? I'm asking you to think in terms of your actual lifestyle and not your fantasy of what you'll do if you have the "ideal" house. The truth is if you don't entertain frequently for example, the dining room will remain empty most of the time collecting dust. Only you can answer what the reality is. Additionally if you do entertain, that dining room is way too small as is the breakfast nook. Also you need one of the bedrooms to be a guest room. Is it possible to make the extra bedroom a combo bedroom/office for the times you do have guests? Of course if you work from home, or family comes to visit for weeks at a time, that idea won't work. My studio is upstairs and I love that it's away from the tumult of the rest of the house. - We have two children, so a jack and jill bathroom seems to fit so that they don't each have their own bathroom. A hall bathroom is still a better choice versus a jack and jill bathroom. - My husband would prefer his office to be in the back of the house with access to the back yard and in close proximity to the living room. See my comment above. - We would add pocket doors to the entrance to the jack and jill bath from the two bedrooms. Pocket doors are fine for rooms that don't get used frequently. They are not a good choice for a room (bathroom) that will be used multiple times a day. - The location of the dining room does not necessarily both us. But the fact it's too small should bother you. - I am not a fan of the fireplace being where it currently is and would like to move in order to have french doors on the wall where the fireplace currently sits. So where would you put the fireplace? Have you thought how you'd arrange furniture in that room? - I am okay with how you get to the master bedroom, but I would be open to a different a route as well. So you're ok with walking through the kitchen every time you need to go to your bedroom? When I was growing up the only bedroom off the kitchen was for help. In fact since we never had full time help, my mother turned that bedroom into her office.