I am just now reading all these amazing comments. We were going to sell our 5 bedroom house and build a “smaller” 2B2B barndominium, but plans changed due to my dad getting sick and not wanting us to move away from me. So we have decided to renovate what we have and incorporate the things I wanted into this house but I have no clue where to start. This house had NO storage. We have extra rooms I want to make one a butlers pantry that connects to my kitchen and the other I want to make a master closet. Any ideas would be appreciated

I'm not sure exactly what you're asking, but I'll give you some thoughts since I had a mudroom very similar. The most used spaces are likely the washer/dryer area and the bench area, which is also the walkway to the garage. Your towers on the sides of the bench stick out into the walkway. I would also want the sink further from the washer/dryer so you have more clear countertop space. Consider including an area for hanging damp clothes, or at least a pull down drying rack. If you stick with your current plan, I would move the pantry to the window wall corner , and then use the empty space in the corner by the door for the dog bed. Next to the bench, you could save money by using open shelves and hooks instead of cabinets. That was more useful for my kid's sports paraphernalia and shoes, for air flow.

chicagoans, I will most likely remove those French Doors since that will be the new living room. Not sure I will need a door or should I add one? I have moved all of my cabinets that were in my sewing room to the new sewing room and because it is laid out different I could not figure out how to add everything. I removed the half bath for the moment. Also, if you are talking about the window on the porch I will be removing it and putting the den on the left side of the porch. I have not added a door in the garage yet to go to the outside (is that what a man door is?) I have been looking at Foyer layouts but don't want to go too wide but I think I would like French Doors for the entry or at least a door and a half with both sides that will open. I will have the doors to the den will be off the foyer and I was thinking about adding the half bath at the end of the den wall. If I put the laundry room in the kitchen I was going to put the pantry on the east side but the entry door will be at the other end. What would you do and would you enclose the pantry with walls and a separate door or just have the shelves exposed? Right now my shelves are 12" deep but I think I would like them deeper--maybe at least 14" deep. I know the garage is on the opposite side of the house from the kitchen but those are the only places I can have them located because of the lot.

@williamrudoff, "What determined if you went 1 versus 2 recessed?" That was simple. It was so much cheaper to add the recessed when building vs later when drywall is already up, so we always went for 2 vs 1. In general, add more lights now. There are some nice affordable flushmounts at the big box stores. We ended up buying a dozen on a blowout sale @ $20/ea and then spray-painted with a hammered finish. Pretty slick.