For the kitchen, try moving the island down closer to the pantry (and maybe shortening it if necessary), have stools just on the one side of the island. Then, put a run of lower cabinets only on the wall where the window is in the kitchen & have your sink there. Maybe even add another window beside it or center the window above the sink. As far as the overall plan, a couple spaces are not labeled so not sure about those. I would suggest adding one wall possibly to give your foyer/entry more definition. I say that because I live in a very open floor plan right now where the front door opens directly into the living room. I still LOVE open concept but do recommend defining the foyer/entry space better, as well as I do not like answering my door and whoever is standing there being able to see my entire home. An entry space can help with that some. In the home we are building currently, it was one of my requests in the design process.

@My House We plan on having the TV in between the 2 windows in the family room - if you look at the layout, it would go on the bottom area wall, where the space between the walls is labeled 11'

@The_Lane_Duo I appreciate the input on the foyer/entry space. Will take that into consideration and see what changes we can do there, because that's an added design element that I could see would help make it more cozy/private.

Funny you mention those changes in the kitchen. I had suggested the same exact thing, but ran into the issue of there being no symmetry on that back wall (if you're looking at the layout, it's the left side wall with windows/door to patio). Something's gotta give though I guess.

Love your sink placement. As the main chef, I much prefer an island sink. Meal prep is longer than actual cooking time. As I do this, I like to be able to follow the TV movie program or help with kids at the island doing homework. If you are sautéing at the stove, set a timer and walk away. There is no need to stand there and watch the food. I've seen stoves in islands and cannot understand the sense in that.

IMO open concept with all living spaces open is kind of useless I like kitchen , DR and FR open but I like a LR that does not have to be open to the rest so that you can have adult giests and the kids can still watch TV. Awet bar is just that a wet bar not a butlers pantry . INO that area you have for a walk in pantry could have twice the storage with pullout pantries in that space . Where is your fridge ? Your sink should not be across from your range and unless you cook for 20 all the time you do not need a 48” range plus the expensive venting and the noise.. IMO get an independent kitchen designer to make the most of the space , which BTW seems small compared to all the wasted space in the DR and what is that little space in front of the PR I see no proper entry into the LR except for into the LR the study doors should not be there at all

Where are the "lots of windows"?

@Patricia Colwell Consulting appreciate your feedback and input. Fridge would be to the right of the range, I'm uploading some more images to help reference. You are correct, there is no "entry" to the LR, we just open the door directly into it so will consider changing and adding an entryway. Thank you for your thoughts!

@Mark Bischak, Architect I just uploaded in the thread some more images/renderings. Would you recommend more windows?

Will the front door be the normal everyday entrance for your family?

Why no windows in the dining room or staircase?

@bpath we will have a garage on the basement level and come up the stairs, so I would guess that would be normal entrance (not the main door on the main level). There is also going to be a "mudroom" on the bottom floor once we come in from garage.

I wanted to have windows in the dining room, but the sun will set to the left/backside of the house, so there would not be too much purpose in that. I might revisit this idea.

There actually is a window on the top part of the staircase - these images don't show it!

Great your 3D pics- WOW, it is a huge space!

Now, I understand your concern for a cozy feel.

If this were mine to play.... I'd want dining room walls - somewhat closed off- an "event space" so to speak for holiday dinners, yet the space is still visible as you walk by on the way to the kitchen....(If you guessed that I'm not a minimalist- you are correct! "event space")

I happen to love that open space between the FR and the DR for big parties but I still would like some separation for the LR and for sure some kind of entry space.

I would also want a separate foyer. I would add walls with large cased openings and/or pocket doors between quite a few of the spaces (foyer and living room, living room and dining room, possibly dining and family room) so that the spaces can be open or closed off as needed. Maybe double pocket doors separating the living room from foyer and dining rooms, and then just a very large cased opening (no doors) between dining and family room?

Why is no one saying you dont even have half enough counter space in the kitchen ...and who wants to do dishes while entertaining guests?with more counters move the sink to the side under a window..if the stove is on the island..right across from the sink...that could work in many ways ..cooking while entertaining or feeding the family at the island is convenient as long as you can turn around hide pans ,etc in the sink out of sight...ergo my next requirement for a happy kitchen ...a huge deep one section sink....and if possible another sink in a closely located pantry to put dirty dishes in until your guests are gone and/ or you get around to it...

Also a pretty big concern about the layout feeling like a big rectangle box...how about some jut outs to break up the box feel ...maybe leading to an outdoor entertainment area or deck ....the dining room is dominating the center of the home while it is usually the least often used room...which also points to all the rooms/ areas seem equal in size ....they should be sized according space needed for activity in those rooms....add some picture windows to draw the eye and bring in the outdoors......another way to add interest is to have a change in ceiling heights in such a large space to make it feel more comfy and defined ...the actual location of the entry feels a little off to the side...

Have you considered adding a closet to the study so it could function as another bedroom if needed? Especially if you could lose some width in the powder room.

If the sun sets to the back of the house, that means the dining room windows would face south, right? That's generally considered the best exposure. I'm not sure why you wouldn't add more windows there.

Just curious, what designed the house, a draftsman? A house designer? An architect?

@btydrvn Thanks for all your input and thoughts. Taking it all into consideration.

I like the idea of having another sink in the pantry for the purpose of putting away dirty dishes when we have guests over, I'll look into that.

I'll also note that our ceilings are 10' high, and in the dining room area we were considering dropping it to 9' so that it gives some dimension and breaks up the rooms a little.

Love the idea of jut outs, but we're dealing with a lot of permitting regulations so we wanted to have as much as square footage as possible without compromising having to make our house even more narrow.

If you're looking at the layout, the left side has a set of doors that open up to a deck - we'll be able to open it and have it flow when the weather is nice!

@Kirsten E. haven't thought about that - we have a guest bedroom in the basement and the upstairs as the master plus 3 additional BR but it's good to note.

The "hall" area before the bathroom is going to be coat closets

@Kristin S you are right, the dining room windows would then face south. I didn't know that about exposure, I'll definitely revisit this. Thanks so much

@Mark Bischak, Architect a design and procurement firm

From reading your description of what you want in a home and looking at the drawings you provided, you are on the path of an unpleasant surprise. I do not know all the facts, but the spaces you show seem to be larger than they should be.

I too am surprised that this floor plan has been done by professionals...

For a little bit of perspective on size, here is a plan of a home where the kitchen (10), dining (9), and living room (8) takes up a space that is 45' x 15'. Your plan shows a space of at lease 68' x 19'+ for kitchen, dining, family room, and living room. Granted these spaces are not designed for the same clients, but you should have a good knowledge of how much space you will be building to achieve "cozy".

The lake is to the east.

Just came across this thread...I love the idea of an open concept and I understand what you're saying as well @Mark Bischak, Architect. I can see the home being cozy between the kitchen and hearth room right across but you mention that because the length from the hearth room down to the living room is long, it won't feel as cozy?

From what I also understand, OP is showing separation with a drop ceiling design in the dining room which will give the feeling that the kitchen and hearth are separate rooms as well as the living and dining.

Also a different thought, I do believe adding a wall to create a foyer type entrance would be a good idea and low effort to accomplish.

I did not say "that because the length from the hearth room down to the living room is long, it won't feel as cozy". The feel of the space(s) will be achieved by its volume (length, width, and height) among other factors. The drop ceiling in the 20'-8" by 19'-0" dining area might help a little, but proportion and scale come into play. Perhaps the designer was thinking that techniques like seating eight people at a 60" x 32" table is an appropriate way to achieve cozy?

I do not see a hearth or "hearth room".

The seating for 8 at the island also seems off. Most people here seem to suggest breaking that up so everyone isn't sitting in a row (6 x 2) like at a diner. And I wonder if there's a better way to place the powder room so everyone, including guests, don't have to walk through the coat closet.

What is the space with two windows and no door beside the stairs?

I may be the only one commenting here having the same size and shape floor plan as you do....with a few exceptions...our (summer) home is facing lengthwise SE....entrance center front...we have only one level..and a shed roof, 13’ high at the front and 8’ high at the back...we have 1.5 baths..a partial divider for bedroom..and an extra 200 sq.ft. tv room added to accommodate different tv preferences...and the occasional guest...

As you can see the partial divider behind the dining table could be a fireplace or a separation feature...we have a master bath and closet and a guest bath and big coat closet...a pantry and a nice size laundry room...so as you can see there really isnt room for a big sectional at bothe ends and a totally wide open space for a big dining table...it is also balanced and centered ...where your plan is off balance with the steps ..it also has al long hall walk through the space that accentuates the rectangle....your floor plan needs to be more interesting and if your home could rotate face SE you could have a wall of windows and almost none on the backside..

We originally had acid washed concrete floors which i would die to have again as they were virtually carefree maintenance..and were beautiful...you can see from some pix our new luxury vinyl flooring which was chosen for the same problem that undermined our concrete floors..a water issue to having a concrete slab foundation...and living on a slight slope in the mountains

You don’t show “a lot of windows for natural light”. Your windows look small for the rooms’ sizes, and there are no windows in the dining room. I like the family room to be less “open plan” because when you have adult guests in the living room, the kids can still enjoy the tv in the family room.

We are also designing our home and we want our island to be for prep and other things. We are looking at putting a small vegetable sink in the island and also a 2 burner electric cooktop. Since only one person can be at the gas stovetop at one time, we would be able to more efficiently share the stovetop duties if things like the pasta can be boiled elsewhere. The dishwashing sink and dishwasher should not be on the island. It will take away from your food prep space.