Its a nice house but it is not a "farmhouse"; its late Victorian, Queen Anne/Shingle Style and IMO should be wrapped with shingles without the fussy corner boards. Since there is so little wall surface showing I would use real white cedar shingles factory dipped in stain. I would not paint the rear gable of the overlapping gables or the garage pediment a different color as if someone ran out of paint/stain or couldn't make up their mind. The cornice returns are a bit heavy-handed and the little vents in the gable peaks clutter up a nice design element. I would not project the roof rakes so much. Consider bringing the large gable to the front and eliminating the little one. The fake stone at he ground seems a bit cheesy but its popular. The fake dormer on the right is a draftsman's joke and should be removed. The paired windows should be pulled 6" apart so they look more like what they are trying to simulate. The battered stone column bases on the porch seem out of place since there are no other Craftsman features on the house. In general the houses needs to be simplified to reduce the impression of a cluttered feature-rich developer design. Buy the $2,000 CAD drawing set and have someone modify it in AutoCAD or a compatible program. The higher the skill of that person, the better the house will look and the easier it will be to build. Your builder must know a skilled person. Show the modifications to us to be sure you aren't missing design opportunities. An architect's fee might be $20,000 to $50,000 for a house like this so $2,000 plus $5,000 +/- for modifications would be a bargain. If you try to save every nickel it will be apparent in the final result.

I am a CAPS Designer, and I have some concerns about your home plan. The first concern is translating a stock plan to a non stock site. The approach to the home, both the front door and the garage entrance, need to be assessed for elevation changes. That is a BIG issue when a home is not designed for the site on which it is built. This is where your architect or home designer needs the site plan showing the elevation changes, and then shows you how that will be handled regarding entry into the home. Ramps take up a lot of space because of the required rise and run. 1” per 1’. If there is 14” of elevation difference between your garage floor and interior surface, that needs a 17’x 9’ section just by itself, for the needed ramps, switchback platforms, and landings. That takes up an entire garage bay, and that is if it’s a traditional two steps into the home. There are platform lifts that take up less space, but they also need to be space planned into the home’s electrical etc. Getting into your own home, out of the weather, and with zero to minimal assistance is what creating a home that fosters independent living is all about. Your home should also accommodate visits from any friends and family who may also have mobility issues that could be more restrictive. That means assessing the front entrance as well. For the master bath, tall vanities are contra indicated. You need one at which you can be seated, with knee space, and scald protection. Since you are not seated full time, a split vanity with a taller one for your standing height, and the shorter one for a seated position are probably your best bet for varied abilities. The current plan with the toilet area has no room for a caregiver to assist. The shower is less than ideal as well. The entire master needs to be reworked. Definitely plan for a bidet toilet seat, plus room for an aide if needed. That clearance can overlap your shower area, and the clearance to turn with a chair as well. Combining needed clearances is how to keep the bath from becoming overly large, and still appear spacious and comfortable. Your closet should utilize the pull down double hung hardware available from many sources. I like Hafele. You need the 5x5 turning space in the middle as well, and a proper tall height mirror for seeing yourself standing and seated. Plan for blocking in all of your walls now, for potential grab bars if they are needed at a later time. Wet areas should have them now. They need not be unattractive and institutional. Many are available that look like towel bars and serve as that function. I’ve used them on ends of islands for those who may be just a bit unsteady, and they make great spots for kitchen towels. There are many ways to plan an accessible kitchen, depending on how you use your kitchen. If you cook, rather than your caregiver cooking, there are significant changes that need to be made to accommodate that activity, and I’d be happy to gone to more detail if you need. If you do not cook, and don’t plan to try, then a few smaller changes will allow you to be comfortably in the kitchen with the cook and your family. Widening the hallways has the unfortunate ramifications of taking space away from the already small rooms. I would suggest using the second floor space for the caretaker, as that would be much more private for them, and allow for better space distribution of the downstairs space to family space only. You could have less cramped rooms, and a better plan for everyone. I also have concerns about the designer that you are working with, and the obvious lack of experience in creating accessible space. I would suggest that they obtain the free Home Fit Guides packet from the AARP, as it is one of the best free resources on the market about creating an accessible home. https://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/info-2014/home-fit-resources-worksheets.html  I’m concerned that your project may be moving faster than your design. That is a precarious and expensive issue, because it results in change orders. I’d suggest that you involve better and more local assets in the design process. There should be CAPS individuals there, and your Occupational Therapist should absolutely be on your design team. Good luck, and thank you for your service. Slow down to go fast. Get it right the first time.

I find it hard to offer up or encourage mediocre or substandard. I understand there is a lot of information and circumstances that effect a design; but when that information and circumstances is not made known, it is next to impossible to give valid advice and assumptions have to be made. I assume people are here asking questions to improve what they have to the highest degree possible, and I point out areas I see that could be improved or I offer a conceptual solution to improve what they have knowing full well there may be extenuating circumstances that lead them to what they have. I see many times people are under the impression that they can not afford the services of an architect, where in reality it is that they can not afford the one architect they talked to or are relying on hearsay. There are architects out there for just about any budget. There is most of the time a big difference between architects and house designers and the like. That is something even the people at Houzz can't figure out. Perhaps the lack of plans offered up for review here on Houzz is a result of people realizing that the best way to have the home they need and want is to sit down with an architect and get to know each other. The architect can discover their needs and wants, walk the site with them, discuss at length the dreams and possibilities of what their home can be. The owner can ask questions and see their home develop before their eyes in the form of sketches and scribbles; a personal/professional interaction that creates home. Perhaps I am being overly optimistic.

Allison, just saw your thread as I haven't been here in a while but I think if you're four years out, wait until your about one year out as you said. Lot of talk here about "forever houses" and how most really aren't because life circumstances change, same is true here. Mrs. ARG and I have GC'ed three houses over 40 years and those worked out but we bought two other lots with the intention of building but for a variety of reaons, sold them. But that doesn't mean you can't be getting ready and learning about residential design, especially the intangible aspects of it. Here's a link on some good books to read https://www.houzz.com/discussions/3281434/book-suggestions Probably "Patterens of Home" is one of the better ones. And a thread on what makes for good house design https://www.houzz.com/discussions/3285825/what-makes-a-house-have-good-design As far as the arguement of "floorplan or no floor plan for the architect", every architect is different of course, but when that happens to me, it doesn't limit me as I'm looking at a floor plan more in DIAGRAMMITIC terms as oppposed to actual physical terms and asking question like "What do you like about this?". And then once I learn that, ask "Have you thought about this.....?" as I begin to freehand ideas. But if you have a plan, don't get too "stuck" on it and be open to other ideas. I've had clients that have said "But we've spent MONTHS on this", like the task is akin to washing a car with the more time spent on it, the better the result. Design doesn't work that way. As an example, here's an example of a client working diligently on a design(s) and what we (and I say "we" because it's always a participatory process) came up with. Client plans: And what we came up with: But of course, Mark and Jen (the owners) were great listeners and for this to work that's what you and your aerospace engineer husband needs to be. FWIW, here's his thread: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5401415/stuck-with-floor-plan But the best of luck in your build. Exciting times ahead!!