Ditto what Archson said. We FINALLY hired an architect because of so much frustration. My hubby has designed commercial buildings but he couldn't translate it to our simple, little house. Living in the snow capital of Alaska, we have tons of snow to deal with & lots of other constraints - it was just too frustrating trying to get everything we wanted in a relatively small space. We are SO glad we hired our architect. Hubby found him during an internet search - he's in Georgia. He has provided us so much that we feel it's well worth the money. (He designed one of the kitchens on HGTV's "Bang for your Buck" - it was the winning kitchen). He charges less than architects in Alaska so we feel we got a deal. It's great that in this internet age we can utilize the services of pros like this. Good luck in whatever you decide :)

I love the kitchen photo! That is such a farmhouse kitchen :) On a farm, having the laundry, pantry and mudroom together is no big deal. Everything is muddy! LOL I mean, bringing in armfuls of dirty lettuce and spinach to wash in the pantry sink is going to be just as dirty as anything else. If you can afford to go bigger, it would be nice to have a den where you have that bedroom below the kitchen. Then the separate large living room....with bedrooms off on their own wing. If you're not doing a two-story farmhouse, having the bedrooms in their own area would be a nice alternative. If you don't mind the stairs, it would be nice to put the kids' room upstairs and keep the master and a guest suite downstairs. That gives you a lot of flexibility for the future. Older relatives, sick child, sporting accident, etc. That extra bedroom downstairs will be a nice option....and the kids can have their space (maybe a central loft/study area) upstairs. And if you do that....think about a book/reading nook. Maybe one downstairs by the living room...and one upstairs in the kids' area. Cozy spaces in a larger room are always fun!

Thank you all for your feedback. It is striking in its simplicity and yet consistent geometry. The site location works for the home as do the overall dimensions. Currently the existing house faces West on a gentle slope out looking over acreage and pasture and out towards the Coast Range in Oregon's Eola Hills and backed by old growth White Oak, including a very large one that anchors the existing location in the circle drive directly South of the home. This limits what we can do footprint wise. This plan is slightly narrower that the existing home and slightly longer, but very close on both sides. We would probably make it 28 wide to minimize backfill and yes, the house would have a basement, simply because we already have one and this would be slotting into the same space. Parking is currently under the house in the basement and would continue to be so. This is simply due to constraints with the site setting. The questions around whether a great room space with shared kitchen/dining/living vs more closed off space is a valid one and I'm not sure there is a right answer there. Clearly that has been the trend in modern housing, although I'm not sure if it is the right one. I know for us, we would in fact modify the floor plan. Instead of the large vaulted space in the great room, we were thinking of making the second story complete without the loft. That gives us more square footage, storage space, and room for kids and would keep heating and cooling costs in check. We like the double masters just because we have aging parents and aren't sure if one is going to end up with us. Plus, it allows us to gracefully age in place. We would do away with the giant sliders that roll back into the walls. While we love them, they aren't practical for our acreage. Instead we would use a double set of French doors on each side. Se like the idea of porches on both sides to provide symmetry and more importantly to shade provide shade to the main floor and to provide outside space to enjoy the views. Is porch space on slab really that expensive? Are we sure the windows are steel or alumnum framed? Perhaps they are darkly colored vinyl or painted fiberglass? As for the kitchen, I would definitely change the layout and location of appliances. Anyway, thanks for the feedback and food for thought everyone. Any other input, we would love to hear it!

Thanks, I will look at those. I should add that left to right these are Chantlilly Lace, Distant Grey, White Ice