Alternatively if someone knows the architect for this plan, I could perhaps find photos online.

How does the house relate to the site?

Builders say perfect.

I wanted to provide a little more info about the site since mark asked. It’s actually 2 lots that total approx 3.7 acres. Almost level with the road-front of lots, but then gradual slopes down to back of property for the majority of the 2 lots. Lots have a good soil report (city water availability, but will need septic). Builders don’t think we’ll have any problem getting house on the site with plenty of room around us for future expansions (like pool).

So not a Colonial. But would be greatly better if it tried a lot harder to be. Like ditching the giant top hat hip roof, ditch the trusses, and stick framing it to have a usable and expandable attic. And if it wete designed to be a lot more wider than long proportions. As shown, it is just another inefficient generic and awkward dark Neo Eclectic plan. With a truly terrible kitchen and public areas. And a horribly inefficient and expensive Neo Eclectic type top hat roof plan.

I post this all the time. Anything in bold is what is wrong with this plan from the start. Have you considered working with a person of design talent to create something that will truly work for your family and work on your lot?

The best houses orient the public rooms towards the south for the best passive solar heating and cooling

The best houses are L, U, T, H, or I shaped.

The best houses are only one to two rooms deep. And covered lanai, porches, garages, etc count as rooms in this case.

The best houses make sure kitchens have natural light, meaning windows so one doesn't have to have lighting 24/7 to use the kitchen. (Not the one puny window noted in the kitchen plan)

The best houses make sure all public rooms and bedrooms have windows on at least two walls.

The best houses do not if possible put mechanical rooms, pantries or closets on outside walls. (Why is the master closet on an outside wall blocking what could be windows into the bedroom?)

The best houses keep public and private spaces separate.

The best houses do not have you walk through the work zone of the kitchen to bring laundry to the laundry room.

The best houses do not have the mudroom go through any of the work zones of the kitchen.

The best houses do not use the kitchen as a hallway to any other rooms.

The best houses do not put toilets or toilet rooms up against bedroom walls or dining areas.

The best houses do not have walk in closets too small to stand inside.

The best houses have an organizing “spine” so it’s easy to determine how to get from room to room in the house and what makes sense.

There is a lot more that is poor about this house, but that's a start.

I would suggest even though you're building a large house, you start by reading The Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka. It's an eye opener as to how to make spaces work better.

Sorry, but this looks and feels like a subdivision house to me very akin to the one my husband grew up in. If you have 3.7 acres and are able to do a custom house, this ain't it. You need a house that is suited to the lot you have and also the needs of the entire family both in the short term and the long term. The plan feels very choppy to me and will be a beast to clean.

cpartist's list makes some excellent points, especially about natural light.

I think this is a beautiful home. I would move the half bath so it is closer to the living spaces. Maybe with the closet above it or even the pantry. The pantry seems pretty far from the garage. It should be between the kitchen and garage so you dont have to carry heavy groceries so far. I would also put a washer dryer unit in the master so you dont have to trek so far to haul your laundry. I would want a laundry chute for the upstairs bedrooms into the main laundry room. Or you could repurpose the main laundry into the pantry or a crafting area and just put a second laundry upstairs. I think the house is very pretty. It could use a little simplifying of the exterior to give it a more traditional colonial look. I love the little nook on the second floor in front of the stairs what a cute space. Lastly I would move the door for the left and the center of the upper bedrooms so the bathroom access is to the hallway instead of only the bedrooms. Really wouldnt want to go through the bedroom to go to the bathroom if you are in the playroom!

Thoughts. Rearrange the service entrance area, so that door from the garage is closer to the porch/service door. Move the powder room to the left, or take over some of the garage for it, and for more mudroom space. This way, when you enter from garage or porch, you are led to the corner of the kitchen, not through the kitchen, and you aren’t carrying your laundry right through the kitchen.

That also allows you to add a door from kitchen into dining.

Shorten the pantry. Its entrance is unusable, inefficent space, and without it, you have a straight shot and view from the service entrance.

Replace almost all the double doors with pocket, swinging, or normal doors. Oh they look nice, but are inconvenient if they will be operated regularly, like into bedrooms, bathrooms, and walk-in closets. I live in a house with four such doors. They are okay in public areas where they aren’t used much, but even still, the kitchen and dining room light switches are behind the open doors. Fortunately the kitchen door is narrow. But remember remember, in some spaces, like in your hallway to the kitchen, the doors won’t open all the way back, and will effectively narrow the doorway by a couple of inches.

Regarding the suggestion for a laundry chute: I grew up in a house with a chute by the back stairs. By the time we walked down there with our laundry, we were probably on our way downstairs anyway, and we actually just carried it down and dropped it in the hamper.

I think this house will be inefficient and expensive to heat, cool, maintain, and live in. You might consider designing something that looks as handsome but works better, and is designed for you, not for, well, some fictional buyer.

Thanks for the helpful comments. People have different needs and preferences, but good to hear different perspectives. As for it looking like a subdivision house, it is in a subdivision. Lol. The rural county and subdivision requires larger lots both for septic and to preserve the character of the area. We bought two lots, but so have many our our neighbors. No judgment there. It’s just how it is. Subdivision has an all brick requirement and this is one that fits the neighborhood’s general character.

I’d not noticed about the windows only at the back in the master—good thoughts there! And I agree the kitchen needs design help. We sometimes have 6 adults working in the kitchen, plus we do lots of canning and bulk cooking so I need a kitchen with lots of storage and counter space.

I’d love to move the 1/2 bath closer to the main areas, but I’m concerned about my outdoor loving kids dragging their muddy selves throughout house to go to the bathroom. If I could figure out how to open up the “office”/bedroom’s bath to the main area when making it handicap accessible that would help.

I’m putting a laundry closet upstairs so the kids don’t have to lug their laundry up and downstairs, so I could move the downstairs laundry to the other side of the house. I liked it there initially because it provided a “strip and wash area” for filthy kids.

And agree that I need at least one bath directly accessible to the playroom, rather than through bedrooms!

Are you happy with the aesthetic and functionality/flow of the design, or have you just settled on one that meets your family's and HOA's program requirements? To me reading between the lines it seems you may be a little ho-hum about this design, at least compared to other threads who post an internet plan and are giddy because "this one spoke to me and I love it so much I may have tinkled my pants."

You have not specified any changes that are really complicated or affect the design much (expand basement and aging bathroom). If you live in a rural area, sometimes drawings are submitted on the back of a napkin, if at all. So you may be able to have your builder make small changes himself with some addendum sketches to the AHJ. If you have larger changes affecting structure and lots of other things, then you'd have to go back thru Eplans to have the designer modify them, if you choose this route. Be warned though that the "internet plan aggregator website" process is not a collaborative back-n-forth.

This Eplans choice looks to have started as a common genre of house design that was tweaked for a specific client's needs, then posted by the designer on the interwebs for purchase (this is a common method). So there are things that should be done to apply to you and your site, not to mention there are some basic improvements here and there that could happen.

3ontree, thanks. I get that some people don’t like the designer’s “appropriation” of the term colonial! Lol. But I actually really like the look of this house. And the basic flow and spaces available for our homebody family. I’m never going to sound giddy about a house plan. I’m neither stylish nor luxurious. I’m practical. We will love having the family areas at the back of the house with a big covered porch because I can screen it and get away from the mosquitos while my kid play outside. I’ll put nice hardwoods in the main level because I feel their timeless and can be refinished. But I may pick a one piece seamless tub upstairs for my kids over tile and grout because it’s easy for me (and our older kids) to maintain and clean. I don’t like to make design decisions and I’d have a nervous breakdown starting with a homeplan from scratch. The plethora of decisions Is why I have avoided a custom build for so long.

I’m happy about 2 dishwashers in my kitchen, my husband having his own office out of our bedroom, plenty of storage, an upstairs laundry, and a dedicated play space so everything has a place (or at the least the mess that the kids make is somewhere I don’t have to see it daily!). Also thankful I will have space to take good care of our aging parents without completely sacrificing our family’s space and privacy. I know I’m going to need to hire someone to modify this plan to meet those needs, but I think we can get there from here.

Hire an architect and get exactly what you want. my daughters large family home was designed by a member here. it is perfect for her large family and so very beautiful. you might be surprised how affordable it is to have your home designed to meet your needs.

"How does the house relate to the site?"
"Builders say perfect."

A builder may not be the best person to take design advice from. Perhaps I should have used "respond" instead of "fit" in my inquiry. What I meant was how the house will relate to sun orientation, predominant wind direction, vegetation, site circulation, site features, views, neighboring structures, views, and more.

Looks wonderful. I think you will be very happy in this house.

Check out ILoveRed's picture. Even though you can't see the other houses in the neighborhood well - notice what you can see and "feel"...

The first house has style and presence. it's well proportioned and has attention to the roof, the side, and the foundation. However, it's also simple in its shape and roofline - meaning that it's not super expensive to build. In a single color, you can still see the detail. It looks substantial. it also looks like it's been there forever, despite it's obvious newness.

The house directly beside it looks like it spent all it's style on the front facade. It looks lacking style on the side, lacking windows and lacking any foundation treatment. the flat side looks forgotten. The house looks "weak" next to Red's DD's house.

Go one house further away - loooks typical McMansion with an oversides roof and too deep for light (note the skylights - likely needed to illuminate dark interior spaces). Note the 2 colors - needed for style - looks like an apartment buidling - but not well done in that it transects the window. Also looks like a monstrous complicated roofline that will be $$$$ to replace. The roofline is a function of the plan being made and then a roof "slapped on it" via CAD.

A house as large as you are building deserves a design that works for you, and that is "special". You have the space to have something truly amazing and designed to allow some stretch - not use a house that has artificial constraints for a 1/3 acre city lot.

Take a drive around - look at the houses that are newer but look "solid" and stately - notice the details. They don't have the giant oppressive roofs, or the complicated footprints with jigs and jogs, but they have a presence, elegance and simplicity that the big subdivision plans don't. They don't scream at you. They are confident. Be like them.

There are a couple of really great Architects here that do remote design and could help you accomplish your goals.

Also thankful I will have space to take good care of our aging parents without completely sacrificing our family’s space and privacy. I know I’m going to need to hire someone to modify this plan to meet those needs, but I think we can get there from here.

Instead of trying to get from here to there, why not hire a person of design talent to create exactly what you need and want? Have you even looked for an architect or person of design talent?

And once you start talking about aging parents, that throws in another whole ball of wax with making their spaces accessible as they age. Are you planning on them having the second bedroom on the main floor? If so, that will not work as they age.

"How does the house relate to the site?"
"Builders say perfect."

I have a secret for you. 99% of builders have absolutely NO design skills and couldn't tell you if a design was good or not. The proof is in the pudding in my neighborhood of 17 homes. Anyone walking around can tell those designed by the builder and his draftsman versus those designed by a person of design talent.

Thanks Janni. such kind words. this house is very special on the inside too. martha did a beautiful job. she is now designing my other daughters home which will sit on a 5 acre country lot.

^^ I have no doubt that the attention to detail shown on the outside, would continue on the inside. <3

HNY, Red.

As I said earlier, I don’t have the constitution to start from scratch. I would go mad—and what use is a perfectly designed house from someone with talent if I had a nervous breakdown in the process of designing? Lol. Except I’m not kidding here. I know me. Hubby would tell you the same thing.

So are there any pre-drawn plans or designers with plans I can look at that anyone actually WOULD recommend as a starting point? In addition to the public rooms, we need 4 nice size bedrooms with the master on the main floor, 2 separate offices (office that could serve as a 5th bedroom on main floor would be ideal), bonus room for kids, extra large kitchen with storage, PLUS a full separate in law space that has unfinished storage for an aid project my in-laws are involved in. All brick exterior. I’m more traditional. I don’t like modern or farmhouse style, and I prefer a degree of symmetry on the front with pretty porches. We are combining two households of 3100 and 1700 square feet plus moving our offices into our home—which is why I think we need between 5000-6000 square feet total (including the basement space).

Okay if it’s hopeless. Regardless, thanks for all the kind feedback.

I am sure there is a local architect out there that could gently guide you through the design process in manner that would be sympathetic to your constitution.

I couldn't start from scratch either--but you wouldn't have to. You'd meet an architect with this plan in hand and point out all the good bits. Then you'd say what you need. Then you'd show them your site.

Psst---see if you can get a bigger garage. You are not gonna be a 2-car household!

(This plan might be good enough. I'm not qualified to say one way or another. I do know that everything CAN be better and nothing will ever be perfect.)

Fori, thanks for the encouragement! And we definitely wanted to try to get another garage for the in-laws when we reworked the basement to make it a full!!

But the kids are going to have to park outside when they reach that age! Don’t want to make living at home too appealing for them. ;-)

ES, have you checked out the architects on here who will work with you remotely?