thanks everyone for your input....has given me an idea of what I might expect. Would have done this several years ago, but could not find a contractor in the area who was doing remodeling....the new construction was so much more profitable and probably less problematic. Now that construction has slowed, I'm hoping I'll at least get some callbacks! Ron6519-thanks for straightening me out about how the separate structure doesn't save $ and hendricus..sounds like a great job you did - great to have those skills! Thanks all.

Ya'll give awesome advice - so many "Why didn't I think of that?" moments while reading your tips. Incorporated them into the updated version below. cp, loved reading about your house. I've been a longtime lurker on the forum, so between reading all the GW posts and Pattern Language, I've had it drilled into my head to orient the house this way and one-room deep in main living areas. Thrilled to make it a reality. Moved the W/D thanks to you... shaved off the shower size to make a space for stacked units in the "bunk room", which is a much better place as we can close the sliding door on laundry days. If we ever add on to the house, it would be by extending the hallway through the "bunk room" so the closet and bunk space become hall closets, so having the W/D here instead makes much better sense. An interior designer had recommended putting it in the master as then we wouldn't have to carry clothes elsewhere, but this way I can forgo the kitchen bump outs on the south side (resolves those circles) and we now have one long Master closet instead of two smaller ones. The room and closet size is actually bigger than what we have now, so even though smaller-than-normal, it will work great for us. Someday if we move out, it would convert to a vacation rental, so the lack of a large master closet would be okay. The street-side master orientation is only because DH spends 50+ hours a week working from home, so we'd rather have the water view from the work space. That said, if we do add-on someday then we'd add a master on the other side of the office. And loved your door change on the second full bath - thank you! Master bath is 9-ft wide. Re: west porch... we are so far up north into Florida that we actually get down to 30-40s lows in the winter, so we should be able to use it 9 months out of the year. A friend has one and it's my favorite place to be - though I'm admittedly cold natured so love the afternoon heat! It's weird, I know... Greenacres, you solved my ladder mystery. Storing it in the 2.5' space I wasn't sure about next to the bunk room means that we can have it on a slider to come into the hallway and access the attic above when needed. Thanks! Good toilet tip too. Virgil, when we asked our architect where to cut, he said to adopt PB&J and build his original drawing of nearly 2000 square feet. :) However, because we are in an area with a construction boom where we have been told people are having to pay $200-$500/sq foot (variance due to finishes), there probably isn't enough PB&J in the world for us to be able to swallow an extra 400-500 square feet, so he sent us home with the drawing to mull over cuts and report back. Thankfully this is now down to 1542, which we can live with... Still open to advice on this version too... (And any thoughts re: making island 12-feet long instead of 10?)

Personally, I would never build a new house with 10' wide bedrooms. My current house has 2 bedrooms that are 10' x 11' 4" they feel they feel tiny to me with a full sized beds. But this is a 1179 sqft 1983 tract home so it is expected. If I were looking at a resale house in the 1800-1900 sqft. range that had bedrooms that small I would keep looking. Were it my house, I would keep the bedrooms at the original size. It is only 46 sqft. larger for both bedrooms but it will make an enormous difference in their feel. But that's just me. It is your house so build what you are comfortable with. Funny thing, I did exactly the opposite with the house that I am currently building. The original plans came out at 1850 sqft. but after several months of bumping this wall out and stretching that room I ended up at 2109. And the garage got even bigger. I didn't really want to go that big but to get everything to feel right to me that's where it ended up. Best of luck in whatever you decide to do.

Since you are just thinking about this, why not sketch a 20 x 36 square room on graph paper. Then start putting in your walking aisles and if you want an island in the kitchen, then add an eating area which will have a table probably 42 inches wide and 76 inches long with 6 chairs....the chairs will need three feet behind ALL of them in order to get into and out of the chairs and walk around them to go outside if you have slider/French doors for access to back yard.....then lay out the living room furniture around the fireplace and decide where the TV will go for best viewing; ie. do you want to watch TV from kitchen if you are considering island or bar seating? How big of a sofa do you need to seat your family while watching TV. The sofa generally goes opposite the TV, so where will the sofa and TV be in the room? Will you have room to add a chair or two if you want a recliner/s in the room. Is a cocktail table something you need to hold the remote and put up your feet, or are you going with reclining furniture that requires room in front of and in back of while reclining? Plus you will want lamps and end tables by most of your furniture pieces...how will these fit? When you answer most of these questions, that indicate how you want to live in your space, you will probably answer how big the room should be? As for aisles, you will want 42 inches in kitchen minimum, and 36 inches for hallways and walkways.....we have a 42 inch walkway in our great room and it works. Our great room/ living area has TV area, breakfast table area, and L shape kitchen with a 5 x 7 island that seats 5, 3 on one side, 2 on end and is 16' x 40' and I wish it was 6 feet longer, just so I would have another pair of chairs in the great room......I can sit 6 but would love to seat 8 for family gatherings.....just sayin'. Keep us posted.....