As already posted, I'd skip the garage and convert the space in more comfortable living, and make some other changes. Move the wall about 3' between the salon and the salle á dener so that more than six could eat at the same table. There will be occasions when you will want more than the immediate family. (Consider when the kids start bringing friends to dinner.) Use the shortened salon for office. Form a hall by putting a wall between doors in [ex]garage, just deep enough to permit shallow cubbies and storage shelves. If you put a sun-bay where the G doors are, the dimensions will remain close to 16x21, a nice size living area. Remove W/D and make shallow for coat closet. Remove foyer closet and change into wide arched entry into living area. Upstairs: Plead with BevAngel or one of the other great folks to re-design the bains so that W/D could fit in. I personally would not want that pair of steps at the top of the landing. It appears that would make the door to chambre 2 literally at the top of the long flight and lower than the doors to the other rooms. YMMV. And that landing looks rather small... be sure you can move long bureaus and box springs around. MB: If one took away that odd wall forming the walkin closet, instead using reach-in closets as placed, the MB will appear much larger while permitting space for personal sitting area. Be sure reach-in closets don't have wasted space -- these look quite deep. Be sure all the doors are wide enough. It looks as though the doors to the bains are each 30", much too narrow.

The master suite is ridiculous. A complete house could fit in that space, and could be built from the scrap materials left over. The total area of the master suite and 2nd floor balcony is 1,500 sq ft. Start with a rectangle 14' x 40' and fit your master suite in that rectangle. I promise there is plenty of space in a 14' x 40' rectangle to fit all the necessary amenities you really need: 14' x 17' for the main room, 2 walk in closets 7' wide x 11' deep, and a bathroom 9' x 14' Those dimensions are ample: You will have more than 4' on either side of the bed. There is planty of room for the fireplace at the foot of the bed, with 6' of clearance. The closets, as I propose, would have 44' of lineal storage, which is a bit more than you have in the plan. And you could put both a shower and tub into a bathroom 9' x 14' Remember that no more than 2 people will ever be sharing the space of the master suite. If you really need 1,500 square ft for the 2 people, those 2 are probably not going to make the best of roommates. Better off designing separate spaces for each person.

Thank you all for your comments. JudyG, thanks for the heads up. I do see after some reading that it's not a four square. But are you sure it's Victorian? To me it looks too austere to be a Victorian. It's possible that lost original details were more ornate, but the remaining original details seem fairly simple, including the lap siding, interior window trim, and the front window on the first story. greenfish1234, thanks for your honesty! Are you saying that I should get rid of both the door and the railings (so that it's no longer a balcony)? Or just the door? I am hoping to change the railings to something more beautiful when the budget allows. I think the replacement railings and posts make my porch/balcony unattractive, but some other balconies in the neighborhood have the original railings, and they are beautiful. suezbell, the thought of adding more living space is attractive, but I'm sure that would be out of our budget. Nancy, I like that plan but unfortunately I can't move the door to the bedroom to that location without losing the bathroom in the hallway. Also, I would like to keep the door in the alcove and add the bathroom there, but I'm afraid it would seem bizarre and off-putting to future buyers to have an exterior door in the bathroom (although I don't intend to sell the house anyway, and I suppose I could always change it to a window at that time).

We remodeled a classic old two story 1777 center chimney colonial, pretty sure it is 40 X 30, 2,400 square feet, not counting small 3rd floor bedroom and a little attic space under the roof. Plain rectangular shape, no frills outside. Quite open downstairs with kitchen, pantry or front closet under the stairs, dining room, good sized TV room for DH’s ginormous TV, living room with view, fireplace, downstairs bath with shower, constructed not metal circular staircase to basement, mud room area with bench, shelves and good sized closet at side, most used door, three bedrooms and two full baths on second floor, including large master and master bath and a fourth bedroom and pull down attic space under the roof, vaulted ceiling over the stairs. It is mind boggling to imagine what you have the opportunity to do without the constraints of pre-existing infrastructure and a good architect.