rockybird, we're expecting to enjoy all 4 seasons, with mild winters, hot and humid summers, and beautiful spring and fall weather. When we visited in July, we experienced unusually mild weather in the 80's, and it's generally been in the 60's and 70's when we've been there in spring and October and November, although much colder at night and early morning. We were actually unexpectedly snowed in when we visited last February and all flights were cancelled! I'm looking forward to being able to finally wear sweaters and jackets though :) If we added dormers I would want them to be functional and either add light into the first floor with a raised ceiling or into a second story or attic space. When I reference a 1 1/2 story I mean a second story that is smaller than the footprint of the first level, with varying roof lines, rather than a full second story that is the same footprint and square footage as the second level. We would either use ours for unfinished attic space or maybe a loft/second media room, a bunk room/guest room, and a guest bathroom. Just extra space for DD and visitors that DH and I could close off when not in use. Here are some examples of dormers that function to let light into a first floor and also some 1 1/2 story homes with dormers.

I have been looking at these floorplans as well and have the same idea as cpartist on the exterior changes. I love the simple, more traditional look of removing the shutters an the extra garage bump out. I love the interior layouts of all of them as well, but am trying to cut corners (literally) to lessen the amount of bump outs in hopes that we can make it work with our budget. There are about 4 floor plans from the same designer that have a similar layout and range from 2000-2600 sqft. Here's the smallest of the floorplans

The green roof and white siding sounds like a beautiful and classic combination. By the way have you noticed how hard it is to find pictures of houses with roofs that are green? I can't seem to find the right combination of words that doesn't give me 7 million pictures of houses with eco-friendly ("green") solutions like solar panels and plants!

Our new house has an interior kitchen, and it is fine with me, but keep in mind our main floor is about a 1/3 of the size of yours, about 8 feet away from the windows in the dining room, and on a city lot that is about 0.14 acres with my neighbours about 9-10 ft on either side. You have a much different space - and a lot more land to work with. The model home shows how many lights you need to keep it bright (on side note, please do not turn your ceilings into Swiss cheese - pot lights have a purpose but at a cost in terms of a less “sealed home” - so use them sparingly for that AND aesthetics. Also, that laundry room is small for 6 people. And far away from where all the dirty laundry is generated and clean laundry is destined! We had a smaller one for a family of 6 growing up but again...entire house was about 2/3 of your main floor. And while there were more constraints in our case if you are building a house this size I assume you have budget to hire an architect and make a plan that really works for your family and works with - not against land. I am in no way someone who “architect only” (we are not using one - we went with a modified plan from a local “mid-sized” builder) but again with that land and a healthy budget - it is worth it to get an architect involved.