In my above post the first floor plan is the original and the second is our redesign. Also, here is the upstairs floor plan as well.

Seems like the front elevation would be better without the gables. Shed dormers instead.

Maybe not such big cat ears?

OR another peak?

What is the tiny window in the "notch" between the ears? just light in the foyer? because I think I'd just do a single gable in the front, and you can put a skylight into the atrium on one side or the other of the peak.

Maybe consider shed style dormers with cedar shakes. Since you mention cat ears I cannot unsee them now. Love my cats but oh boy!

Sorry I see nothing about that exterior that I love way too much stuff going on and I have no clue as to your styel but to me this looks gothic and not in a good way.

Oh my, I can never unsee the cat ears now. 😸 They absolutely must go. @BeverlyFLADeziner plan is much classier and classic. Not too sure about the eyebrow window above the garage either. Something more in line with whatever style you pick for the overall look would be better.

The gingerbread porch corbels and the craftsman porch post bases...hmmmm pick a lane please. The porch bases look a little oddly shaped too. Same with the chimney pot. Nice touch but not sure of the style. There's just far too many roof planes going on at the same time. Not sure of your long term budget but reroofing that as shown is quite expensive.

Can you go more New England coastal like this without the widow's walk? Stone on lower level but the porch pillars are more classic. This one sort of has a cat slide roof on the right, lol.

What's your building site like?

What direction will the house face?

Who will be living there?

And your redesign needs a redesign.

"This is the house plan we love."

There is a better love out there for you.

Consider hiring a local architect to help design a home that meets your needs and fits your site.

Ugh, you left the kitchen in the middle of the house! Kitchens look and feel much nicer if they have windows.

Thank you everyone for your input so far. I’m going to try to answer a few questions. I tend to be drawn to craftsman, colonial, traditional. The house will face north. The back of the house will be on water, a large creek that spills into a bay. The house will sit on an acre of land. The lot is in a subdivision, most of the homes are not waterfront and are definitely traditional style homes, thus a lake house style or beach house style would look out of place.

There's really no point until you firm up your floor plans with a licensed architect. So much of the layout of the bedrooms should be changed, and that will greatly influence what happens to the exterior.

Design all sides of a house at the same time, each side with the same amount of attention.

Just looking at the roof plan of the first story extension hurts the eyes. The amount of money wasted on crazy framing will be astronomical. What drew you to this plan? What do you love about it?

How about keeping the two car garage and just expanding the kitchen/laundry room/pantry into the area where the one car garage is now?

That house is none of the styles you like so maybe explain what you love . By the time you get this one right you culd have got an architect to actually design a house you love

Your change requires a humongeous (as in very large) additional roof which will dominate the front elevation. My intuition is that it will be very large, very unattractive and very expensive.

Floor plans, roof plans and sections have to be designed as one, not consectively, one at a time. It's a common mistake by consumers to make unilateral changes to floor plans and then ask for help to make the elevations attractive. It is usually difficult, if not impossible.

You will be money and time ahead if your work with an experienced architect, or find a plan that does not take substantial modification.

Good luck!

The plan is not good. I post this all the time. Anything in bold truly needs to be rethought.

The best homes are designed to suit the site and are a marriage of a well designed interior and exterior.

The best houses come in at or under the design target square footage

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. (And no, dining areas with windows 10' or more from the kitchen will not allow for natural light.)

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

The best houses do not have diagonal interior walls making for odd spaces.

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 public areas.

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

The best houses have separation, such as closets, between bedrooms and between bedrooms and public rooms.

The best houses do not have roofs that are overly large, and dominate the exterior of the house.

The best houses do not have stick on exterior materials only on the front façade.

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. Meaning they don’t have meandering circulation paths.

The best houses design the inside, the outside and how the house sits on the site all at the same time.

I tend to be drawn to craftsman, colonial, traditional.

Well then have one of those designed by a talented architect. What you show is not any of the above. It's a bad mish-mosh.

I understand how much fun it is to play around with floor-plans and elevations. I do it myself. I think you may be missing some opportunities with this one. § This plan appears to designed for a narrow lot. There are very few windows on the east and west façades, and those are mostly in bathrooms or maybe a closet. You are lucky enough to have an acre lot. Does that acre not offer attractive east or west views? Are you allocating space appropriately to take advantage of the water view? (Thinking about the TV room.) § As asked before, what are the things you like about this floor-plan? Besides the exterior and the garage, what other changes do you want to make? Is two single-car garages the better plan, or could you instead nix the current single-car garage for your other wishes? (My neighbor would probably go back to a double garage — if he could.) § At some point, you might be better off taking this plan to an architect, and pointing out the things you like and dislike about it. That could be a good starting point for what your needs/wants/desires are. § Good luck with this exciting / exhausting / and ultimately gratifying (I hope) journey.

"We will obviously be taking this all to a professional,"

What should be obvious is that there is nothing to be gained by us to competing with your architect since we have so little information about the site and your lifestyle and the internet design is so awful.

If you are just in the dreaming stage, consider dreaming in this direction.

Meyer May House by Frank Lloyd Wright, Grand Rapids, Michigan

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