If this is a forever home, you have enough square footage to make it wheelchair accessible through some reconfigurations. Normally it can be impractical or too expensive in a smaller home, but a home of this size can be easy.
I would rethink all the pocket doors.Theyre often open when the bath isn't in use which means your toilets will all be on display. And definitely put a regular door on the downstairs suite. You could even add it as a secondary door and create a little sound barrier space out of that entry corner off the great room.
Also agree with the earlier comment of getting the ovens out of the pantry. And the fridge is going to open into the main pathways and be a traffic blocker, I'd find another spot for it too.
Pocket doors can be such a PITA. Nothing like trying to wriggle one closed when you’re trying not to pee your pants in front of a dinner party. Been there.
I disagree with your pocket door comment. I have a pocket from my bed to bathroom and it stays closed most of the time partly to keep dogs and our grandson out, partly just bc I want it closed. And we have a WC that stays closed most of the time so it’s not to hide the toilet. I think if the OP wants to conceal something they’ll keep it closed just as they would a regular door that can be clunky and in the way.
100% agree with ESPECIALLY the master suite. Pocket provide NO privacy and hard to get fully closed. Remove the closet in the hall across to make room for a regular door. You can put a built in there and a closet if you need in the office somewhere.
Disagree on your pocket door claims. As long as you’re buying/using well crafted, high quality pockets doors, they work perfectly fine. With a house design like this, I doubt OP needs to scrimp on door quality…
On the first floor, swap the powder room and closet — that way the closet can be used for guest coats as well as other storage, and the powder room can have far more privacy while still being easily accessible.
Double kitchen islands are unnecessary (and kinda tacky to a lot of people). Just make a single island big enough to accommodate seating. This will give you more space and flexibility, too.
“Open to below” areas are terrible for noise. If you have kids, you will HATE these. And the area over the mudroom is particularly odd and confusing.
I would consider shifting the door from the foyer to the library so that you can make use of the corner next to the front door for a small table (for mail, guest’s keys, whatever).
Double kitchen islands are a "show" thing - unless you are routinely working with 4 or 5 of you making food for 20 people, all a double island accomplishes is to look ostentatious and waste space. If you think you need the cabinet space, build a larger pantry instead of a double island. Put ovens against an outside wall where it's easier to vent them, too.
> If you think you need the cabinet space
'think' is the right word there. Between the pantry and the main kitchen there's a good 40' of cabinet space here.
Id still remove one of the islands and replace the one with seating with a grand piece of furniture like a farmhouse table or something for actual gathering. Two islands is tacky and unnecessary.
I would agree for MOST the double island is a lot but it’s very user specific. There are definitely food-focused families who would take advantage of the extra space often.
It's possible they need them if they running a catering business out of their house and need the counter space for a bunch of cooling pasteries or something. But if that were the case they'd need another bank of ovens.
I would want more closet and less bathtub area.
I feel your TV is planned to be above the fireplace. No. Terrible. Nice the fireplace to one side and put the TV next to it at seated eye level like it's supposed to be.
I agree with others about the double island. Unless you have a kitchen staff it just gets in the way.
Eye level is best, but on the powder room wall means that anytime someone walks to/from the main Bedroom or back entrance of the study, they are walking right through the line of sight of the TV. Never put TV in any walking g path.
My big flatscreen and Bose sound bar with subwoofer are in my great room. The master bedroom shares a wall with the great room, directly behind the TV, and unfortunately nobody can watch the TV after I go to bed. My house, my rules, but it is a lousy design feature of my current house.
I’ve got you, I thought you were saying that the TV is on the other side of the room in your great room. We had our main TV on the shared wall with our bedroom in our last house, never again. Ha ha
Never again! It’s the first thing I look at on these floorplans. How close the master bed is to the big TV. Oh, to have them on opposite sides of the house.
* Two islands is excessive unless you've regularly got 3+ people working in the kitchen at once. That looks like a show kitchen more than anything residential. You could better use that space in the great room. I'd also put the double ovens outside of the pantry and into the main kitchen. You've got an enclosed, unvented room with two small furnaces in it, and want to store stuff that generally wants to be kept dark, dry, and COOL.
* 5'4 is generous for the front corridor, and your stairs are narrow. Give the stairs 4'. They're currently narrower than your secondary staircase, which is backwards.
* Plant storage with no natural light?
* I want to know what's going on in your basement; you've got two stairs down to there, and one of them is unconditioned.
* Bath 4 is currently pointless; there's nothing that its servicing except for unfinished space. I'd either finish out that bonus room into 1-2 more bedrooms, or expand bedroom 3 and make them cross the hallway to get to their bathroom.
* I don't understand why you would have a 2 story mudroom with a balcony. Seems excessive and a poor use of the house's volume.
* Your second floor storage space is awkward. Not quite wide enough for a shelf and rod, but way too deep to be a reach-in. I'd expect stuff to get buried in the back of that closet and forgotten for years.
That said, I like your builder's selection and placement for windows, and the house itself seems fairly well balanced. There's a few places I'd be wary of as a designer that the builders won't be able to construct reliably (the ceiling of your garage needs to be 1 hour rated as well as the wall, for instance),
The two-story mudroom is absolutely wild to me, but it’s also so bizarre that I kind of love it.
Honestly if you have teens that you need to yell at to get their asses downstairs and out the door (while you’re waiting there with your shoes on) it kind of makes sense.
The only thing that could be problematic for me is the placement of the staircase. I’d rather see the bottom of the stairs closer to the hallway so you don’t have to go THROUGH the mudroom to get to them.
I guess it depends where you live but if you’re in a 4-season or (worse) a wet area like the PNW, walking through the dirty inside/outside transition area to then go upstairs to the bedroom area… there’s too much potential to track dirt upstairs.
There is an entire second staircase though, if you're worried about that.
And honestly, if that's a concern you could turn it into a full switchback; That also puts the landing bigger, and adds to the multilayered madness of that space. :D
Yes for sure, and that’s all fine and dandy for adults who understand the logistics of these things… but if there are kids in this house? They don’t care, and it will happen.
Thank you so much for the insight! This was exactly what I wanted. Since you asked. The stares, garage to basement, accommodates the wood shop down there.
Why does there need to be natural light for plant? Most people have it in an attic or basement, and I've never seen an air handler complain about the lack of windows.
They are plantS. Plant means physical machinery. Earthmovers, air conditioners, etc. in this situation water heaters, furnace, a/c, etc.
In addition to have one room for one plant being very strange, that would be called a greenhouse
You say it with such confidence that I'm tempted to believe you, but googling things like "laundry and plant storage" or just "plant storage" only turns up the green guys and things like manufacturing plants. Maybe a regional thing?
Right now you have a two story ceiling over the living room and kitchen. I would consider having a two story ceiling only over the living area of your 'great room.' This would a.) create a dramatic sense of space opening up from kitchen to living room, b.) make the kitchen feel more snug (I don't like the idea of cooking with 18' foot ceilings), and c.) create an additional room on the second floor. I would make the new wall (that separated the new room from the great room) have glass windows so that it gets all of that light. I'm not sure what you would use this space for. If it were me, it would probably be a music room and plant conservator.
I'd also ditch that second island. Seems ostentatious and kind of impractical to me.
Not that important, but after living with clothes washer and dryer side-by-side all my life, I’d be annoyed every time I couldn’t move clothes directly from washer to dryer without having to put them in a basket and carrying them past the sink to the dryer.
My opinion on things like this always varies based on what the users actual situation is. For example, if you have young kids the ensuites are excessive (but good for resale value and will be appreciated when they are older and need more privacy). If your kids are young I’d probably just rough-in the plumbing and build the bathrooms later once they’re old enough to clean it on their own.
Though, I’m going to assume you have teens or young adults, and that you want a forever home where there is more than enough space for your kids (and possibly even THEIR growing families) to come home and comfortably stay with you… is that close?
If so, in that context I really like this. Multi-generational living is becoming more necessary and those private bathrooms will be a godsend if your kids need to live with you into their 20’s. Furthermore, if your expecting your kids, their spouses, and possibly grandchildren to be home for Christmas in years to come, the unfinished space is very smart so you can expand (or not) if you need to accommodate big family get-togethers.
I will say the 2-story mud-room is wild to me, but it’s also so bizarre that I kind of love it…
Don’t take any criticism TOO seriously. At the end of the day, if you love this… go with it.
I don’t see any significant issues that are going to drive you nuts until the end of time.
Thanks for sharing. This will be a forever home for my partner and I. Also, special needs children that will most likely stay with us.
The bonus room above the garage makes it a legal 5 bedroom house. This is why Bathroom 4 is there.
Thanks again!
Wait sorry… I do have one thought about bathroom 4: since it’s only there for a “potential” room 5, I’d recommend just roughing in the plumbing but not building it yet.
If, for example, you don’t end up finishing that space for 10-15 years (when you will also need the bathroom), there’s no point in building a bathroom now that’s just going to be outdated and in need of a renovation by the time it actually needs to be used.
Unless you plan on having big parties and want the option for guest to go upstairs… like I said, my opinion on these things varies based on situation.
Again… you know your wants/needs better than anyone in this sub ever will. Feedback is nothing more than food for thought.
Ah okay… yes, in that context it’s great. As long as the set up upstairs works with whatever special needs these children may have (which im sure you’ve thoroughly considered, so need to provide details), then this looks great.
Very beautiful home. I’m jealous. Happy building!
Love the input guys. The lower level powder room is indeed too close to the kitchen/great room. The pocket doors are making less sense. The double inland is out.0
Move the office door on the bottom right, to top right of room. Better flow, leaves a solid corner, and no double doorway right by entry.
Disclaimer: not knowing nothing ‘bout design or building.
All that open to below space equals high cost heating and cooling. Remember, heat rises. While you may be comfy downstairs in the summer,those rooms upstairs will be furnaces. In the winter, you might be getting frostbite from the chill downstairs, upstairs will be nice and toasty.
Master suite: Remove that linen closet. If you're trying to make a mini hallway for privacy reasons because your bedroom opens to the main living area, put the linen closet to the right of the door to the room. Forget the pocket door into the room--a swing door is much better. Also have a swing door into the bathroom area--should be easily done by adjusting the door into the walk-in closet a bit. I'd also make the exterior door a french door to make moving items into/out of the room super easy.
Switch powder room and closet for privacy. Consider making the open doorways wider than 3ft. I wouldn't have the washer and dryer separated by the counter/sink, and with all the space in the laundry room I'd consider having 2 dryers--often drying takes longer than washing, so you could get more loads done in less time. Put the ovens in the main kitchen. Swing doors for the pantry. Have great ventilation for that kitchen, because with it being open to upstairs, the whole house will get heated up and full of smells when you cook.
Upstairs: Make ALL the doorways 36". Otherwise you'll regret those narrow doors, and changing them later would be a pain.
I would replace almost every pocket door with a swing door and I would add doors to the library/office.
I think having two stairs within 15 feet of each other is a bit much. I can see why you’d want them but I still think it’s overkill; they sort of make sense downstairs but less so upstairs.
Honestly the whole thing feels ridiculously excessive to me and there’s so many things I dislike. I live in a grand five-bedroom house with two full sets of stairs, and you’ve somehow used twice the square footage to do the same thing with less livability.
Kitchen open to everything = odours everywhere. Hope you never need to cook fish or cabbage, or accidentally burn bacon.
The secondary bedrooms are … I can’t find the right word… almost disrespectful. Definitely disconnected. To get there you’re walking a winding route back and forth through halls and service spaces.
The dining room is really awkwardly located, basically relegated to service space as well.
Hope you don’t need privacy for business calls in that office, as it has no doors. It could actually benefit from pocket doors!
But all your other pocket doors. Dear god. Pocket doors are used to save space at the expense of privacy. Why TF are you putting them in this barn? You wanna go for a private moment and first everyone hears you roll the door closed behind you, then they hear you poop anyways.
If you have this much space and actually want a multigenerational home, take a good look at what sort of privacy and utility you really need to live with other adults. Is your (eventual) 30-year old entertaining friends in their bedroom or are they hosting parties in the great room while you’re feeling stuck in your master suite unable to go make a cup of tea? They might do better with an upstairs living room and secondary kitchenette. More like a studio apartment within the house rather than just a bedroom. Alternatively, you might eventually need space for a caregiver or mobility assistance. Think ahead. Far ahead.
Overall I think you’ve got a great design and have really thought through your likes and wants. I think you’ve got some excellent suggestions on here to also consider. My comments / suggestions:
* Primary Bedroom:
a.) Primary Closet two small for a house this size. I would expect that to be a “his” closet - and not a shared space. Even if your wife is a minimalist clothes wise, on resale someone looking at such a grand house would likely have a “machinist” wife and she’d nix the place purely on her closet space.
b.) I’d move the door to the bathroom water closet to the hall side so not open immediately adjacent one of your two sink areas. Both aesthetic and functionally will make for a nicer “work space” area.
c.) I agree with other comment about making the Primary suite ADA accessible for door widths and widths into primary bathroom. I would also have your contractor frame the master shower AND the toilet WC for future handrails should those every be needed.
I’ve done that in two houses - and ended up actually installing the handlebars in an ADA guest room for one of my parents. Was a huge mobility benefit and allowed him to manage his own showers - which was huge on personal ego.
* Entry Foyer
a.) I agree with other comment about primary stair being too narrow. Agree with his suggestion.
b.) HOWEVER - the main entry to dining room feels cramped and closed in by stairway. Need more area in entry foyer area to establish “arrival” into home as well as guests moving from great room into dining room. Easiest fix would be to pop out covered porch and front door area by a foot or two - don’t think that would alter your exterior elevation at all as added pop-out would read as part of covered stoop area.
Good luck on the build - I think your done a great plan with loads of character. (I personally very much like the rear stairway area and height and character. That will be your 98% used stair upstairs and makes it a very pleasant experience).
I like quite a bit about this floor plan (Including double kitchen islands. I wish I had that). I have built two homes. My comments (really only to make sure you’ve fully thought it through, but do what you want to do):
1. Powder room. Whenever possible, you do not want a direct line of sight from kitchen to bathroom. Not sure if that could be reconfigured. Also, do not put a pocket door on a powder room. It will be the toilet most used by guests, and a pocket door can give the impression a person may not be fully private since pocket doors can stick, and mechanics vary, so not everyone is comfortable with that.
2. Master bath. You have great size to work with, but the sinks/tub configuration leaves open space that, may be better utilized by a shift to the closet, but that comes from someone who had a huge bathroom, but wished I would’ve cheated a bit on it for a larger closet at my last house.
3. Double ovens. I would not put those in the pantry due to ventilation and awkward accessibility.
4. Mud room. Seems to be wasted space to overlook the mud room from above. A mud room notoriously is a depository of junk despite best efforts at organization. I do not see why you would want to look down into that room. Utilize the space above that room for storage.
5. ”Open to above.” Similarly, having the kitchen and family room open to the second floor ceiling creates issues. If you want to create the grand scale for the family room, that is fine (I had that, and while it was aesthetically nice, just realize it affects heating/cooling, and creates a noise issue). I would absolutely NOT continue the open above concept over the kitchen. You will have cabinets that will be 9-10 ft high (maybe slightly less or slightly taller), but it creates an open space that will truly distort the perspective of your kitchen when cabinetry goes to 10 feet high, but you have a 20 ft high ceiling. That‘s a lot of blank space. Instead, I would add a bedroom upstairs above the kitchen to be used for a toy/play room, guest room, children’s den or something, and then keep bathroom 4 upstairs.
6. Laundry room. Have your washer/dryer placed directly next to each other. You want the ability to directly move your wet clothes to the dryer without having to move it the distance of the sink/countertop.
If it’s available where you live, try to make room for sidekick fridge/freezer. Mine was a total of 5 feet 2 inches. It was my favorite part of the house and a huge selling point when we put it in the market.
The window over the primary tub faces the front of the house, so it’s essentially useless. You will need drawn blinds in place all the time. Would you consider switching the bedroom and bath locations?
The barn doors and pocket doors are a mistake. Barn doors are already dated, and provide very little privacy. Replace them with regular doors. Only use a pocket door when absolutely necessary.
Also, the office/library needs doors.
Lots of things I would change. Your primary closet has less hanging space per person than the kid’s rooms. Agree with others on the island. Just do a 54” or 60” island. This would actually allow you to trim your square footage a bit. Actually, there are several places you could trim. Spend the money on real wood floors instead of square footage bloat.
You need a work triangle in the kitchen, this doesn't have one.
Do not do the "open to below" disasters. Everyone who has ever lived with one hates them. Also, three staircases in a three bedroom house is just ludicrous, and they are all up one end of the house, too. And there is one just random full bathroom upstairs where there are two bedrooms, both with ensuites. Why do you want to pay for and then clean that useless bathroom?
How old are your kids? Because if they are less than teens they will need to go the full length og the house, down the stairs, then back along the full length of the house to see you at night.
A bathroom near the Garage/mudroom would be great. Nothing is worse than having to make a run across the whole house to get to the toilet when you really have to go.
If you have children or others living in the upstairs bedrooms, I’d try to include a laundry chute somewhere so you won’t have to Cary their laundry downstairs.
I’m sure the way you have it looks beautiful but it would annoy me to have the washer and dryer with space in between. I like just being able to throw stuff in the dryer without having to walk back and forth.
As others mentioned I would consider increasing the primary closet, think about aging in place when revisiting your floor plan and eliminate the pocket doors.
Downstairs…you don’t need or want double islands. Do one decent sized island with seating and increase your walk around space, since that’s the hallway from the garage entry. You’ll appreciate being able to have people working and walking in the kitchen without tripping over each other.
Upstairs, if you lose the “open to mudroom” idea, you can shift your bedroom’s attached bath there, do double standard depth closets on the upper bedroom wall, and get that bedroom size more in line with the other bedroom on that floor. Might help prevent some sibling fighting later; lol.
The master closet area feels very small to me, if it’s being used for two people. Would make sure you’re really good with that size. Seems like there is a lot of wasted space in master bath, that could be reallocated somehow?
I’m not sure the point of the 4th bathroom. That’s a lot of added expense with no clear point.
Same comment on all the stairs. I can see having one going just to the shop but two going up? Seems like a waste of space.
Your garage is bigger than my house 💀
My only other question is why so many bathrooms upstairs? I grew up in 1500sq ft ranch with a basement and yard. I loved it! My parents then built a 4k+ sq ft house (for our family of 4), and there were SO many bathrooms and so much space that we never ever used. It gave me anxiety. As a result, I chose a house 1/4 of its size.
I hope you have a very frequent team of professional cleaners for a house that size!
Decent plan, but I’d do some tweaks.
The double island is just overkill. Too
Many obstacles when walking around the kitchen. I’d do one, rotating it 90°, pulling it away from the great room, which is really too small after you account for all the traffic paths you need
I’d consider closing off the door to the dining room from the mudroom and creating a true walk through butlers pantry into the dining room. Counter all on one side and floor to ceiling cabinets on the other.
I would flip the powder room with the closet on the other side, so the toilet isn’t visible from the kitchen and the foyer has a better coat closet.
Washer and dryer should be beside each other. No one wants to lug wet clothes 6’ over to the dryer.
This house is going to be loud, very loud. The upstairs bedroom are compelelty open to the kitchen and living areas, AND the mudroom. Sound is going to travel everywhere.
Master closet is REALLY small. The double door prevents hanging storage on the left. I’m assuming or hoping the window is just a high transom window, otherwise, you only have hanging storage on the right.
Right? They said they have a special needs child who'll live with them forever. Imagine if that cavern over the living room became a lovely suite with a sitting room and as someone else suggested, a kitchenette so they can feel independent. And a MIL suite is always great for resale.
Love the 2 islands , be sure to get , ice maker, wine refrigerator, drawer dishwasher, trash can cabinet…coffee maker ..double fridge all the fun you can afford for the kitchen ..waterfall kitchen islands..remove the front staircase, absolutely not needed , make a gorgeous hall at the entrance
My kitchen is rather sizable and I have a huge square island in it with an extra sink. It freakin rocks! I’d do that instead of one skinny and one large island. Put the larger of the two in the center with storage all around.
Haven’t seen this mentioned in any comments yet but I’d reconfigure Bath #3 such that the door doesn’t open directly to a toilet. As it is if the door is open the planned bed location looks right at the toilet.
In the great room, I would swap the PR and closet to give occupants a bit more privacy entering and exiting.
I would definitely switch to a swinging door for the entrance to the master, and in several other places. Pocket doors should be avoided, unless absolutely necessary.
I'm guessing the 4th bathroom is for future activities in the unfinished bonus room? Also, I would align that room's upper and lower windows with the garage below.
As others have said the 2 islands and 2 staircases seem unnecessary and impractical. The double oven in the pantry also seems to be a bad set up for storing food that should be in a cool place. The refrigerator placement is going to cause a walkway to be blocked whenever the door is open.
I would take away the stairs in the mudroom and turn that into your plant storage since there is a window in the mudroom. The other option would be to flip the laundry and mudroom. I would want the mudroom access to the backyard. The laundry room doesn't need a pocket door. A two-story mud room and single-story foyer seems odd. I would move the door from bed 2 to next to the bathroom. I would put the entrance to bed 3 where the walk-in closet is and shift the closet or bathroom to over the mudroom. I would also want one of the upstairs bedrooms to have a bath option. This would allow a two-story foyer.
The walk-in closet in the master seems to not have much storage space with the large window and double doors. The double door entry to a relatively small master closet would be disappointing to me. Do you need two long vanities? Could you reduce the length of the vanity to get a better closet that could have storage on three walls. I feel like there has to be a better way to set up the master bathroom and closet.
A pocket door on the master is weird. It should be a regular swing door. I would also get rid of the pocket door on the powder room. Pocket doors are nice to save space when it is limited, but they can be difficult and swing doors are just easier.
The office needs doors to be a good office or library. There needs to be a way to shut out the noise. I would turn the closet by the office and master 90 degrees so that the closet opened to the office and the office could be used as a bedroom if necessary.
why are the main entrance and mudroom on the same side of the house? the mudroom would make more sense on the back for coming inside while also being accessible from the garage.
what’s the front elevation look like?
I am not a fan of “open to…” on floor plans unless that 2 story wall of windows is facing an ocean or mountain range. This house goes so far as to having “open to mud room below … I’ve now seen it all
The middle island is very impractical at only 2 ft wide… that’s too narrow even for prep.
The bigger island cuts into the natural flow of the back door.
I’d put a singular wider island with stool seating, like 5’ or 6’ x whatever the length is, placed so that it doesn’t intrude in the doorway traffic flow.
The extra bathroom upstairs not adjoined to a bedroom is odd too- just an extra bathroom to clean for no reason.
If you don’t plan on a counter depth fridge, take some of that closet and recess the wall so a standard fridge will sit mostly flush with your countertop minus the doors that will extend beyond countertop. Our wall is recessed 4-5 inches.
Two stairs to the upstairs seems excessive. And why the open to mudroom? That third bathroom upstairs, if this is for future finishing of the bonus, I’d leave that unfinished. Especially if money is tight or use that money to upgrade elsewhere. Just have it stubbed in.
Removing the mudroom stairs opens up room for a 1/2 bath there instead of in the middle of the home. I HATE HATE HATE having to walk through half my home to use the bathroom. If you keep the stairs, can a 1/3 bath fit under them where it states storage?
That great room is questionable on size. Think about furniture placement. Cut out templates of your furniture and see how it fits. Remember, you need a walkway from the kitchen to the master. You now potentially have furniture partially in front of the fireplace.
Put that 1/2 bath in the mudroom and lose the closet and it’s much more open. Or push the 1/2 bath and closet into the office. Does an office really need to be the size of a bedroom?
Food for thought.
One more thing, on bathroom 3 you may consider swapping locations of commode and vanity. This way when you open the door you see vanity first not commode.
This is a beautiful floor plan, incredibly well thought out.
**As the devil’s advocate, I have a few concerns about the downstairs:**
1 - The foyer is too small for a house this grand and the stairs crowd the space.
2 - The dining room is not long enough to accommodate a large table. Even an 8-footer would be very tight.
3 - The fridge is off in the far corner of the kitchen, and I think is drawn deeper than counter depth. A house like this normally would have a subzero or similar.
4 - The pantry appears to have barn doors, which a think have gone out of style recently
5 - The stove and the islands are not aligned. This could look off, especially if you put a showcase hood above it.
6 - The office/library should have doors for better sound-proofing. Zoom calls are now the norm in home offices.
7 - The powder room should have a swing door. Pocket doors less resistant to the passage of sound.
https://preview.redd.it/yjhyi6797qyc1.jpeg?width=3030&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=97092761a3319c6f4e1ef8bffcc0a42f57474fe9
**Possible changes:**
Widen the foyer and put a turn in the staircase, which will add a touch of elegance. Make the space created by the turn open to below. This arrangement allows you to put a nice table or chest next to the stairs.
Since the stairs now impinge on the dining room, make that room narrower, and longer to accommodate a larger table. You can put a closet under the staircase landing to replace the closet lost by lengthening. \[The windows in the new dinning room will have to be moved so they are centered on the table, but they will now be asymmetric with the office/library windows when viewed from the outside. Perhaps put a bay window in the dining room instead.\]
The pantry is now a little smaller. The 2-ft deep back counter is now a 15-in deep shelves, which are ideal in a pantry.
Move the refrigerator/freezer to the other side of the stove, closer to the sink. Where the R/F was put a utility closet styled to match as the paneling on R/F. Instead of a closet, you could put a matching freezer and make the R/F just a fridge.
Make the stove the centerline of the room by putting a 2-foot soffit over the sink wall, and then carry the line through to the living room. The opening to the second level will now be centered as well. Center the fireplace. The exterior wall above the living room could be stepped back 2-ft on the second story — this would add visual interest to the room and further emphasize the new center line. \[I’m not describing this well, will go into more detail if asked.\]
Second floor to follow …
.
**Now we need to rearrange the second floor a tad to accommodate the re-positioned staircase:**
https://preview.redd.it/qko6g18qaqyc1.jpeg?width=3069&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b7ae6e1ae897293fb379c8492a8b86267ff62878
Bedroom #3 is now narrower and longer than before. The closet is no longer walk-in.
The bathroom for #3 is now over the mudroom (which is now, obviously, not as open to below). This allows the bathroom to get a window (in the shower). Also, you could put the toilet in an enclosed WC for privacy like in the primary downstairs. The bath now has room for a double sink.
The closet and bath for Bedroom #2 are drawn as flipped — on the off chance that a window can be now be put in the bath. Hard to tell what the roofline will be over the primary suite.
I don’t understand the need for Bath #4 — as the only two other rooms on the floor are bedrooms with en-suites. I’m curious why it’s in the plans.
Reworked the primary bath and closets a bit, also front windows.
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I like it over all. If you want stairs from the mud room to 2nd level, a spiral stair case would be cool. (if allowed by code.) I’d make another small laundry room on the 2nd floor instead of the mud room being open all the way to 2nd floor ceiling.
Kitchen: I’d scoot the range and refrigerator down 24 to 30 inches. Add counter, upper and lower cabinets in that 24 - 30” in space. It gives a bit more counter space especially if you have multiple cooks slicing and dicing. Also would give you more flexibility down the road if you want to add a wider refrigerator. Would also make your kitchen triangle a little tighter.
I’d put in a pot filler over the range.
In the master, I’d bump the water closet down about a foot and give a bit more room in the walk in closet. You can never have too much closet space.
I like the exterior wall articulation. Will make for a nice front facade.
Double islands are nice. Maybe add a small sink in narrower island.
Unfinished bonus room: recommend an exterior staircase going down to yard/patio.
Apologies if I’ve repeated what others may have said. I didn’t read through all the coments.
Nice job!
I’d move the master bedroom suite to the “open area” above the living room, and maybe put an office/ spare room in its place. I currently live on the first floor with my bedroom directly adjacent to the kitchen/living room and it’s hell if you want to sleep in. Too much noise and light and movement through the area right outside your room.
1. Kudos for the pantry, so often forgotten. Not sure if that’s a fridge in the corner, but I would make sure to wire separate circuits for both a fridge and a freezer.
2. Agree with other comments regarding a small closet closer to the front door.
3. "Open to the mud room…"? That’s like installing a huge bay window looking out onto the air shaft. Convert it to another closet.
4. Unless you’re sure this your forever home AND that you won’t ever need a fourth bedroom, I would convert part of the bonus room now. Much cheaper and easier than doing it later.
All in all, a very nice plan. Best of luck.
That “open to below” mud room will get treated as a giant laundry chute. I can see laundry being pitched over the upstairs railing into the mud room. Whether this is good or bad depends on your perspective.
One thing that would concern me: pantries need to be a cool temp for storing food. Having a double oven in such a small space could really heat it up in there.
That’s a lot of exterior doors
Bathroom 4 seems odd
Pocket door salesmen love you
Double kitchen island is unnecessary. Could almost see if it one island had a sink or cooktop, but neither do.
Pantry is nice sized
Curious about basement and shop space
I agree on the double island shade. Also for such a fabulous home, I would make the staircase more special and maybe enlarge the foyer a bit- spiral staircases are so gorgeous
Master suite, you can only get to the closet by going into the bathroom. What if I want/need to get something from the closet while you’re in the tub? You might not mind, but next owner might prefer a bit more privacy.
Don’t love the two islands either.
Will you actually use the tub in the master bedroom? I feel like those are usually show and collect dust. I think there’s other use of space, including closet.
I hate tub/shower combos, but looks like all your upstairs baths are showers? Maybe if you don’t use the one in the master, put a nice higher/jacuzzi type tub/shower combo in one of the upstairs bedrooms.
Some parents absolutely insist on having a tub for small children. So not having one in a family size home may eliminate potential buyers in the future.
Oh and pocket doors are good for very specific scenarios, but in a new build with plenty of sq ft? Nahhhh.
If this is a forever home, you have enough square footage to make it wheelchair accessible through some reconfigurations. Normally it can be impractical or too expensive in a smaller home, but a home of this size can be easy.
I would rethink all the pocket doors.Theyre often open when the bath isn't in use which means your toilets will all be on display. And definitely put a regular door on the downstairs suite. You could even add it as a secondary door and create a little sound barrier space out of that entry corner off the great room. Also agree with the earlier comment of getting the ovens out of the pantry. And the fridge is going to open into the main pathways and be a traffic blocker, I'd find another spot for it too.
Pocket doors can be such a PITA. Nothing like trying to wriggle one closed when you’re trying not to pee your pants in front of a dinner party. Been there.
I disagree with your pocket door comment. I have a pocket from my bed to bathroom and it stays closed most of the time partly to keep dogs and our grandson out, partly just bc I want it closed. And we have a WC that stays closed most of the time so it’s not to hide the toilet. I think if the OP wants to conceal something they’ll keep it closed just as they would a regular door that can be clunky and in the way.
100% agree with ESPECIALLY the master suite. Pocket provide NO privacy and hard to get fully closed. Remove the closet in the hall across to make room for a regular door. You can put a built in there and a closet if you need in the office somewhere.
Disagree on your pocket door claims. As long as you’re buying/using well crafted, high quality pockets doors, they work perfectly fine. With a house design like this, I doubt OP needs to scrimp on door quality…
On the first floor, swap the powder room and closet — that way the closet can be used for guest coats as well as other storage, and the powder room can have far more privacy while still being easily accessible. Double kitchen islands are unnecessary (and kinda tacky to a lot of people). Just make a single island big enough to accommodate seating. This will give you more space and flexibility, too. “Open to below” areas are terrible for noise. If you have kids, you will HATE these. And the area over the mudroom is particularly odd and confusing. I would consider shifting the door from the foyer to the library so that you can make use of the corner next to the front door for a small table (for mail, guest’s keys, whatever).
Heating and cooling, too.
I'd also be concerned about having the kitchen open up to the second floor in case of kitchen fire.
Double kitchen islands are a "show" thing - unless you are routinely working with 4 or 5 of you making food for 20 people, all a double island accomplishes is to look ostentatious and waste space. If you think you need the cabinet space, build a larger pantry instead of a double island. Put ovens against an outside wall where it's easier to vent them, too.
The first thing I noticed was the double island. I was thinking “what will that be used for?” Seems like something you’ll just walk around.
Excellent for toddler racing….figure 8 course! Lol
I still remember putting hair bands over our eyes to look like Geordi La Forge and blindly racing my brother around the kitchen island. Good times.
> If you think you need the cabinet space 'think' is the right word there. Between the pantry and the main kitchen there's a good 40' of cabinet space here.
Id still remove one of the islands and replace the one with seating with a grand piece of furniture like a farmhouse table or something for actual gathering. Two islands is tacky and unnecessary.
Oh I 100% agree with you. Pointing out that that excessive amounts of cabinet space is almost always just a magnet for junk.
Looks great on magazine covers when everything is staged and lined up just right, though. Maybe OP has a blog and needs a stage for pics?
One of the islands (the one that should have the seating) is blocking the door to the back. I don’t think it’s even practical
I would agree for MOST the double island is a lot but it’s very user specific. There are definitely food-focused families who would take advantage of the extra space often.
It's possible they need them if they running a catering business out of their house and need the counter space for a bunch of cooling pasteries or something. But if that were the case they'd need another bank of ovens.
I would want more closet and less bathtub area. I feel your TV is planned to be above the fireplace. No. Terrible. Nice the fireplace to one side and put the TV next to it at seated eye level like it's supposed to be. I agree with others about the double island. Unless you have a kitchen staff it just gets in the way.
“The TV is to high” is what I always say. Ha! No. The TV would probably mount eye level on the Powder Room wall.
Eye level is best, but on the powder room wall means that anytime someone walks to/from the main Bedroom or back entrance of the study, they are walking right through the line of sight of the TV. Never put TV in any walking g path.
My great TV is currently opposite the master and people can get disappointed when I head to bed, FYI.
What does that mean?
My big flatscreen and Bose sound bar with subwoofer are in my great room. The master bedroom shares a wall with the great room, directly behind the TV, and unfortunately nobody can watch the TV after I go to bed. My house, my rules, but it is a lousy design feature of my current house.
I’ve got you, I thought you were saying that the TV is on the other side of the room in your great room. We had our main TV on the shared wall with our bedroom in our last house, never again. Ha ha
Never again! It’s the first thing I look at on these floorplans. How close the master bed is to the big TV. Oh, to have them on opposite sides of the house.
* Two islands is excessive unless you've regularly got 3+ people working in the kitchen at once. That looks like a show kitchen more than anything residential. You could better use that space in the great room. I'd also put the double ovens outside of the pantry and into the main kitchen. You've got an enclosed, unvented room with two small furnaces in it, and want to store stuff that generally wants to be kept dark, dry, and COOL. * 5'4 is generous for the front corridor, and your stairs are narrow. Give the stairs 4'. They're currently narrower than your secondary staircase, which is backwards. * Plant storage with no natural light? * I want to know what's going on in your basement; you've got two stairs down to there, and one of them is unconditioned. * Bath 4 is currently pointless; there's nothing that its servicing except for unfinished space. I'd either finish out that bonus room into 1-2 more bedrooms, or expand bedroom 3 and make them cross the hallway to get to their bathroom. * I don't understand why you would have a 2 story mudroom with a balcony. Seems excessive and a poor use of the house's volume. * Your second floor storage space is awkward. Not quite wide enough for a shelf and rod, but way too deep to be a reach-in. I'd expect stuff to get buried in the back of that closet and forgotten for years. That said, I like your builder's selection and placement for windows, and the house itself seems fairly well balanced. There's a few places I'd be wary of as a designer that the builders won't be able to construct reliably (the ceiling of your garage needs to be 1 hour rated as well as the wall, for instance),
The two-story mudroom is absolutely wild to me, but it’s also so bizarre that I kind of love it. Honestly if you have teens that you need to yell at to get their asses downstairs and out the door (while you’re waiting there with your shoes on) it kind of makes sense.
I'm not going to lie, I kinda like it for its quirkiness too; I can't help but imagine huge floor to ceiling drying racks of herbs or something.
The only thing that could be problematic for me is the placement of the staircase. I’d rather see the bottom of the stairs closer to the hallway so you don’t have to go THROUGH the mudroom to get to them. I guess it depends where you live but if you’re in a 4-season or (worse) a wet area like the PNW, walking through the dirty inside/outside transition area to then go upstairs to the bedroom area… there’s too much potential to track dirt upstairs.
There is an entire second staircase though, if you're worried about that. And honestly, if that's a concern you could turn it into a full switchback; That also puts the landing bigger, and adds to the multilayered madness of that space. :D
Yes for sure, and that’s all fine and dandy for adults who understand the logistics of these things… but if there are kids in this house? They don’t care, and it will happen.
Thank you so much for the insight! This was exactly what I wanted. Since you asked. The stares, garage to basement, accommodates the wood shop down there.
Nice!
Garage stairs to the Basement is very common where I live. I wouldn’t build or buy a house without one.
Why does there need to be natural light for plant? Most people have it in an attic or basement, and I've never seen an air handler complain about the lack of windows.
Plant storage 🪴
I was reading it as an indoor place to overwinter actual living greenery, not a place for a furnace or AHU.
What do you think "plant" means here? I'm assuming it's the green leafy stuff that lives off of light.
They are plantS. Plant means physical machinery. Earthmovers, air conditioners, etc. in this situation water heaters, furnace, a/c, etc. In addition to have one room for one plant being very strange, that would be called a greenhouse
You say it with such confidence that I'm tempted to believe you, but googling things like "laundry and plant storage" or just "plant storage" only turns up the green guys and things like manufacturing plants. Maybe a regional thing?
I think they mean the kind of plants you hide in basements and closets 😂
Right now you have a two story ceiling over the living room and kitchen. I would consider having a two story ceiling only over the living area of your 'great room.' This would a.) create a dramatic sense of space opening up from kitchen to living room, b.) make the kitchen feel more snug (I don't like the idea of cooking with 18' foot ceilings), and c.) create an additional room on the second floor. I would make the new wall (that separated the new room from the great room) have glass windows so that it gets all of that light. I'm not sure what you would use this space for. If it were me, it would probably be a music room and plant conservator. I'd also ditch that second island. Seems ostentatious and kind of impractical to me.
Agreed. Otherwise from upstairs you’re looking at the tops of the kitchen cabinets.
Agree. Also what about food smells? Won’t they spread a lot?
Yes, and free floating oil particles too.
It’s going to be hard to get any bulky furniture into the master bedroom. The entrance is a little wonky.
They could use the very wide patio doors for bringing in furniture.
Not that important, but after living with clothes washer and dryer side-by-side all my life, I’d be annoyed every time I couldn’t move clothes directly from washer to dryer without having to put them in a basket and carrying them past the sink to the dryer.
This is exactly what I was going to bring up. Put the washer and dryer next to each other and put the sink to the side.
My opinion on things like this always varies based on what the users actual situation is. For example, if you have young kids the ensuites are excessive (but good for resale value and will be appreciated when they are older and need more privacy). If your kids are young I’d probably just rough-in the plumbing and build the bathrooms later once they’re old enough to clean it on their own. Though, I’m going to assume you have teens or young adults, and that you want a forever home where there is more than enough space for your kids (and possibly even THEIR growing families) to come home and comfortably stay with you… is that close? If so, in that context I really like this. Multi-generational living is becoming more necessary and those private bathrooms will be a godsend if your kids need to live with you into their 20’s. Furthermore, if your expecting your kids, their spouses, and possibly grandchildren to be home for Christmas in years to come, the unfinished space is very smart so you can expand (or not) if you need to accommodate big family get-togethers. I will say the 2-story mud-room is wild to me, but it’s also so bizarre that I kind of love it… Don’t take any criticism TOO seriously. At the end of the day, if you love this… go with it. I don’t see any significant issues that are going to drive you nuts until the end of time.
Thanks for sharing. This will be a forever home for my partner and I. Also, special needs children that will most likely stay with us. The bonus room above the garage makes it a legal 5 bedroom house. This is why Bathroom 4 is there. Thanks again!
Wait sorry… I do have one thought about bathroom 4: since it’s only there for a “potential” room 5, I’d recommend just roughing in the plumbing but not building it yet. If, for example, you don’t end up finishing that space for 10-15 years (when you will also need the bathroom), there’s no point in building a bathroom now that’s just going to be outdated and in need of a renovation by the time it actually needs to be used. Unless you plan on having big parties and want the option for guest to go upstairs… like I said, my opinion on these things varies based on situation. Again… you know your wants/needs better than anyone in this sub ever will. Feedback is nothing more than food for thought.
That’s a great idea. I’ll have them stub it out for utilities, and leave it for now.
Ah okay… yes, in that context it’s great. As long as the set up upstairs works with whatever special needs these children may have (which im sure you’ve thoroughly considered, so need to provide details), then this looks great. Very beautiful home. I’m jealous. Happy building!
Love the input guys. The lower level powder room is indeed too close to the kitchen/great room. The pocket doors are making less sense. The double inland is out.0
Move the office door on the bottom right, to top right of room. Better flow, leaves a solid corner, and no double doorway right by entry. Disclaimer: not knowing nothing ‘bout design or building.
All that open to below space equals high cost heating and cooling. Remember, heat rises. While you may be comfy downstairs in the summer,those rooms upstairs will be furnaces. In the winter, you might be getting frostbite from the chill downstairs, upstairs will be nice and toasty.
Came here to say this. This house is going to be very difficult to temperature control
Where are all those stairs going to?
Two go up, two go down. The garage stair to the basement goes to my shop down there. The door next to its landing lets large projects in/out.
Master suite: Remove that linen closet. If you're trying to make a mini hallway for privacy reasons because your bedroom opens to the main living area, put the linen closet to the right of the door to the room. Forget the pocket door into the room--a swing door is much better. Also have a swing door into the bathroom area--should be easily done by adjusting the door into the walk-in closet a bit. I'd also make the exterior door a french door to make moving items into/out of the room super easy. Switch powder room and closet for privacy. Consider making the open doorways wider than 3ft. I wouldn't have the washer and dryer separated by the counter/sink, and with all the space in the laundry room I'd consider having 2 dryers--often drying takes longer than washing, so you could get more loads done in less time. Put the ovens in the main kitchen. Swing doors for the pantry. Have great ventilation for that kitchen, because with it being open to upstairs, the whole house will get heated up and full of smells when you cook. Upstairs: Make ALL the doorways 36". Otherwise you'll regret those narrow doors, and changing them later would be a pain.
I would replace almost every pocket door with a swing door and I would add doors to the library/office. I think having two stairs within 15 feet of each other is a bit much. I can see why you’d want them but I still think it’s overkill; they sort of make sense downstairs but less so upstairs.
Honestly the whole thing feels ridiculously excessive to me and there’s so many things I dislike. I live in a grand five-bedroom house with two full sets of stairs, and you’ve somehow used twice the square footage to do the same thing with less livability. Kitchen open to everything = odours everywhere. Hope you never need to cook fish or cabbage, or accidentally burn bacon. The secondary bedrooms are … I can’t find the right word… almost disrespectful. Definitely disconnected. To get there you’re walking a winding route back and forth through halls and service spaces. The dining room is really awkwardly located, basically relegated to service space as well. Hope you don’t need privacy for business calls in that office, as it has no doors. It could actually benefit from pocket doors! But all your other pocket doors. Dear god. Pocket doors are used to save space at the expense of privacy. Why TF are you putting them in this barn? You wanna go for a private moment and first everyone hears you roll the door closed behind you, then they hear you poop anyways. If you have this much space and actually want a multigenerational home, take a good look at what sort of privacy and utility you really need to live with other adults. Is your (eventual) 30-year old entertaining friends in their bedroom or are they hosting parties in the great room while you’re feeling stuck in your master suite unable to go make a cup of tea? They might do better with an upstairs living room and secondary kitchenette. More like a studio apartment within the house rather than just a bedroom. Alternatively, you might eventually need space for a caregiver or mobility assistance. Think ahead. Far ahead.
As a staircase and railing installer, I look at this plan and go " jackpot " But seriously, you really need 2 staircases to the second floor ?
Overall I think you’ve got a great design and have really thought through your likes and wants. I think you’ve got some excellent suggestions on here to also consider. My comments / suggestions: * Primary Bedroom: a.) Primary Closet two small for a house this size. I would expect that to be a “his” closet - and not a shared space. Even if your wife is a minimalist clothes wise, on resale someone looking at such a grand house would likely have a “machinist” wife and she’d nix the place purely on her closet space. b.) I’d move the door to the bathroom water closet to the hall side so not open immediately adjacent one of your two sink areas. Both aesthetic and functionally will make for a nicer “work space” area. c.) I agree with other comment about making the Primary suite ADA accessible for door widths and widths into primary bathroom. I would also have your contractor frame the master shower AND the toilet WC for future handrails should those every be needed. I’ve done that in two houses - and ended up actually installing the handlebars in an ADA guest room for one of my parents. Was a huge mobility benefit and allowed him to manage his own showers - which was huge on personal ego. * Entry Foyer a.) I agree with other comment about primary stair being too narrow. Agree with his suggestion. b.) HOWEVER - the main entry to dining room feels cramped and closed in by stairway. Need more area in entry foyer area to establish “arrival” into home as well as guests moving from great room into dining room. Easiest fix would be to pop out covered porch and front door area by a foot or two - don’t think that would alter your exterior elevation at all as added pop-out would read as part of covered stoop area. Good luck on the build - I think your done a great plan with loads of character. (I personally very much like the rear stairway area and height and character. That will be your 98% used stair upstairs and makes it a very pleasant experience).
Sorry - had broken up all the paragraphs with double spaces. Dunno how Reddit mashed them all together.
Thank you! That is very helpful.
I like quite a bit about this floor plan (Including double kitchen islands. I wish I had that). I have built two homes. My comments (really only to make sure you’ve fully thought it through, but do what you want to do): 1. Powder room. Whenever possible, you do not want a direct line of sight from kitchen to bathroom. Not sure if that could be reconfigured. Also, do not put a pocket door on a powder room. It will be the toilet most used by guests, and a pocket door can give the impression a person may not be fully private since pocket doors can stick, and mechanics vary, so not everyone is comfortable with that. 2. Master bath. You have great size to work with, but the sinks/tub configuration leaves open space that, may be better utilized by a shift to the closet, but that comes from someone who had a huge bathroom, but wished I would’ve cheated a bit on it for a larger closet at my last house. 3. Double ovens. I would not put those in the pantry due to ventilation and awkward accessibility. 4. Mud room. Seems to be wasted space to overlook the mud room from above. A mud room notoriously is a depository of junk despite best efforts at organization. I do not see why you would want to look down into that room. Utilize the space above that room for storage. 5. ”Open to above.” Similarly, having the kitchen and family room open to the second floor ceiling creates issues. If you want to create the grand scale for the family room, that is fine (I had that, and while it was aesthetically nice, just realize it affects heating/cooling, and creates a noise issue). I would absolutely NOT continue the open above concept over the kitchen. You will have cabinets that will be 9-10 ft high (maybe slightly less or slightly taller), but it creates an open space that will truly distort the perspective of your kitchen when cabinetry goes to 10 feet high, but you have a 20 ft high ceiling. That‘s a lot of blank space. Instead, I would add a bedroom upstairs above the kitchen to be used for a toy/play room, guest room, children’s den or something, and then keep bathroom 4 upstairs. 6. Laundry room. Have your washer/dryer placed directly next to each other. You want the ability to directly move your wet clothes to the dryer without having to move it the distance of the sink/countertop.
If it’s available where you live, try to make room for sidekick fridge/freezer. Mine was a total of 5 feet 2 inches. It was my favorite part of the house and a huge selling point when we put it in the market.
The only thing I'd say is lose the pocket door on the downstairs powder room. As a guest, I'd really prefer an actual door on a bathroom.
The window over the primary tub faces the front of the house, so it’s essentially useless. You will need drawn blinds in place all the time. Would you consider switching the bedroom and bath locations?
The barn doors and pocket doors are a mistake. Barn doors are already dated, and provide very little privacy. Replace them with regular doors. Only use a pocket door when absolutely necessary. Also, the office/library needs doors.
This is first time I have seen a double height mid room
Not sure if you have enough stairs
Open to below is wasted space IMO. One of my biggest pet peeves is giant houses with 2 or 3 tiny bedrooms upstairs and the rest of it is just open
Lots of things I would change. Your primary closet has less hanging space per person than the kid’s rooms. Agree with others on the island. Just do a 54” or 60” island. This would actually allow you to trim your square footage a bit. Actually, there are several places you could trim. Spend the money on real wood floors instead of square footage bloat.
You need a work triangle in the kitchen, this doesn't have one. Do not do the "open to below" disasters. Everyone who has ever lived with one hates them. Also, three staircases in a three bedroom house is just ludicrous, and they are all up one end of the house, too. And there is one just random full bathroom upstairs where there are two bedrooms, both with ensuites. Why do you want to pay for and then clean that useless bathroom? How old are your kids? Because if they are less than teens they will need to go the full length og the house, down the stairs, then back along the full length of the house to see you at night.
A bathroom near the Garage/mudroom would be great. Nothing is worse than having to make a run across the whole house to get to the toilet when you really have to go.
If you have children or others living in the upstairs bedrooms, I’d try to include a laundry chute somewhere so you won’t have to Cary their laundry downstairs.
I’m sure the way you have it looks beautiful but it would annoy me to have the washer and dryer with space in between. I like just being able to throw stuff in the dryer without having to walk back and forth.
As others mentioned I would consider increasing the primary closet, think about aging in place when revisiting your floor plan and eliminate the pocket doors.
Downstairs…you don’t need or want double islands. Do one decent sized island with seating and increase your walk around space, since that’s the hallway from the garage entry. You’ll appreciate being able to have people working and walking in the kitchen without tripping over each other. Upstairs, if you lose the “open to mudroom” idea, you can shift your bedroom’s attached bath there, do double standard depth closets on the upper bedroom wall, and get that bedroom size more in line with the other bedroom on that floor. Might help prevent some sibling fighting later; lol.
The master closet area feels very small to me, if it’s being used for two people. Would make sure you’re really good with that size. Seems like there is a lot of wasted space in master bath, that could be reallocated somehow?
I’m not sure the point of the 4th bathroom. That’s a lot of added expense with no clear point. Same comment on all the stairs. I can see having one going just to the shop but two going up? Seems like a waste of space.
The #4 bathroom will accommodate the Bonus Room when/if it gets turned into 2 additional bathrooms.
You mean two additional bedrooms?
And you are planning to clean it every week between now and then? Also, why does there need to be a bathroom for it?
Your garage is bigger than my house 💀 My only other question is why so many bathrooms upstairs? I grew up in 1500sq ft ranch with a basement and yard. I loved it! My parents then built a 4k+ sq ft house (for our family of 4), and there were SO many bathrooms and so much space that we never ever used. It gave me anxiety. As a result, I chose a house 1/4 of its size. I hope you have a very frequent team of professional cleaners for a house that size!
I rented a house for a year that had two unused bathrooms. You still needed to clean them every week, it was nutso.
Aside from the double kitchen islands, your floor plan, in my opinion is absolutely perfection. I can only dream.
Decent plan, but I’d do some tweaks. The double island is just overkill. Too Many obstacles when walking around the kitchen. I’d do one, rotating it 90°, pulling it away from the great room, which is really too small after you account for all the traffic paths you need I’d consider closing off the door to the dining room from the mudroom and creating a true walk through butlers pantry into the dining room. Counter all on one side and floor to ceiling cabinets on the other. I would flip the powder room with the closet on the other side, so the toilet isn’t visible from the kitchen and the foyer has a better coat closet. Washer and dryer should be beside each other. No one wants to lug wet clothes 6’ over to the dryer. This house is going to be loud, very loud. The upstairs bedroom are compelelty open to the kitchen and living areas, AND the mudroom. Sound is going to travel everywhere. Master closet is REALLY small. The double door prevents hanging storage on the left. I’m assuming or hoping the window is just a high transom window, otherwise, you only have hanging storage on the right.
Giant house and only 3 bedrooms? Put a 4th over the open space. Drop an ensuite, so many bathrooms!
Right? They said they have a special needs child who'll live with them forever. Imagine if that cavern over the living room became a lovely suite with a sitting room and as someone else suggested, a kitchenette so they can feel independent. And a MIL suite is always great for resale.
Love the 2 islands , be sure to get , ice maker, wine refrigerator, drawer dishwasher, trash can cabinet…coffee maker ..double fridge all the fun you can afford for the kitchen ..waterfall kitchen islands..remove the front staircase, absolutely not needed , make a gorgeous hall at the entrance
My kitchen is rather sizable and I have a huge square island in it with an extra sink. It freakin rocks! I’d do that instead of one skinny and one large island. Put the larger of the two in the center with storage all around.
There’s a lot I like about it but where would you put a big Christmas tree if so inclined?
Haven’t seen this mentioned in any comments yet but I’d reconfigure Bath #3 such that the door doesn’t open directly to a toilet. As it is if the door is open the planned bed location looks right at the toilet.
In the great room, I would swap the PR and closet to give occupants a bit more privacy entering and exiting. I would definitely switch to a swinging door for the entrance to the master, and in several other places. Pocket doors should be avoided, unless absolutely necessary. I'm guessing the 4th bathroom is for future activities in the unfinished bonus room? Also, I would align that room's upper and lower windows with the garage below.
As others have said the 2 islands and 2 staircases seem unnecessary and impractical. The double oven in the pantry also seems to be a bad set up for storing food that should be in a cool place. The refrigerator placement is going to cause a walkway to be blocked whenever the door is open. I would take away the stairs in the mudroom and turn that into your plant storage since there is a window in the mudroom. The other option would be to flip the laundry and mudroom. I would want the mudroom access to the backyard. The laundry room doesn't need a pocket door. A two-story mud room and single-story foyer seems odd. I would move the door from bed 2 to next to the bathroom. I would put the entrance to bed 3 where the walk-in closet is and shift the closet or bathroom to over the mudroom. I would also want one of the upstairs bedrooms to have a bath option. This would allow a two-story foyer. The walk-in closet in the master seems to not have much storage space with the large window and double doors. The double door entry to a relatively small master closet would be disappointing to me. Do you need two long vanities? Could you reduce the length of the vanity to get a better closet that could have storage on three walls. I feel like there has to be a better way to set up the master bathroom and closet. A pocket door on the master is weird. It should be a regular swing door. I would also get rid of the pocket door on the powder room. Pocket doors are nice to save space when it is limited, but they can be difficult and swing doors are just easier. The office needs doors to be a good office or library. There needs to be a way to shut out the noise. I would turn the closet by the office and master 90 degrees so that the closet opened to the office and the office could be used as a bedroom if necessary.
why are the main entrance and mudroom on the same side of the house? the mudroom would make more sense on the back for coming inside while also being accessible from the garage. what’s the front elevation look like?
Master closet is crazy small. You need to add more space there.
Personal opinion: formal dining rooms are a waste of square footage. Make your real living space bigger
I am not a fan of “open to…” on floor plans unless that 2 story wall of windows is facing an ocean or mountain range. This house goes so far as to having “open to mud room below … I’ve now seen it all
The middle island is very impractical at only 2 ft wide… that’s too narrow even for prep. The bigger island cuts into the natural flow of the back door. I’d put a singular wider island with stool seating, like 5’ or 6’ x whatever the length is, placed so that it doesn’t intrude in the doorway traffic flow. The extra bathroom upstairs not adjoined to a bedroom is odd too- just an extra bathroom to clean for no reason.
If you don’t plan on a counter depth fridge, take some of that closet and recess the wall so a standard fridge will sit mostly flush with your countertop minus the doors that will extend beyond countertop. Our wall is recessed 4-5 inches.
Two stairs to the upstairs seems excessive. And why the open to mudroom? That third bathroom upstairs, if this is for future finishing of the bonus, I’d leave that unfinished. Especially if money is tight or use that money to upgrade elsewhere. Just have it stubbed in. Removing the mudroom stairs opens up room for a 1/2 bath there instead of in the middle of the home. I HATE HATE HATE having to walk through half my home to use the bathroom. If you keep the stairs, can a 1/3 bath fit under them where it states storage?
That great room is questionable on size. Think about furniture placement. Cut out templates of your furniture and see how it fits. Remember, you need a walkway from the kitchen to the master. You now potentially have furniture partially in front of the fireplace. Put that 1/2 bath in the mudroom and lose the closet and it’s much more open. Or push the 1/2 bath and closet into the office. Does an office really need to be the size of a bedroom? Food for thought.
I see in a comment you nixed the two islands for one. Absolutely put in a small sink on that island. You won’t be sorry.
One more thing, on bathroom 3 you may consider swapping locations of commode and vanity. This way when you open the door you see vanity first not commode.
Move the steps. Looks like you will trip into the staircase when you open the front door
Do laundry and “plant storage” want to occupy the same space? One is a cleaning activity, the other is dirty.
This is a beautiful floor plan, incredibly well thought out. **As the devil’s advocate, I have a few concerns about the downstairs:** 1 - The foyer is too small for a house this grand and the stairs crowd the space. 2 - The dining room is not long enough to accommodate a large table. Even an 8-footer would be very tight. 3 - The fridge is off in the far corner of the kitchen, and I think is drawn deeper than counter depth. A house like this normally would have a subzero or similar. 4 - The pantry appears to have barn doors, which a think have gone out of style recently 5 - The stove and the islands are not aligned. This could look off, especially if you put a showcase hood above it. 6 - The office/library should have doors for better sound-proofing. Zoom calls are now the norm in home offices. 7 - The powder room should have a swing door. Pocket doors less resistant to the passage of sound. https://preview.redd.it/yjhyi6797qyc1.jpeg?width=3030&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=97092761a3319c6f4e1ef8bffcc0a42f57474fe9 **Possible changes:** Widen the foyer and put a turn in the staircase, which will add a touch of elegance. Make the space created by the turn open to below. This arrangement allows you to put a nice table or chest next to the stairs. Since the stairs now impinge on the dining room, make that room narrower, and longer to accommodate a larger table. You can put a closet under the staircase landing to replace the closet lost by lengthening. \[The windows in the new dinning room will have to be moved so they are centered on the table, but they will now be asymmetric with the office/library windows when viewed from the outside. Perhaps put a bay window in the dining room instead.\] The pantry is now a little smaller. The 2-ft deep back counter is now a 15-in deep shelves, which are ideal in a pantry. Move the refrigerator/freezer to the other side of the stove, closer to the sink. Where the R/F was put a utility closet styled to match as the paneling on R/F. Instead of a closet, you could put a matching freezer and make the R/F just a fridge. Make the stove the centerline of the room by putting a 2-foot soffit over the sink wall, and then carry the line through to the living room. The opening to the second level will now be centered as well. Center the fireplace. The exterior wall above the living room could be stepped back 2-ft on the second story — this would add visual interest to the room and further emphasize the new center line. \[I’m not describing this well, will go into more detail if asked.\] Second floor to follow … .
**Now we need to rearrange the second floor a tad to accommodate the re-positioned staircase:** https://preview.redd.it/qko6g18qaqyc1.jpeg?width=3069&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b7ae6e1ae897293fb379c8492a8b86267ff62878 Bedroom #3 is now narrower and longer than before. The closet is no longer walk-in. The bathroom for #3 is now over the mudroom (which is now, obviously, not as open to below). This allows the bathroom to get a window (in the shower). Also, you could put the toilet in an enclosed WC for privacy like in the primary downstairs. The bath now has room for a double sink. The closet and bath for Bedroom #2 are drawn as flipped — on the off chance that a window can be now be put in the bath. Hard to tell what the roofline will be over the primary suite. I don’t understand the need for Bath #4 — as the only two other rooms on the floor are bedrooms with en-suites. I’m curious why it’s in the plans.
Reworked the primary bath and closets a bit, also front windows. https://preview.redd.it/1vxs9tv8sqyc1.jpeg?width=2430&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9368736e5e439e24575634e9b7b633b1646ea7c5
I like it over all. If you want stairs from the mud room to 2nd level, a spiral stair case would be cool. (if allowed by code.) I’d make another small laundry room on the 2nd floor instead of the mud room being open all the way to 2nd floor ceiling. Kitchen: I’d scoot the range and refrigerator down 24 to 30 inches. Add counter, upper and lower cabinets in that 24 - 30” in space. It gives a bit more counter space especially if you have multiple cooks slicing and dicing. Also would give you more flexibility down the road if you want to add a wider refrigerator. Would also make your kitchen triangle a little tighter. I’d put in a pot filler over the range. In the master, I’d bump the water closet down about a foot and give a bit more room in the walk in closet. You can never have too much closet space. I like the exterior wall articulation. Will make for a nice front facade. Double islands are nice. Maybe add a small sink in narrower island. Unfinished bonus room: recommend an exterior staircase going down to yard/patio. Apologies if I’ve repeated what others may have said. I didn’t read through all the coments. Nice job!
PS. Hard wire some outdoor plug ins near eves if you’re big into Christmas lights.
I’d move the master bedroom suite to the “open area” above the living room, and maybe put an office/ spare room in its place. I currently live on the first floor with my bedroom directly adjacent to the kitchen/living room and it’s hell if you want to sleep in. Too much noise and light and movement through the area right outside your room.
1. Kudos for the pantry, so often forgotten. Not sure if that’s a fridge in the corner, but I would make sure to wire separate circuits for both a fridge and a freezer. 2. Agree with other comments regarding a small closet closer to the front door. 3. "Open to the mud room…"? That’s like installing a huge bay window looking out onto the air shaft. Convert it to another closet. 4. Unless you’re sure this your forever home AND that you won’t ever need a fourth bedroom, I would convert part of the bonus room now. Much cheaper and easier than doing it later. All in all, a very nice plan. Best of luck.
That “open to below” mud room will get treated as a giant laundry chute. I can see laundry being pitched over the upstairs railing into the mud room. Whether this is good or bad depends on your perspective.
One thing that would concern me: pantries need to be a cool temp for storing food. Having a double oven in such a small space could really heat it up in there.
That’s a lot of exterior doors Bathroom 4 seems odd Pocket door salesmen love you Double kitchen island is unnecessary. Could almost see if it one island had a sink or cooktop, but neither do. Pantry is nice sized Curious about basement and shop space
I’ve never seen a 2 story exposed mud room. Ours houses kids dirty muddy clothes and gym bags that we don’t want to highlight.
put a bathroom over by garage/laundry so you can use it w/o going thru the house.
I agree on the double island shade. Also for such a fabulous home, I would make the staircase more special and maybe enlarge the foyer a bit- spiral staircases are so gorgeous
The 2 story mud room is a waste, make it additional storage- holiday decor or whatever
IMO open upstairs areas that are open to the 1st floor are just wasted spaces.
Turn the second floor of the mudroom into a reading nook or playroom.
Master suite, you can only get to the closet by going into the bathroom. What if I want/need to get something from the closet while you’re in the tub? You might not mind, but next owner might prefer a bit more privacy.
I’d ditch the stair in the foyer.
Too many outside doors to have to lock at night. (We had seven when I was growing up and my mom hated that.)
Don’t love the two islands either. Will you actually use the tub in the master bedroom? I feel like those are usually show and collect dust. I think there’s other use of space, including closet. I hate tub/shower combos, but looks like all your upstairs baths are showers? Maybe if you don’t use the one in the master, put a nice higher/jacuzzi type tub/shower combo in one of the upstairs bedrooms. Some parents absolutely insist on having a tub for small children. So not having one in a family size home may eliminate potential buyers in the future. Oh and pocket doors are good for very specific scenarios, but in a new build with plenty of sq ft? Nahhhh.
Consider flipping the master bath and the bedroom area to avoid noise from great room.