First thought.....where are you intending on having your meals? I can't see anywhere for a table/chairs except the "flex" room....is that the dining room?

any ideas for the kitchen layout, for pictures,you can send me emails vacdh@hotmail.com . any opinions. thanks.

Not too bad.
Kitchen: Maybe I'd place the island sink at the opposite end.
MB bathroom: Are you sure you want a 3x3 shower? You use it everyday right? :)

I'm no expert by any means, but I always try to "live" in the house even if only on paper. The one thing I think about is unloading groceries from the car... you will have to walk all the way around to get to the kitchen. Is there anyway you could add a door straight from the laundry room hallway into the kitchen. Have you considered a pocket door between the laundry & the powder room? In reality, that door will stay open more than not (at least at my house it would)... another thought would be to hinge it on the right, so then it wouldn't block the door to the powder room. It's a nice plan! Good Luck with the building!

Since you asked:

I don't understand the purpose of a Flex Room and would work hard to either make it useful or use the space elsewhere. Does the house footprint have to be square? Is it prefabricated?

The Nook is too large for a breakfast table and too small for a dining table.

The space between the sink counter and island is excessive IMHO.

The island is too small for a prep sink and the sink should be farther away from the main sink so there is more prep counter available especially since the pantry has destroyed the work space between the sink and stove.

In my experience, bi-Fold doors in mudrooms don't last long before they go in the basement next to the sliding closet doors.

I wouldn't want to see and smell the laundry every time I came home.
If the "2x6 load bearing wall" is "typical" where does it go when it hits the kitchen?

A double winder on the main stair is not something I would do even if it were legal.

I don't mean to offend anyone but it appears to me that the designer just isn't trying hard enough.

Here is a link that might be useful: link 1

hi,guys ,thanks for your opinions,
1. for shower size, i wanted to change it to 5x3,but it will cut my WIC in to 5x8 for adding a linen closet.i hesitate.shower size 3x3 is big for me,maybe not for my husband,hehe.
2.i thought about the door directly to kitchen, but will get less coutertop and cabinets, i get headache with this problem, hope to get ideas from here.

hi,MACV, i just so love your ideas.

1.i don't like corner pantry at all,but it seems very popular in my community, how about 3x2 reach in pantry near fridge? then it will not cut sink and stove.
2.the space between island and sink coutertop,how about 3.5,is 3.5 enough, and change island to 7x3 or 7x3.8
4.the width size 32 and garage size is dermenind by developer,can't be changed. and under 2000sqft is in my budget,so it looks like square. it is a walkout lot,

Are you limited by the builder to the outside shape of the house and the interior walls shown? If they are changeable (looking at the changes macv mentioned, such as a better use of the flex room--which includes maybe a better entry, a better dining area, and better laundry/mudroom), how much would he charge? What would he charge if you moved some of the walls int he basement? The kitchen is easy to change; these other areas could benefit from moving some walls.

How many people (and what ages) will live in this house?

Anne

hi,anne, ,how to say, the width of house must be 32', the garage size must be 22x24, otherwize, the developer will not allow you build on this lot. they need check "artitectual control" first.

in my community, they call dining room to flex room,i think maybe few people use formal dining room now.

i have one kid,so total three people,

re laundry room, it is ok for me combined with mudroom,i do laudry everyday, but just put in and take out.hehe.

I understand that the width is set; I'm trying to figure out if it's ok to change that angled front entrance and veranda, in order to maybe change the flex room. But since changes can cost extra, maybe I shouldn't even bring that up, although since this is a custom plan, at this stage this could be a relatively simple change.

You can move just the part of your master bed room wall that has the door, shower, and linen closet, into the hall to line up with the rail in the middle of the stairs. That will not affect the WIC at all, and will better use the wasted space in the hall. That will give you a shower that's 3x4' (put the fixtures on one of the 4' walls), allow you to extend your vanity from 66" to 72", and give you a wider linen closet. Or to get a 3 x 5' shower, you could have the vanity be narrower and share a sink with your husband. Most people would hate a 3x3.

In the kitchen, I also think the pantry uses some of the best prep space, so I'd move it to where the fridge is, and put the fridge to the right of the pantry. Or keep the fridge where it is and put a 3 wide pantry to the right of it I'd put a lazy susan for a base cabinet in the corner where the pantry was, and the range immediately to the left of the lazy susan. I, also, would move the prep sink in the island to the other end, and I'd put the microwave to the right of the fridge. Unless you're going to pay a LOT extra for a counter depth fridge, the fridge will stick out more that the drawing shows. 3'6" for the aisle between the sink and island is good, and 7' x 3', 3'3", or 3'6" will be fine for the island size, depending on how far the fridge sticks out, and whether you move the island over a little towards the nook.

Be sure to have the builder put TWO shelves in each closet above the coats--they don't always do this, but should, especially with 9' ceilings. I'd change the linen closet on the first floor to a cleaning closet. Any towels can go under the vanity in the powder room, you can put table linens in a buffet or server, and you need a place for the vacuum, broom, cleaning supplies, etc.--so you only would need shelves for the upper 4' or so. In the corner opposite this closet, I'd build a triangular bench to temporarily set things on when people are coming and going to/from the garage. Above it high enough so that people won't hit their head on if sitting on the bench, put a shelf for keys, cell phones, etc., and plugs to charge them.

Instead of having a 42" high wall between the great room and flex room, you could do a built-in buffet, or shelves (which would cost less). Built-ins add to the cost, but save you from having to buy furniture. Depends on how long you plan to stay here.

Especially in Alberta, I'd want tile floors from the front door, continuing through the hall, into the powder room, and into ALL closets along the way, and into the laundry. I also dislike bifold and sliding doors for closets. Have them put in regular doors, at least on the first floor. Doing double doors will cost more, but will be worth it for convenience and fewer problems, if you can stand the extra $$.

I agree with the suggestion for a pocket door between the laundry and hall. Be prepared to insist on it--builders don't like to put them in.

I'd make all bedroom doorways at least 2'8"--it's easier to get furniture in.

Hope these suggestions help.

Anne

hi,anne, thank you so so much, can't describe my appreciation.

could you please tell me how to change the angled door if possible.

I haven't thought about it yet, since I didn't know if it would be possible. I just know that I don't particularly like it. I was hoping maybe macv had some good ideas, since first mentioned changing the flex room.

Anne

The only idea I've thought of so far for the front entry, would be more functional, but would not improve the aesthetics, in the sense that I think you should be able to see the entire front door as you approach the porch. So I won't bother to explain it.

Which direction is south?

When most people drive up to the house, will they drive past the garage first, or past the veranda first?

I thought of a better way to do the master bath shower. Just combine the existing 3x3' shower and the linen closet to get a 3x5' shower. Then add a wall where I previously said to move the wall (in line with the middle stair rail over to the WIC), and put a 5' long linen closet on the back side of the new shower.

What will the activity room be used for? It will be noisy under this room with a hardwood floor. You might want to check with a local realtor to see if people in your area prefer hardwood or carpet in the master bedroom in houses in your price range.

Will you or your husband have an office in one of the upstairs rooms?

Where will the computer be that your child uses?

Your nook is large enough for a dining room, since the width is actually wider than 8'; it looks like it's more than 10' over to the island. In my previous place I had an 8' wide nook with a wall on each 8' side, and it was tight (but doable) even with relatively small Scandinavian furniture. A lighting fixture/chandelier here would probably be centered on the double window and the 8' width of the room ( which seems to be the measurement between the end of the cabinets and the opposite wall). If you have them center the light at 9' instead (4'6", not 4' would be the distance from the center of the double windows), there will be a little more room to get behind the chairs on that side when there is company, if you are careful about the furniture size you get. You could avoid the problem by using several recessed ("can") lights, but that will probably cost more (electrician's labor + materials) than doing one fixture.

Since you really have sufficient space in the nook for seating a large number of people for dinner, in a house this size it doesn't really make much sense to me to use the flex room as a dining room. It's logical use to me would be as an office or computer/game room, since you have the great room for visitors or TV. But you already have the activity room upstairs, so I'm not sure how to sort this out.

Also, I'd previously mentioned using tile, which logically would be 3-4' wide here. But since it would end between the walls at the edge of the great room (4' wide), that would visually make the flex room only 8'7" wide. So I guess I'd keep the hardwood where it's shown in the flex room, keep the tile where it's shown in the entry, but start it again where the stairs and closet with the sliding doors begin, and continue as previously mentioned. Any place where people might stop with wet feet (in front of closet), or pivot (top and bottom of stairs), I'd prefer tile.

If you put some kind of bench or table parallel to the flex room side of the tile dotted line at the front entry, people can use it to put things down on when they first come in, or it could also be used from the flex room side.

macv mentioned winders. I've attached a link that explains them.

Can you tell I like doing this? I hope some of these ideas are useful to you in sorting out what you want in your new home.

Anne

Here is a link that might be useful: scroll down 1 page for stair winder explanation

hi,anne,thanks again.

1.uptairs, one room for my parents when they are visiting,ifthey come, will stay more than 3 months. activity room is for my kid playing at night before bedtime and my yoga room and tv room when his daddy watching tv downstairs
2.i will use flex room as my husbands' office, he is very busy with his work even at home,but i want him stay downstairs with his work,so that kid can see him at home.
not invisible.hehe.
3.from today,i will directly communicatewith designer.
4.the angled door face south-west. people pass door first then garage.

your ideas are very useful, i will let you check myfinal plan, you will find your ideas very helpful. thanks.