Yehhhh figured how to post the pictures here.
1st floor

2nd floor
{{gwi:1421356}}

You've squeezed a lot into a relatively small space!

I can't read the dimensions so some of these may not be issues at all...

1) A one-car garage is pretty unusual in this day-and-age for a 2000+ sq foot home. If gas prices keep going up tho, we all may be lucky if we can afford to keep a single car so maybe that will be all you'll need! Do make sure the garage is actually big enough to park a car AND open the doors on both sides without hitting the walls. If you can't get in and out of the car, the garage will just become a big closet/junk space and you'll park your car outside.

2) Is that X in the office bathroom meant to represent a shower or something else? If a shower, I don't think it is big enough. Also, if that is a shower, is it your plan that the office should be able to double as a guest room? If not, do you really need a second powder room since there is one right around the corner in the hallway?

3) Is the closet off the dining room meant to be a pantry? If you don't have a basement, why not use the space under the end of the upper portion of stairway as your pantry and give that closet space to the office?

4) It is just furniture placement but, unless you plan to put a fireplace on the exterior wall of the Living room (between the two windows) I'd plan on turning the L-shaped sofa by 90 degrees and putting it against the exterior wall. That would give you better traffic flow as people could get from front door to kitchen without walking right thru the middle of the living room conversation area.

5) You need a wall (or at least a halfwall) behind the cooktop to separate it from the living area. It just isn't safe the way you have it sketched. Too easy for a pot of boiling water to get pushed off the back of the cooktop. If you want an "open feel", may I recommend at least a half wall there? If it were me tho, I'd put a full wall just about where the back of the sofa is to make the kitchen larger and give it more cabinet space, maybe move the stove to the outer wall and the fridge to the wall next to the living area.

6) What size do you intend to make the bay windows downstairs? Will the window sill be higher than the backs of the chairs you're planning to place there? Or, will the chair backs block the lower portion of the windows?

7) Consider using a pocket door for the hallway powderroom so that you don't run the risk of someone getting bashed by the bathroom door being opened. And consider using a tiny corner-mount sink like the one shown in the link below.

8) With the door from garage to house opening into a narrow hallway, you'll want to be sure to use a door that has a window in it so that you can see if someone is coming down the hall before you open that door.

9) Upstairs, instead of a "closet" in the hall bathroom, I'd suggest a small built-in linen cupboard positioned between the two sinks. The two sinks are really too close together to be comfortable for two people to use at once so dividing them with a cupboard would make both more comfortable. Plus, that would get rid of the door conflict that you have between the bathroom door and that closet door.

10) I'm assuming that the closet for bedroom 1 is a standard depth for a reach in closet (24" depth inside). If so that means the closet for bedroom 2 is extra deep. But, it isn't deep enough to be a walk-in closet so the extra depth is just wasted AND makes it harder to reach clothing from the door. Make that closet a standard depth and give the extra space to the laundry room.

11) Speaking of the laundry room. I hate yours. The laundry room is one of the most used spaces in a house. A large, well-appointed laundry room makes that chore so much easier that, as small and cramped as you've made the space, I'd bet big money that you're a guy and your wife does all the laundry so that you never really have to give it a thought! At a minimum, a well-appointed laundry needs, storage space for laundry supplies, space to sort dirty clothing, space to fold clean-clothing, a sink for washing out hand washables plus somewhere to hang them up, a space where one can lay sweaters and other woolens out to dry, a hanging rod for hanging up those no-ironing needed shirts AS they come out of the dryer (other wise they wind up needing to be ironed) and, of course, room for an ironing board and enough room to use it! It's nice to also have room for one's sewing machine and a place to stash clothing that needs mending. You've just put in space for the washer and dryer - which means all the rest of the laundry chores have to be done elsewhere. Yes, one CAN do laundry that way but... UGH!

12) Only half that laundry room closet you've designed is going to be at all useable useable. You can't reach anything in the back half unless you keep the front half empty so you can walk thru it. Forget the closet! Instead, incorporate the closet space into the laundry room and put kitchen-style cabinetry along the wall. That will make the laundry room look and feel more spacious and give whoever does the laundry a countertop to sort and fold clothing on. You could even put a sink in so thereis a place to wash the handwashables! Plus, if you use 15" deep upper cabinets, and full-size lower cabinets, you'll wind up with more useable storage space than you would get with the closet anyway. The extra space gained from reducing the depth of the closet to bedroom 3 should give you just enough room to fit a short hanging rod on the wall behind the laundry room door. Trust me, your wife (or whoever takes care of the laundry in your home) will LOVE you for the changes.

13) What are the dimensions of your master closet. Remember that hanging clothing takes up about 24". If you want to hang clothes along two parallel walls, the total wall-to-wall width needs to be at least 6'6" and that only gives you a 32" aisle down the middle. 7'0" width is better.

13) Other than the bed, what furniture do you plan to have in the master bedroom? Where do you intend to place it? I love all the windows but I just don't see where you can place a dresser or chest-of-drawers without having it be blocking a window. And, the path from bathroom to closet requires a trip around the bed. If one of you tends to get up first, that is going to make it difficult to get up, get a shower, and get clothing and get dressed without waking the other one up.

14) I'm not at all enamored with your masterbath, The tub feels squashed into that corner and having the toilet be the first thing you see when you walk thru the door is not at all "elegant"! Plus, the two sinks feel like they're too close together and I suspect those will get a whole lot more use than that garden tub stuck behind the toilet. Double vanity sinks need a minimum of 60 inches of counter space. More is better. If it were me and I had to fit my masterbath in the space you have allocated to it, I'd just leave the tub out completely in favor of a nice luxurious shower and more room for my two vanities plus tucking the toilet out of sight a little bit. But what I'd REALLY like to do is get rid of bedroom 3 and use that space for an enlarged master suite, a larger laundry room, and making the remaining two bedrooms each a bit larger.

15) Bedroom 3 is so tiny and, with the doors arranged the way they are, if you put a full-sized bed in there, there won't be any room left for any other furniture. Is bedroom 3 going to be a child's room? Or, do you plan for it to be a guest room? If the latter, does it really need a walk-in closet? And, how high on your list of priorities is a guest room anyway? If you only have guests once or twice a year, couldn't the office be made to do double duty... especially if you could fit a shower in the office bath?

If you don't really NEED a separate guest room, I'd start by putting a 5X7 bath in the space between the dining room and the office (with the door opening into a small hallway between office and dining room). Then I'd get rid of the hall powderroom (the one in the office can serve). I'd turn the steps down to the garage by 90 degrees and it about where the hall bath is so that the door opens up toward the dining room. This would ensure that you have room to open your car doors in the garage.

I tuck the pantry UNDER the main staircase and put the staircase support wall on the other side of the staircase. Having the staircase open on the living room side will make the living room feel larger and more elegant. Put a wall between kitchen and living room like suggested above.

Then, I'd redesign the entire left side up the upstairs to incorporate most of the space from bedroom 3 into the mastersuite and use the rest of the extra space to enlarge the laundry room.

Just my thoughts.

Here is a link that might be useful: small, corner mount bathroom sink.

What excellent advice bevangel has given you! I especially agree with #5, and would much prefer a full wall as she indicated.

There's a lot of wasted space in the upstairs hall that could be put to better use.

Anne

Just overwhelmed by your response. Are you and architect. If yes should have hired you. You cannot imagine how obliged i am seeing your response and the effort you have put in looking at my plans. Just truely amazing and helpful. Such nice advices...cannot ask for more.

1) yes it is one car garage. I have no space to fit in 2 car garage. It is 14.6ft (width) to 19ft (length). It is good enough for one car garage?
2) Yes X in the office bath means to represent a shower. I plan to use this as a nanny's bedroom.
3) You are right will get rid of pantry from there and will use the space under the stairs for pantry.
4) I do paln to put a fireplace in the living room
5) the kitchen will be L shape starting where the sofa ends and goes all the way to the other side where the slider is at the back wall. I plan to make a big island and remove the dining table from there. or do you think it makes sense to "have full wall just about where the back of the sofa is to make the kitchen larger and give it more cabinet space, maybe move the stove to the outer wall and the fridge to the wall next to the living area"

6)Window sill be higher than the backs of the chairs..the chair backs will not block the lower portion of the windows.

7) Pocket door for the hallway powderroom is a good idea.

8) Again a very good idea for the window in the door from garage to house opening into a narrow hallway,

9) Once again a very good idea for a small built-in linen cupboard positioned between the two sinks in the upstairs Hall bathroom

10) You are absolutely right about 10. I will make bd2 closet a standard depth and give the extra space to the laundry room.

11) So right about this one too. Will make the laundry room bigger and use kitchen cabinets and counter space to make a laundry more funtional.

12) The laundry closet will go now and as you suggested will incorporate the closet space into the laundry room and put kitchen-style cabinetry along the wall.

13) Will make the master closet 7'0" width. So it will be 7 x 8. Right now it is 6.54 x 8.

13) I am stumped on this any ideas to make it work? One thing i thought was to remove the side window and keep the bed there? Your thougts?

14) Again I am out of ideas for this one. Should remove the tub i think. I need the bd3 I have 3 children and 4th one is coming....
15) Bedroom 3 is 10.63 x 10.6. You think it is small?

I like your idea for putting a 5*7 bath in the space between dining and office and remove the powder room from the Hallway. But I did not understand how should i have a door opening into a small hallway between office and dining room? and I can turn the steps down to the garage by 90 degrees and it about where the hall bath is so that the door opens up toward the dining room. but again i did not understand what you meant by "This would ensure that you have room to open your car doors in the garage."

I like the idea of putting the staircase support wall on the other side of the staircase. Having the staircase open on the living room side will make the living room feel larger and more elegant. But the problem is where will i keep my furniture then?

building plan
43.55 width
33 on left side
31.1 on the right
living room is 16ft width
garage is 14.6 x 19ft
office is 8.6 x 11.1
office bath 4 x 11.1
bed1 13.2 x 11.7
bed2 13.2 x 11.6
upstairs bath 10.1 x 6.6
bed3 10.6 x 10.6
bed3 closet 5.1 x
MBR 16 x 13

Please do you think the plan now makes sense or should i start from scratch.
Please please will appreciate all your opinion. Thanks

Well, there is one issue that I think you really NEED to address... the garage. The 14.5 ft width is fine. Basically, you need the width of the car plus about 2 feet on each side to open doors so you could probably even go a few inches narrower. BUT, the 19 foot length is too short for many vans, SUVs, and larger sedans - some of which are OVER 19 ft long from front bumper to rear bumper. With three kids, it is likely you're going to want/need a larger vehicle and your garage needs to be at least a little longer than the longest vehicle you are ever likely to own. I would suggest a MINIMUM garage length of 22 feet but you could probably get by with 20 feet IF you're willing to always open the garage door before passengers can walk around to the other side to get in.

I had just written a whole paragraph suggesting that you increase the depth of the house by 3 feet to deal with the garage length problem (which would also have given you lots of additional options for enlarging rooms upstairs) when I noticed on your sketch that you are contrained by FAR limitations to a total of 2681 sq feet. Bummer!

Since it appears that the garage really needs to be longer, and you can't increase your overall sqauare footage, I'm afraid you may need to do a complete redesign after all.

To keep an office/nanny's room tucked behind the garage, you're probably going to have to make the house deeper and narrower - stealing space from the living room to enlarge the garage. Upstairs, you have a nice wide hallway which is a nice design touch - but, with your desire for 4 bedrooms, you may need to incorporate some of that hallway space into bedroom sq footage.

I'm not an architect, but I like playing around with floorplans and some people say I'm pretty good at it. I'm willing to see what I can come up with for you but I won't have any time to even think about it until next week. Meanwhile, SummerfieldDesigns also often seems willing to help people come up with good floor plans and she is amazingly good. Why don't you give a shout out to her on this forum?

Be sure and repost your sketch (larger images if you possibly can) and give her your FAR limitations, your lot size limitations, as well as details about your needs and desires. eg... only need a one car garage but it needs to be big enough to park a XXXX,want master bedroom and bath upstairs, need three kids bedrooms upstairs, want the laundry upstairs, need an office downstairs that can be used as nanny's room, bath with shower downstairs (for nanny's use) and maybe a separate powderroom downstairs for other guests; Prefer an open design kitchen, living room, and dining area; want a fireplace in living room and living room will have to accomodate large L shaped divan; etc. The more she knows the more she can assist you.

Meanwhile, I'll give this some thought and see what I can do. Will check back in with you next week.

SummerfieldDesigns Please can you help.....I sent you a message with a copy of my plans.

Please SummerfieldDesigns Please can you help.....I sent you a message with a copy of my plans.

first time builder ... check your mail , please :-)

Just awesome SummerfieldDesingns!!!!
I will post your drawings here so that people can appreciate how helpful and talented you are.

My elevation: front elevation of the house( the side dormer we have removed it. and have added the balcony and round stairs)

Hi Sam,
Simply amazing.... Cannot imagine changing just a little can make the house make sense. This is great. I am so excited now.
We would like to make some changes.
You truely have a gift.
I have attached the front elevation of the house above( the side dormer we have removed it. and have added the balcony and round stairs)
1. Because of the elevation we have to make the living room in the front. Do not mind entering in the living room straight.
2. Kitchen has to go to the back because of this. An L shaped kitchen with a big island in the center . Do not care for dining table.
3. We have 5 stairs to the main house and same for the garage.
4. Now that you have given access to the office bath from the main house we do not need the powder room.
5. We have wetlands on the left and back and cannot go anymore further than what we have. ( though the view is very good.)
6. We can make the garage 12ft or 20 ft ( one car or two car) wide too if it helps.
7. We can take the stairs to the back or on the side somewhere (left or right back? if it helps.)
8. Make a wall between the living room and kitchen ( will this remove the columns???)
9. We are limited by FAR. Total allowed is 2681 with garage included.
10. Upstairs is just perfect. :-)
You are GREAT and so talented.
THANKS THANKS THANKS THANKS THANKS cannot ask for anything better.
What i was thinking
make 2 car garage. (20ft)
take the stairs at the back. ( on the left or right)
enter straight in living room with no foyer. Make walls with no doors opening in the kitchen so i get no columns.
garge door in the house opens up in the kitchen..
Let me know if it makes sense....if not then I like this plan too. I am sooooooo exited now.....GREAT