Reposted second drafts with proper orientation:

Glad you liked my suggestion about the pantry, but now...move the refrigerator, maybe to the end, because now when you open the pantry door you walk right into the hulk of the fridge.

I don't think I'd want the only access to the family laundry through the master closet or bedroom. You could swap the closet and laundry spaces, then move the MBR door back to make a vestibule entry rather than having it open directly from the living space. I prefer a more private entry to the MBR anyway.

I made a couple more changes and updated SF. Total SF is a little under 3600.

bpathome,
I moved the sink to the front of the pantry. My wife uses the Keurig every morning so it probably makes more sense to have that at the front of the pantry adjacent to the sink. Does the pantry look good now?

I also decreased the offset between the kitchen and the foyer by a foot (adding a foot to the south for the kitchen), which added a foot to the pantry and allowed me to move the island a little bit farther south so it doesn't block the walkway from the garage to the great room/master suite.

I added a foot to the north for the great room and dining area, which decreased the depth of the covered patio to 11 feet. Is this deep enough? We want to have a sitting area on the covered patio, but also don't want it so deep that it severely limits natural light in the back of the house. I could add a foot to the north for the laundry room and sitting area if the patio needs to be at least 12'.

Jackson,
We appreciate the suggestion, but I don't think I want the laundry room directly behind the great room (in case the laundry is running while watching TV, etc) and would prefer the W/D to also be a little farther from our bed. We're not concerned about having to walk through the master suite to get to the laundry. Other than kids bringing dirty clothes in there, my wife and I should be the only ones using that room.

We would love to have more suggestions for our floor plans. We have incorporated most of the suggestions from our first thread into the updated plans, but would love to hear more ideas! Thanks again!

Updated floor plans:

I don't remember how old your kids are, but by putting your laundry in the master bedroom, this pretty much says that you intend to do your children's laundry forever. They may be little now, and obviously you do their laundry. But eventually they will be in high school. An age when they could (should?) easily start doing their own laundry. Then they go to college. And come home from spring break with 20 loads of laundry. And they bring their international student friend with them. Who also has 20 loads of laundry. Then they graduate, and get a tiny apartment somewhere without a w/d, so they come home every other weekend so mom will do there laundry.

I like it, except the laundry room in the master area...I would consider moving that back by the mudroom. Maybe pull the garage back a bit to add the laundry in there. I also think adding a drain and making it level with the garage floor is a better choice, in case, or when it does pop a hose or flood.

Love the concept of the Jack n Jill closet! This house has a lots of potential.

I have to agree with Pixie and others on one point. The biggest mistake you could make in this house is the location of your laundry room. It's ok and even desired to have an entry from the master into the laundry room. But not the only entry.

Measure the pantry room and door, and the fridge, see if you can get it in and out, and move it when you need to clean behind it.

Ha ha pixie. Thanks for a glimpse into our future! While the kids will eventually be able to bring their dirty clothes into the laundry and throw it in the whites or darks hamper, my wife plans to do their laundry and place into a basket for each child. Each kid will be responsible for putting their clothes back in their closet.

Bridget and red lover,
My wife now prefers to have the mudroom and laundry room separated so the clutter of the laundry room isn't combined with the clutter of the mudroom. We're ok with having the only entrance to the laundry room through our master, and like the idea of basically combining the master closet and laundry room since I often have to go the laundry room to get or iron my shirt/slacks for the day. Would you recommend a door between the laundry room, doorway without a door, or keep it all open between the laundry room and master closet?

bpathome,
We will make sure that the refrigerator and freezer will be able to fit through the swinging door. Thoughts on choosing a swinging door (no door handle) that swings into the pantry but not out?

Well, my kids start doing their own laundry by age thirteen. NO, not all of it, but it's a life skill worth learning. And will your kids have to go through your closet to pick up their baskets of freshly done laundry? Most folks consider their private closets...well, mostly private.

Anyway, you may feel differently when your scatterbrained kid bring you his or her "whatever" for the third time in a row and expects you to do his laundry at the last minute. But, then, we've raised six kids and a large family won't run very well if kids don't assume some responsibility for their own things. :) Each family is different.

But whatever your parenting style, I think the location of the laundry is awful. Even from the point of view of guests - sometimes they do their own laundry and may feel awkward going through your closet.

This post was edited by bird_lover66 on Thu, Jun 5, 14 at 10:07

Don't forget you will have laundry generated by the kitchen, dirty towels, kids throwing up in their beds, gardening clothes, etc. that you will probably want to put immediately into the wash... Every time you do that you'll be trekking through your clean master suite with a bunch of gross stuff.

Will you be on a basement? Could you rough in for a second washer and dryer down there if you don't change the current location?

We will be on a basement. I suppose we could rough in for W/D in case we don't like the laundry room off the master suite. We plan to have a dirty laundry hamper in the mudroom for dirty clothes from mowing, gardening, etc.

I think it's wonderful when you can have a second washer and dryer off the master bedroom, but I would not want that for my primary laundry room. However, if you are determined to go with this setup, I would definitely plan for a more accessible washer and dryer for when your kids become teens. Put the water and venting in now. :

I refuse to wash that soccer uniform that is brought to me at 10:00 at night that is needed for the next morning, and I certainly wouldn't want them coming through my space to do it themselves.

Good luck with your build!