I love that you have switched the upstairs to include two full separate bathrooms. I think the upstairs is great functionally for your children and caters to your desires. One thought I have, does your son's closet need to be so large? Would it be helpful to change his closet to be 5 feet wide instead of 7'1" to gain a narrow but long hall closet to store extra tp, toiletries, and linens? Or cut out a corner of his closet for a linen closet in that bathroom? I imagine with 5 kids you go through lots of products and storage could be very important.

My 2 cents on the main level laundry... move the master bedroom entry door to be closer to the master closet. Then move the music room closet to be where the current end of the hallway is (3'4" wide closet), put a 24"-30" wide laundry room closet behind the door to the laundry room and then you open up the space for 4'6" to 5 foot long counter space. With a family as large as yours, even with 2 laundry areas, I think if you question the counter space then change it to gain what you feel you need. In this case, I think it can easily be changed to maximize functionality.

Hall closet: I think she is correct, the way she did it is most functional. If you take a corner from the closet, it makes for an awkward walk in closet.

Dreamhome- I had that exact thought about the bedroom closet upstairs! Thank you.

As for the master/laundry area...the plan was pretty much as you described but I changed it because I wanted some space behind the master bedroom door for a dresser or something. Plus I kind of liked the idea of it being further down the hall away from the living room. So I'm not sure which I would want more. ;-)

Do you think if that master bedroom closet was bigger then taking a bit from the corner for a hall closet would work? I was thinking maybe we could flip flop the masterbathroom layout (mirror it) and get the bathroom door moved over. That would move that entire hallway entering the bathroom over and make the closet on the right bigger than the one on the left. I think it would make it 6' x 5'8".

Actually, I like the idea of flopping the layout of the bathroom regardless of your decision on the hallway closet. Flopping the bathroom gives a better place to hang towels for the shower and it gives more natural light beside the vanity for getting ready for the day. Even with the bigger closet on the right side, taking a chunk out of it for a hall closet still makes that bedroom closet awkward... it makes it better being that you would be taking a chunk out of the bigger closet. It's doable but funky. Take some masking tape or painter's tape and map out the closet on your living room floor. If you like it and can deal with the awkward closet to gain a hallway closet, go with it.

The other option once again required moving your bedroom entry door. Keep the master bedroom closets as is, move bedroom door down closer to master closets, add hallway closet at the end of the hallway.

Also, do you want the music room closet opening into the middle of the room? Should you switch the location of the laundry closet and music closet? Would you rather have a longer wall or a wall chopped in half by the closet door?

Did a quick sketch of all of these options in one sketch, so look at each separately to decide if you like any of the other possible options.

Oh wow thanks for the pics. It's so helpful to see.

My current closet is sort of like the option 1 and I don't mind it. (The hall linen closet takes a chunk out of the corner.) I think I would be pleased with either as I currently share my closet with my 4 daughters. Any closet to myself would be wonderful! LOL

As for the music room, I was just trying to keep that corner open because we might want to put sound equipment in there and I thought that corner/right wall would be a good spot not visible from the front door.

We plan to have a piano and guitar in there for sure. Who knows what other instruments. I would like to have maybe a small loveseat in there in case someone I don't know real well stops by and I don't want them walking through the whole house and also for a place to sit and supervise practice times when needed.

If there's room we might also add a bookshelf. I would just have to see how crowded it looked.

You are welcome.

Another thought I have had and another possible reason to change the music room closet location... it would solve your counter space dilemma in the laundry room... not a very deep counter but it would give you a something more than is there currently. Probably about 12"-14" deep.

Just giving you food for thought on your plan.

Oooh that's a good point. I wonder if I could keep the music closet where you have it but just move the door to the end. Do you think that would make it too hard to reach for the right side?

Although seeing it with furniture I like how you have it....

It would be fine to move the door over to the left, I have the door at 9 inches from the wall... you would gain another 8 inches or so if you moved the door to the left. You would have about 1' 5" from door to wall if you moved it over. Don't know how much space you need for sound equipment. Or if the sound equipment doesn't need to be accessed often, you could put in into the right corner of that closet.

It would be fine to move the door over to the left, I have the door at 9 inches from the wall... you would gain another 8 inches or so if you moved the door to the left. You would have about 1' 5" from door to wall if you moved it over. Don't know how much space you need for sound equipment. Or if the sound equipment doesn't need to be accessed often, you could put in into the right corner of that closet.

The dormers are too rigid and formal for this house type. I would leave the one on the left and combine the two on the right into a large dormer/cross gable.

The high main roof ridge allows this to happen and you should not pass up that excellent design opportunity.

I like the changes suggested above (especially the different option for the dormers). I'm just going to make a comment about the garage/storage/mud room set-up. Are you going to park two cars in the garage? If so, and if the kids will be playing outside with bikes, etc. in the driveway, or in back through the garage storage door that accesses the backyard, you don't have a lot of room between the upper parked car and the wall for the kids to get back and forth to the mudroom.

You might be able to cure that a bit by using a single large garage door, which would shift the cars "down" a bit and leave more of a passageway. Or you could expand the footprint of the garage a bit by bumping the front wall forward to match the wall of the house. That would add two feet to the garage width.

Reno-That looks nice! The first floor is 9' do you mean raise higher? I'm not sure that would be in budget. :(

Does the note say "separate windows"? Right now they are single windows that are sort of connected. Are you saying not to do that?

I would love the look of cedar shingles on the dormers but not sure that would happen. As it looks right now the entire house will be vinyl sided.

Thanks for the suggestion Jake- we plan to have all their bikes and such in the barn. In our current home all the bikes/riding toys are in the garage and they take up an entire garage bay. LOL

I asked her to move the boy closet over to allow for space for a hall closet. This is what she sent me. Would like to know thoughts on which you would like better. The way she did it or the more shallow closet in the hall.

Her way:

-You can't see directly into the bathroom from downstairs. I like that.
-Makes good use of the hall area, but is it too confined?
-If I use the other hall closet as a bath closet (see below) then we wouldn't have a closet at all in the hall. I think I would like at least one main hall closet for the general stuff like toilet paper. But maybe not??

Also, I am considering changing the other hall closet to a closet in the bigger bathroom. Since that one wouldn't have a door to get in the way. There won't be 3 sinks in there, just one in the full bath room and one in the vanity/dressing area. So there should be room for plenty of drawers for them.

My preference would be to have the bigger landing area at the top of the stairs. Otherwise, it seems to be a bit cramped. A bigger, open landing would also be easier for moving furniture, although, that isn't an everyday occurence but possibly something to think about.

Sorry, I know you are tired of the design phase but I want to throw this out there... Now that you have two full bathroom upstairs, would you be opposed to having the bathroom behind the girls room be on the outside wall to therefore get a window? You have one bath with hall access. Would the benefit be there for a window? Earlier you said you would like a window in the bathroom. Just a thought.

Thanks. I am concerned about it being cramped as well.

Window in the bathroom - That would be nice but how would they get into their closet?

I'm also still thinking on the dormers. If we went with one larger dormer on the girl side I think that might make it easier for bed placement. Does anyone know if it is more costly for 2 smaller dormers or 1 larger dormer?

You know? I could have her make the boy closet 1 foot smaller from each side. That would make it 5x7. I could have a shallow storage spot in the bathroom and one in the hall.

Do you think 1 foot is enough?

Hall would be toilet paper so it wouldn't get damp, extra shampoo/conditioner, extra bath towels maybe.

In bath closets would be for the extra couple toilet paper rolls for emergencies, hand towels, wash cloths, bar soap, personal items that don't fit in drawers.

Thoughts?

Oh and I think I will have the girls hang their towels in their bedroom to dry.

Have you considered putting the girls' bathroom where the large walk-in closet is currently? Washer and dryer would open up to hall (nicer, imo), and closet would be between the laundry and bath. You could then have a window in the bath.

Good luck!

birdlover- Do you mean to have the girls enter their bathroom directly from their room?

Modern windows that are "mulled" together will look better if they are spaced far enough apart to receive a trim board as if they were older more traditional windows. That allows room for 1 or 2 studs so the header can be smaller.

Traditionally the cladding on dormers were often shingled similar to the roof. There are vinyl or composite shingles.

A 9 ft ceiling height should be adequate for the porch but there should be a horizontal beam on top of the posts and the posts should be trimmed so they are larger (4x4 would become 5"x5").

The low slope of the porch will probably require Grace Ice & Water Shield underlayment (don't use a knock off brand) from the eave to above the dormer roofs.

Thanks Reno8 I will mention this info.

Yes. You already have one hall bathroom for guests upstairs. Then you could have the laundry in the hall, which I think is probably better, as well.

Ditto Renovator's suggestion for larger posts on the front porch - that really jumped out at me!

Also agree with adding the beam above the posts as shown in Renovator's drawing - it is these little details that make a house!

This post was edited by athensmomof3 on Mon, Jul 1, 13 at 11:26

She doesn't have anything changed on the porch but she changed the dormer to show me how it might look. I dunno. Something doesn't seem right about it. Is it because in my pic we have the two sections of house on the sides? Because the porch is still "flimsy" looking? Does the larger dormer need to be wider? Wider trim around the windows? What does this need?

The larger dormer is really a cross gable and if it were larger that would be clear. The smaller dormer might look better higher on the roof. That will raise the sill but it might be worth it.

There are too many porch posts and they are too thin. Show them as 5"x5" or 7"x 7". They should not be bare lumber. If they had a defined base and capital they would become "columns" instead of posts.

The windows look dull; they need some mullions. Even a vertical one in each upper sash would make a difference. Pulling the mulled windows apart 6" will also add a lot of character to the house. To me they look a bit cross-eyed now.

The overall appearance of the house is still too timid; it needs to be bolder.

So you think the larger dormer/cross gable can be made bigger and still work with the interior floorplan? I think she is trying to keep it within the larger bedroom and that might be why she kept it smaller.

Porch posts - Take it to 2 on each side and make them columns in white.

I'll have to look up what a mullion is. LOL

We are still working on the window sizes but once we get that squared away I will suggest splitting them apart 6".

I appreciate this feedback so much!

Here are 2 pics she sent me today. (I need to have her change some colors.)

The first is with the changes I gave her. The second she added some shutters and special corners. She said that the dormers are the same height but sometimes the angle of the pic looks deceiving.

Problem - We are trying to use some windows we purchased at a discount. I don't want to use them all if it means the house won't look right, but we are trying to work them in. She had made a mistake with the first plans and put some as 3' wide when we actually have 2' wide windows purchased. She updated it to reflect the difference and used those as the front two windows under the porch. (Music room and school room) Do you think those look too tall and skinny?

What about the dormer size/placement?

Here's her second pic.

What do you think if I moved those 4 windows that are 2' to the dining room in the back and then put 4 3' windows in the front as they were originally? Would that look right?

IMO trim boards on dormers ruin the look of the dormer. The traditional cladding for a roof top structure is shingles just like the roofing but since you will be using asphalt shingles I would use cedar shingles on the dormers (or some kind of simulated synthetic shingles) but the cladding should wrap around the corners avoiding corner boards. It is often interesting to use shaped shingles at the upper gable portion of the dormer to add character to an otherwise plain house.

I would also delete the "mutton chop" cornice returns and use a more traditional crown molding that turns the corner and goes up the rake. Any good carpenter should know how to do that. It would give the house more of a Colonial Revival character.

The paired windows under the porch roof are so narrow you might as well save some money and make them one large window.

Thanks Reno8. I will look up what all those things mean.

The windows are that size because we already have some that size. I had her move them to the dining room in the back and we will purchase other ones for the front that are more fitting.

When you say "trim on the dormers" do you mean how she put white along the sides of each dormer. Not trim on the windows in the dormer right?

What do you think of this one she sent?

I totally agree with Renovator8, who really knows his stuff: The larger dormer /cross table improves the overall look of the house significantly. Ditto for beefing up the porch trim. It did look "flimsy" in the earlier pictures.

I think you have wasted space in your master bath. I'd consider losing the linen closet /moving the vanity /sink to the wall behind the living room. This'd allow you to have a larger sink area, and you could easily "make up" the lost linen closet space with shelves in what is how the linen closet and a tower on the right side of the sink.

Definitely insulate your laundry room. I've lived with a laundry room that shared a wall with the living room, and I hated hearing the machines run. A little planning here can eliminate the problem.

I think you're over-cabineted in the kitchen. Yes, they'll fit, but if you eliminate the far-side with the second sink, you'd have a more open, easy-to navigate kitchen (instead of having only the minimum amount of walking space) . . . and you'd still have plenty of cabinet space. More is not better in a kitchen -- I have a huge, huge kitchen right now, and it's a prime example of more is just more.

More questions.

Would it be more or less expensive to have a vaulted ceiling in the master bedroom? (Right now the entire main level is listed as 9')

What about the bedrooms upstairs? They are currently listed as 8' ceilings. I'm trying to picture what they will look like. I love the looks of rooms with all sorts of varying ceiling heights due to dormers and such. Will I get that same sort of look with 8' ceilings and a dormer? Would vaulted look dumb up there since it would just be done in the front rooms on one side of the room?

Please help me figure this out. :)

I purchased some windows at a good price. They are brand new from a trust extended family member that was retiring from general contracting.

These windows are Anderson 200 series with no grilles. The more I look at pictures I think I would like grilles in the front windows. I went over the list and I think I would need to order a 3050 window for the front and not use one of the 3050's that we already have. My husband won't be pleased with this. I bet we could sell one window. I personally think it would be worth it and that's not too bad since I bought them without a plan at all and we have incorporated 7 out of 8 windows purchased.

Can anyone think of a different way to configure the windows to use them all and still get windows with grilles in them on the front of the house?

One thought that I had was maybe using a different size for the dormers. Right now there are 3 3050's up there. Could we change the larger dormer to 3 windows of a smaller size and leave the smaller dormer with a 3050 or would that look dumb?

Here are the ones we own right now:

5-3050-2 (they are mulled together but he said we can separate them)
2-2056-2 (also mulled together)
1-2032

Plan to use:
3 - 3050 in dormers
8 - 3050 on front main floor
4 - 3050 on back (living room)
4 - 2056 on back dining
2 - 2040 (master bath)
1 - window over bath tub (glass block?)
3 - 2020 mast bedroom
1 - 3620 mudroom
1 - 2028 half bath

Oh and would you use shutters at all? Maybe on the windows that are under the porch? I didn't really like the way the shutter was close to the end of the wall on the left (master bedroom) window but I thought putting them on the porch windows would help fill up that bare space with more texture since we aren't going to have anything around the front door.

Or is there something we can put around the front door on the outside that doesn't affect the interior? It just seems bare.

Andersen redesigned the 200 series double-hung in 2012 adding features that are commonly expected in a custom residence. Ask if the sash tilt so they can be washed ("tilt-wash").

I'm pretty sure they were all able to tilt inside for washing.

I just checked and they are tilts. Also I just figured out the answer! I had wanted another window added on the side of the living room and she hadn't done it yet. It can be the 3050 in question. Now I will have to order just the number of 3050's that are needed on the front!

I am SOOOOO excited!

She moved the 2' wide windows to the dining area. I'm unsure of how to have them. Right now the designer has them in 2 sets of 2 since they came mulled together already. I had envisioned 4 separate windows with trim in between sort of detailing the dining space as it's own.

Opinions?