We love the Field of Dreams farmhouse house plan and we used it as inspiration for our exterior (though our home is smaller and simpler in many ways). So if this seems rough, please just take it in the spirit of someone who really appreciates the original.

The roof pitch and modified window placement / size really detracts from the farmhouse feel of the plan and puts it much closer to colonial in my mind. It doesn't capture the same feel as the original plan at all. The roof is too shallow, and the house sections too wide to get the upright feel of the original. Also the roof returns add a lot of character to the original and their absence is missed here. The wrap around porch is also very different aesthetically and it will be difficult to achieve the same feel with 3 corners wrapped in porch.

As for your comments, I agree that the entry is kind of a jumble. I don't love the laundry, freezer or closet positions. Would shifting the garage back help at all? It seems like the extra back corners isn't helping.

Please be aware that if you are having your designer "modify" the Field of Dreams plan without having purchased a license to do so from the Field of Dreams copyright owner, you and your designer could be liable for copyright infringement.

The Field of Dreams Farmhouse IS a beautiful design but, legally, there is a world of difference being "inspired" by that plan as you design your own UNIQUE farmhouse and making an infringing copy of that plan. Your design does NOT have to be identical to be considered infringing. Nor is there any hard and fast rule regarding how many changes you must make to a copyrighted plan before the new plan will be considered different enough NOT to be infringing. You can't just say, well, we moved the screened porch and made it bigger so it isn't infringing.

The test for infringement basically comes down to: 1) Did the alleged infringer have access to the original work? And 2) Is there "substantial similarity" between the two works?

I would urge you to spend some time researching architectural copyright infringment and maybe talking to an attorney about your potential liability before proceeding.

Here are a couple of links to get you started:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_in_architecture_in_the_United_States

http://www.scribd.com/doc/19578521/Architectural-Copyright-Case

OK, so I'm on an 'unsafe stairway' kick. I know this straight run of stairs was 'typical', but that doesn't make it a great idea. Consider the meaning of the term 'landing'.

I think you could find a lot of plans like this...or better. Will you use a deck? Do you plan to eat on the porch -- small and distant from the kitchen.

Finally, if *I* had nine acres, I'd be going for a one-floor home (and nobody could rag on me about stairs - lol).

that was part of the purchase agreement. The no build zone was put in by the original owner, who built the house next door, and didn't want his view inhibited by a house (we are letting parts of it go back to woods, so the no build zone will be sort of irrelevant as the trees go, but anyway...)

With the layout of the land, much of which is densely wooded and too low and damp to build on, there is really only one suitable spot to build, and it's not a huge spot, so building one story is probably not an option.

That said, I don't like how she made the stairs rather than having a landing. That is one thing I'd want to address.

As for eating plans, we would probably want to eat on the screened porch (which is one reason I'd want it off the dining room rather than the family room). And we were thinking a deck rather than the patio she has depicted.

I did not read all the responses but immediately notice that you could have a corner sink! It would be gorgeous looking out of the woods versus the deck area. I had a corner sink previously and loved it but could not get it in my cuurent home. Is there a way you could "open" that corner somehow with a larger window or some type of header to support it?

Well, it's a very nice plan, but IMHO, the main floor bath and screened porch are too small, while the upstairs bath is really large...but broken up with storage. The laundry/entry area seems to have a lot of extra space, too.

Have you considered flipping the master bedroom suite? You could have the bedroom over the dining area and the bathroom over the kitchen, which might help you with plumbing costs. It would also allow you to put three windows on the bedroom wall, over the three windows, in the dining area. This would open up you bedroom to the view and make the house more balanced, on the outside.

I'd also be tempted to think about enlarging the screened porch and possibly making it two story. A sleeping porch, off the master bedroom, would be wonderful :)

Square off the corner next to the BA on the ground floor, and you can move the W/D next to the BA, and move the closet so it doesn't bump out. You can move all of these elements around.
OTOH, most prefer the W/D on 2nd floor these days, where most laundry gets generated. Unless you plan to hang it outside to dry, then you want it downstairs. (I hang mine to dry on hangers above the W/D in 3rd floor condo.)