I was going to paste your images into this thread to save people the trouble of copy/pasting, but since its an adobe flash I can't.

It's taking a long time to load on my machine... perhaps someone can tell you how to convert it into a .gif so it could be inserted here, see it without the wait.

Overall, it seems you've got a very efficient plan here, without a lot of footage wasted by hallways and the like. The exception is the two entry closets bumping out of the footprint of the house. Thats a lot of bucks to spend for very little bang.

Oruboris,
Thanks so much for the advice. I didn't realize it was going to be slow on some people's systems. I'm working on getting it exported. We'll see if I can figure it out.

I agree about the entry closets not being worth it for themselves. But it gives the front of the house its character with a dormer coming out over that section. And that extra space continues to the second floor to be the sitting room area for the MBR, which we will use instead as a library with built-ins and window seat, and it will have a vaulted ceiling. I think it's worth it for that.

I do wonder about the front door, though, being set back where it is. It allows an area to stand on front steps and be out of the rain, I guess. My mom thinks it will be like a little cave, which I don't like. What if I just moved the front door all the way out flush with the end of the closets?

OK, need computer help. I've got the images saved on my desktop as JPGs and GIFs, but can't paste them here for some reason. What am I doing wrong?

You can't paste them directly from your computer. You need to upload (download?) them to a site like photobucket.com then link to the photo/picture there.

I've seen other people's messages with a picture pasted directly into their message, so I was trying that. The site does give an option of another way to link online, so we'll see if this is faster for people:

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1489039}}

Here's the second floor.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1489040}}

The design seems like a good economical choice since it's pretty much a basic rectangle. Thats a good thing because it will save you money with a simple foundation and roof design. The step-out at the front door will cost you more money but I think it's worth it for the added appeal to your front facade.

It a good plan that doesn't waste space. With 4 kids, a family room that you can close the door to all the noise and toys is good. I'd consider putting a french door between the family room and kitchen. It may be open most of the time but occassionally you will be glad to be able to shut the door.

I expect you will be spending lots of time in the kitchen and need a large table so be sure you have enough room there even if it means taking space away from what I think it the dining/living room area.

I see the pantry in the kitchen. You have a good amount of wall space there and personally I would find making a pantry of stacked wall cabinets more useful than a closet pantry. I think it's just easier to find things as they don't get lost in the back. The pantry could be wider but the depth would only be 1 foot. Maybe even include a little nook area between the cabinets for a phone/message center.

You have 4 kids and 3 bedrooms for them. You know that's going to be an ongoing fight LOL. As a kid I would rather have my own very small bedroom than share a bedroom. Could the libray serve as a bedroom if needed?

If you decide to keep the library why not leave it open to the hallway? Maybe separate it with a half wall of bookshelves or built-in desk. Great place for a window seat between bookcases.

There is not much detail shown on your laundry area. Keep water lines backing to interior heated rooms not exterior or garage walls. Plan a folding counter with room under the counter for laundry baskets. If you can make space for a laundry basket for each child you'll save lots of time. When the kids are a little older they can carry their own laundry upstairs and put it away. And keep your house looking much cleaner by providing hooks for coats, space for shoes/bookbags, and a bench.

I'm assuming that containing building costs is a priority. I think the plan is good that way. With 4 kids I'd go for the square footage and durable finishes over glitz.

Sorry, yes you can post a photo right in the message, but not just from your computer...It has to go through a photo posting site. I use photobucket, and can post right into the text by copying and pasting the HTML Tag created on that site for each picture.

I happen to think that shared bedrooms have many plusses, but I don't see one that's larger for sharing. I'd worry more about 4 kids sharing one bathroom. ;-D Also, I am concerned about closet sizes in those rooms.

I like the isolated family room. Your main floor looks pretty good. Is this planned to be your forever house? Will you ever need a bedroom and a full bath on the main floor? We'll have a room we can turn into a bedroom, and a full bath on the main floor (our only tub), in case of illness, injury, or future age limitations.

Thanks so much for the feedback! You're right, building costs are important, so we are trying to do as efficient of a design as possible, making use of every square foot. You have been very reassuring in that objective. liketolearn, many good thoughts. I'll have to consider a door to the family room; I hadn't thought of that.

Thanks for the thoughts on the pantry. I was going to do your suggestion until I saw someone's pantry last week and really liked it. She was able to store many of her small appliances in there. I decided the main shelf of the pantry will actually have the coffeemaker and toaster, ricemaker with plugs in there. They're not used all the time, but it would be nice not to have to pull them in and out of cabinets to use them. Also nice to have them out of sight. Also, I don't use a ton of canned goods, pre-packaged food, etc. I more need space for a bunch of cereal boxes, large refill containers of things like flour, oil, vinegar, etc. so I think it will probably serve my purposes well.

The library would be available as a bedroom. I don't know if we'll be able to afford the built-ins for now, so it might be a nurser for awhile. I think that's why I'd like the door there. Also, lest anyone be too worried about our kids having enough room, we will have an unfinished basement for future bedroom space and a large unfinished bonus room over the garage. Plenty of room to move into in the future. Very important, especially since we'd like more kids.

I'm formulating lots of plans for the laundry room; it's just gotten short shaft on the layout right now. I'm sure you're right about which wall for the washer/dryer pipes. I hope it won't be loud in the family room. We will actually have a laundry chute from the upstairs bathroom into the small closet in the downstairs bath, which will have a large laundry basket on wheels to drag to the laundry room. That's one of my favorite things about the plans. I love your idea about a fold-up counter with baskets to sort colors into. Once again, efficient use of space.

Rhome, I'll definitely look into the closet sizes. It's hard because we're in an old house right now with hardly any decent closets, so it looks like there's SO much closet space to me in the plan, but I know it will get taken up quickly. You also have a really good point about a bedroom/full bath on the main floor. We had planned that in an original house plan of ours, but gave it up in lieu of a better layout. I think we'll just have to deal with the future in the future. I finally gave up trying to fit everything in.

Thanks so much everyone; any more thoughts are greatly appreciated!