Lovely setting! Several thoughts on the house plan:

- Complicated exterior, lots of jogs = expensive to build, though these add no real function to the house.

- You've accomplished the goal of planning wide doorways and hallways. Should be very accommodating for elderly years.

- Your entryway is really oversized. It could be half this square footage and still be comfortable.

- I'd like to see the pantry closer to the mudroom /garage entrance. As it is now, you'll have to carry groceries across the kitchen. It shouldn't be difficult to scoot the mudroom /pantry next to one another, though it might mean reconfiguring the garage a bit . . . but so what? It's a garage.

- I'd turn the island 45 degrees (so the bar stools back up to the great room). This would put all your main work areas in the same vicinity. The real issue is the sink. It's probably the kitchen's biggest workhorse, and you've placed it kind of out of the way, around the corner. As such, you'll constantly be walking a few extra steps to reach it.

- In the great room, I'd consider a bank of windows and a door on the far end near the kitchen. This would be less expensive, more energy efficient, and safer (in terms of potential break-ins). It also makes furniture placement easier.

- I'm not crazy about the oversized master. Even a large bed will "get lost" in that big space. Also, bedrooms are most attractive if you walk in and see the foot of the bed closest to you -- that way, you get the full impact of the pretty headboard and pillows. Your bed is placed in the worst possible spot: You'll walk in and see just the foot. I'd flatten out the back wall and place the bed against that wall.

- Also, for acoustical reasons, I'd reconsider having the bed "back up to" the wall that's sure to hold the TV. In your elderly years, if one of you develops the habit of turning the TV up LOUD, the other will definitely hear it through the wall.

- Love that the closet and the laundry are convenient to one another, and a nice-sized laundry is always nice . . . but you have an oversized just-walking-through-space in this laundry. You could flatten out the front wall to make this room a bit smaller and still have a generous walkway /workspace in the laundry.

- The study is clearly the "away space" where a person in this very open floor plan can go to close the door and read or whatever in privacy -- good. But since it's meant to be the private room, I'd remove the angled door. Instead, I'd have it open into the entry, making it a bit more removed from the great room.

- Where's your dining area? I'm guessing it's in what's labeled sun room? If so, and if I'm reading the plans right, the sunroom will face the lakes at noon? Therefore, your eating area will be HOT at mid-day. I'd rather have this than hot in the evening because I'd be more likely to have dinners than lunches.

- Your plan for one guest room and space for the next owner is practical. So many people want to build bedrooms, bedrooms, bedrooms for their adult children, their parents . . . just in case. Your plan makes sense.

- I like the shape of the front elevation, but I think you have too many materials mixed. It's a bit "overdone", perhaps jumbled. And the front door isn't particularly "visible"; instead, the two focal points -- the windowed turret and the stone bump-out take away the door's attention.

- Is that a covered patio out back? If so, what a view and what a great space. But it's going to = a dark master, great room and kitchen.

The sun studies are cool, but I have no idea what to do with them. :)

Your layout is nice. A couple of immediate things, then, I'll probably have more when I look again...
Your 1/2 bath toilet is visible from the island seating. Consider "turning" or reversing that space so that one does not see the toilet from the eating area.

You will have a lot of "lost" space in the large (wonderfully-sized) laundry room due to door placement. Is it possible to put the hall closet, opposite your master door, in a different location or orientation so that the upper wall of the laundry room might be used with cabinets/counters/etc? As is, with the hall laundry door placement, you will lose most of the use of that wall.

Be certain you have room for a ramp between the garage and the mudroom entry door in the garage. Usually (though not always) garage floors are lower than the main house floor level, necessitating a step (or in your case, a ramp)

MrsPete, Kirkhall

My wife and I deeply appreciated your time you gave to our house plan. I’ve never been on a site like Garden Web that has forum members willing to help others with their constructive feedback.

We have been working this plan with the “Designer” for months and it’s nice to get a fresh pair I eyes on it.

1) We will revisit Entryway

2) Pantry-Our biggest challenge has been the placement of the Pantry. We looked a few options but it seemed to make the house even bigger and make the Garage "stick out" in front of the house too far. Our Idea position of the Pantry would be where we could access from the Kitchen and the Garage. So we would have two doors in the Pantry.

Any suggestions?

3) Yes a great Idea to rotate the Island 45 degrees this should also solve the issue with the view to the Powder Room. As far as the sink, we are thinking about putting it in the Island.

4) Great Room- yes we are considering cost, so we have 3 options: 3 French Doors, 1 French door and a 2 windows and 3 windows and a “side” door that leads to the deck.

5) Master Bedroom-You just hit on our biggest debate, my wife feels the Master Bedroom is too big. We both have problems with the bed placement. I think we will go back and flatten out the back of the Bed Room.
The only issue with my wife with putting the bed on the back wall would be the lost of the views out of the windows.
As always it’s a give and take situation.
By putting the bed on the back wall it will solve our other issue; the placement of the TV. We could put 2 nice windows on either sides of the bed.

6) Master-Bedroom acoustics-We will be using soundproofing materials between the Great Room and Master Bedroom & between the Master closet and Laundry Room.

7) Laundry Room-The designer wanted something to help with the exterior look so that was the reason for the larger Laundry Room. Maybe it’s better to extend the Master-Closet and make the Laundry room smaller?

8) Study-Very nice suggestion we will do that.

9) Dining Room-We have no formal dining room but the space to the left of the Sun Room is a bench area that we are planning to do most of eating on. (See Photo)
Hopefully we will be addressing the climate issues with the Sun Room with window treatments and separate HVAC for this area.

10) Guest Bedroom-BINGO

11) Elevation-At this time we have not looked closely at the exterior, most of our time has been dealing with the floor plan. We will keep your points in mind.

12) Covered Patio- We are thinking of having only the Great Room covered with a 12’ roof leaving the 6’ exposed.

13) Sun Study-Yes I was just bored one day and did that. The designer wanted to know where the Sun was going to be.

14) 1/2 bath-Great suggestion - will do.

15) We will be revisiting the Laundry Room.

16) If the Garage cannot be on the same level as the Mud Room we will put a ramp in. We may also use a ramp in front of the house leading to the front door. How do you do this and not make it an eye sore?

Question- Why do Garage floors tend to be lower then the main floor?

Again Thanks

I think it's a lovely home for entertaining, but I think you should consider how well it will work for your day to day lives. It seems like a huge place for two people, and may be difficult/overwhelming for you to care for if you do end up disabled, especially with all the land to care for too.

Do you live in a home this large now? It seems to me that most of the rooms will feel empty with only two people in them (including perhaps the master bedroom).

Also, there's no hobby space in this plan-- would some of the square footage be better spent on a sewing/craft room or some other similar space you might want to be able to access on the main level?

Lovely plan, and a bit different. Your master closet is larger than your study, your master bedroom is as large or larger than your great room, and your pantry is definitely larger than your eating space. :)

Imo, I would take take a couple of feet from the master bedroom for the great room. If you have large family gatherings of 40 folks or so, you will get a lot more use out of the space in the great room.

I would add more windows to your bedroom. We vacation in a lakeside house that has beautiful, comfortable upholstered chairs in the master overlooking the lake; it's my favorite spot in the house to curl up with a good book and a cup of coffee. :)

I would also make the study a bit larger since you might find yourself spending more time in there when you desire the 'cozy' factor.

Also, is the climate suitable to opening up your windows for breezes for part of the year? If so, I would definitely add more windows to that bay area in your bedroom, and add more windows to the great room.

Good luck! I'm sure it's going to be a lovely house.

Zone4newby, Bird_lover6

Thank you for your responses

1) Hobby Space - Will be on a lower level

2) Master Closet - The Master Closet is actually smaller than what I have at my old home. Now both I and my wife will share the Master Closet.
3) Office Space - We made it smaller it’s just not something we use a lot.

4) Master Bedroom - I love the idea of making the Master Bedroom smaller and Great Room bigger..I’m sure my wife will be in favor of that.

5) Master Bedroom Windows - Will add more

6) Windows open for breeze ��" Yes we should be able to open windows during the Spring and Fall time

7) We may have to revisit the overall size

Bob

My point about the study was that even if you think you won't use it very much, being the only cozy room in the house, I think you might find yourself relaxing in there more than you think. :) My house is nothing like this one, but my best friend's house has a very large great room for entertaining, and they watch tv, listen to music, and read in the study - especially on cold, winter nights.

However, if you're already living in a very large space and are comfortable in it, you probably would know that you won't need a smaller space to get away to. If you don't, you might think about it. :)

Good luck!

My point about the study was that even if you think you won't use it very much, being the only cozy room in the house, I think you might find yourself relaxing in there more than you think. :) My house is nothing like this one, but my best friend's house has a very large great room for entertaining, and they watch tv, listen to music, and read in the study - especially on cold, winter nights.

However, if you're already living in a very large space and are comfortable in it, you probably would know that you won't need a smaller space to get away to. If you don't, you might think about it. :)

Good luck!

Sorry this just is not my cup of tea. I think that the proportions and details need a lot of work. What is the climate at that location? I like the fact that you are considering the sun exposure.

I always suggest people post the kitchen on the kitchen forum. Link to this thread.

ChrisStewart
The home is in the Northern Kentucky area near Cincinnati.

Fire away...

debrak2008
Could you clarify your comment for me?

Many Thanks
Bob

I'm impressed with your willingness to hear all the feedback - good, and bad. Sometimes people post plans on here and then get defensive if it isn't a universal love-fest. :)

I love your lot. It appears to be beautiful land.

I also like the wide hallways/wide doorways. (I'm biased, I did the same thing...so of course I think it's brilliant. Ha-ha.)

I'm echoing what the others said about perhaps taking some space from the master bedroom and adding it to the great room. Of course everything depends upon how you are thinking about using each space, but in your current plan you may have a lot of empty space in the middle of your master.

Overall, it seems huge to me. I'm not making that as a value statement, by the way. I'm just saying, wow - that's a big house. :) I hope you are planning on having cleaning help, or I know how you're going to be spending your spare time. :)

If you live in something that big now, then you know what you are getting into. If you don't, then I second Bird Lover's point. I'd think about where you want to curl up on a cold winter night to read a book or watch tv. I know I like cozy spaces for those things, but everyone is different.

Well I agree with a lot of what MrsPete and others have said.

The front elevation just seems very random and not cohesive.

I don't exactly know how the walk out basement will work with an 18ft deep porch but I guess it will be dark under there. I would also be worried abut how much sun is coming into the sun room at your latitude.

I certainly salute your effort to not add a lot of bedrooms just for the sake of having bedrooms and I am not criticizing the overall size. It just does not seem to be a very good use of space.

In my opinion, an ideal pantry would serve as the connector between the garage and the kitchen. That means you can walk through, drop the groceries on the pantry workspace, and keep going. The workspace gives you a place to set bags as you distribute items to their appropriate spaces, and it gives you a spot to set bowls or measuring cups as you gather items to take into the kitchen. I think it's possible to achieve this in your kitchen.

Clarification: Yes, I meant leave the sink in the island, but turn the island 45 degrees. This would place the sink somewhat opposite the stove.

Is the dining space that tiny spot beside the sunroom? Oh, as much as I adore banquettes, I can't see that servicing the needs of a house this large. The photograph is absolutely lovely -- just my taste.

Having once lived in a house in which the hot afternoon sun came pouring in the sliding glass door just as we'd come home from school and want to sit at the table for snacks or homework, yes, I see the point of the sun study.

Garages don't absolutely have to be lower than the house. My in-laws have a garage that's "even" with the kitchen floor. No step at all. To my knowledge, they've never had any problems. For the record, they live near the beach, where land is flat-flat-flat. I think the reality, however, is that few, few, few lots are genuinely flat as a pancake, and while the house may be "flattened out", it's expensive to flatten the garage area too.

patriceny

Thank you for your comments

It seems the size of the house ...is now the common thread.

We have been in many homes that came in at 2200-3000 sq ft. and we felt that something around 2500 sq ft would be a good fit for us.

We wanted a large Master Closet, Pantry, Great Room, 4 ft hallways and a Sunroom. It just seems to be a challenge to get it back into the 2500 sq ft area.

Yes, I agree now that the Bedroom is large, my wife is going to cheer now that I agree with her.

Maybe we make smaller:
Laundry
Master Bedroom
Sunroom

ChrisStewart

We are thinking about reducing the deck from 18' to 12'.
Yes, the walkout from the Basement will be darker as will the Great Room with the cover deck

Sorry, Post the kitchen layout on the kitchen forum on Gardenweb. Maybe you didn't know there is one. Its fantastic and gets lots of traffic. Everyone will want to see more than just the kitchen layout but how it relates to the rest of the house. If you post on the kitchen forum put the link to this thread on the post. That way you don't have to keep repeating the same info. I attached a link to the kitchen thread.

Here is a link that might be useful: kitchen forum

I think the garage floor is usually lower because most people learned to do it that way. Maybe garages or cars used to leak more? I often just set the garage door in a 1-1/2" deep pocket because they will leak a bit in a very hard rain.

I don't think most people care about the size. I think it is a question of how the space is allocated between rooms and what will be most functional.

Very pretty lot but oh-my-gosh, WHAT are they doing just to the north of you? Strip mining???? Thank heavens you have a nice row of trees to help block that view!

Re: dropped down garage floors. As I recall, the International Building Code used to require that the floor of an attached garage be at least 4" lower than the floor of the attached living spaces so that any carbon monoxide (which is heavier than air) would have a place to settle in the garage without being able to spread into the house. I don't think that requirement exists in the IBC anymore but some local building codes may still require the dropped down garage flooring. You should probably check.

I'm a bit concerned that, by trying to make both lakes visible from the living room, you may find that once the house is built, you're NOT at all happy with the views you actually get. When I look closely at the windows/patio doors in your living room and master bedroom, it appears to me that in both rooms, your views will be MOSTLY of that strip of land between the two lakes.

Here is an enlarged version of your image of the house situated on the land where I've marked the windows with red and then shown "view lines" from various positions in the rooms. (I tried to use a different color for each position.) Thus two lines in matching colors show the angle of view you will have from that particular position in a given room. Take a look and consider if this is really what you had anticipated.

I can't help but wonder if you might not have gotten better views if you had simply gone with a basically rectangular house oriented east-west with a master-bedroom wing jutting off at an angle toward the north east and the garage attached at the far west of the house. A footprint something like this...

.... would have allowed ALL of the rooms on the south side (kitchen, dining room, and living room) to have a full on view of the lower lake. And the MBr could have windows on the northeast looking towards the upper lake and secondary windows on the south east with a view of the edge of the lower lake. The front door would be on the north side and garage could be a side entry if you wanted.

Orienting the main axis of a house east-west saves significantly on heating and cooling bills plus a simpler (mostly rectangular) footprint would be a lot cheaper to build.

I have not attempted to sketch a full floor plan but just thought I'd float the idea. While you've obviously already spent significant sums on architectural drawings, you might want to start over fresh.

bevangel

Many thanks for your comments we, will differently have to reconsider location of the house based on your drawings. I added a photo that will hopefully clarify some of the views.

1) Strip mining - there is a very high berm with trees on top that should protect us from sight and sound of any potential development.

2) Dropped down garage floor - We will check into this

3) Architectural drawings - The architectural "Study" drawings cost are very insignificant at this stage -
So we would love to see a "fresh eyes" viewpoint of a floor plan.

Again, Thanks

Rcbob, just wanted to say that it's not the size of the house that is the issue; it's the size of the rooms! My house is 2600 square feet, and it is not a large house. Our concern was simply that the big open area would feel more like a hotel lobby on those evenings when you are wanting something with a more intimate feeling.

Good luck!

rcbob,

The design of the home is lovely and grande, both attributes that I know I'd appreciate in my home if my budget permitted. I may be in the minority on this but, the size of the master can be very useful if a "retreat" is re-purposed in a portion of it utilizing columns, drop soffits, half walls, etc. This may be a question for your designer.
On the subject of the master, I agree that the bed wall should absolutely not be located on the shared wall with the great room. That being said, its not always essential that the foot of the bed is viewed first upon entry to the room (although it would be ideal). If you were to utilize the laundry room wall as the bed wall and re-design the entry into the room from that corridor it would retain your window view from the bed and you could possibly incorporate a dual sided fireplace on the shared great room wall. As the great room fireplace will already be plumbed/vented and framed within that space, there's a possibility this could become your retreat area. By rotating the entry door into the room to 45 degrees, you would fit a grand double door into the space as well.

Just some professional knowledge on "acoustics" in regards to sound walls. Most contractors/builders and even some architects will tell you that adding "insulation" (acoustical or not) into a wall cavity will create the sound barrier your trying to attain. This, however, contributes little to no difference in sound transmission from one side to the next. Please make sure, if your trying to actually cut down on as much sound transmission as possible, to utilize more than just insulation.
Use an industry approved acoustical insulation that has an STC rating attached to it if you choose to go that route and couple it with either a "floating" wall system, staggered stud wall or sheetrock with an STC rating such as "quiterock". Make sure the wall extends all the way to the BOTTOM OF THE ROOF DECKING. Otherwise the sound will come up through the ceiling and over the wall like it wasn't even there. Acoustically seal the perimeter of the sheetrock as well. This should help bring down the STC rating of the wall assembly to a more managable level of between 40-50. Just for comparison, an STC rating of 52 is code minimum for demising walls between apartments in my jurisdiction. If i had my druthers, the shared wall between my master bedroom and kitchen would be isolated with an STC 57 rating. (also keep this info in mind if your going to use your laundry room wall as the bed wall).

Great looking home and I hope things work out for you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sound wall assemblies

That is what I was trying to say too, Bird Lover.

Although I've got 2300 square feet and sort-of wish I'd made my house a tad smaller. But I know I'm probably in the minority on wishing for a smaller house - which is why I said it's all how you plan to use it.

Cleaning takes forever. I need a maid..... :)

Deleting stupid double posts. Sorry everyone!

This post was edited by patriceny on Thu, Sep 12, 13 at 15:32

Just the kitchen and pantry for now...

Turning the island is a good idea, but I would have stools on two sides. I would also add a prep sink to the counter overlooking the great room. It would be a great place for snacks and maybe a beverage fridge. Where do you plan to have the microwave? Also, a wall oven might be a good idea, if this is your 'forever' home. Easier on the back :)

In the pantry, I would think about a small window over another prep sink. Rather like a butler's pantry. Adding some glass uppers might be nice, too. Even though you don't plan to have a formal dining room, I would imagine spreading out in the sunroom, when there are too many to sit at the bench. (Very nice picture, by the way!)

Since the powder room will be visible from the island, I would either flip it and have the door on the other side (sink and toilet against the other wall) or make it very pretty. It looks like it has a small window and a really striking wallpaper or paint finish, along with a modern sink (or something very vintage, depending on your style) would look very nice. Having indoor plumbing used to be a big deal and people actually wanted their guests to see it!

I have a little more time, now...so the bedroom. First, I like the bay! It works with the shape of your deck and it brings in more light and views.

The bedroom is very large, but it all depends on how you plan to use the space. Are you planning a seating area/TV area against the other wall? If not, I would take about 3' - 4' off the width of the room...and 1' or 2' off the laundry and closet. This will make the room feel more to scale, if you're not going to have a large seating area. You don't want an 8' walkway between the bed and whatever you have on the opposite wall.

In the hall, outside the bedroom...I would rework that hall closet. It's big and it's making the doorway into the bedroom fairly tight. Also, if you could rework the space, you could move the laundry room door over just a bit and have storage on the other wall of the laundry room. That would give you more storage and a little buffer/privacy for the master bedroom.

lavender_lass

Thanks for the comments and your time.

-To be honest we have not concentrated much on the layout of the Kitchen, we were going to a kitchen designer for help.

-Ovens - At this point I thinking 2 wall ovens. Although both ovens will probably be used only 2 or 3 times a year.

-Pantry - Never thought about a prep sink. I like the idea of a window but it may take up much needed shelf space. I need space because we will be having separate Refrigerator and Freezer in there.

-Powder Room - Very nice suggestions, few others brought up the issues with the Powder Room.

-Island - We are planning to have 3 or 4 stools and a sink.

-Bedroom - We are in the process of re-thinking the Bedroom. Making it smaller we just need room for a sofa, Bed, night stands and one more storage furniture. To save space we could do without a "formal" sitting room just enough room for a sofa.

1) How do I make the Bedroom smaller maybe making the Great room bigger?

I would love to make the Bedroom smaller and keep the Great Room the same size but how I do that since it's a internal room? We could as you suggested reduce the size of the closet and laundry.

2) Based on earlier comments we are having problems with the placement of the bed, TV and door leading into the Bathroom. The wife does not like the bed against the Bay windows. She wants to see the views outside from the bed.

-Closet outside bedroom - The depth is 2' Are you saying to reduce the length or depth?

-Laundry Room - Nice suggestion on the door placement

Again, Thanks
Bob

If it's just the two of you, I wouldn't worry about sound from the great room bothering one of you while sleeping. I'd put the bed exactly where you have it planned, and add some comfortable chairs in front of the bay. Just add more windows to get the views and breezes.

And if one of you is a night owl, all you need is a comfortable chair and tv in the study. Unfortunately, sound is going to get lost in your great room, so you would have to put the tv louder in there, which is fine as long as no one is attempting to sleep on the other side of the wall.

Someone above mentioned having the study open directly into the foyer. I like that idea as well. "Square off" that room and enter from the foyer. You can make this room a bit larger OR completely eliminate the square footage from the present foyer closet space and continue to eliminate square footage all the way through the hall and great room. Then, I would move the fireplace wall over two feet to the "left." You will reduce the size of the master bedroom while retaining the size of the great room.

By squaring off that study wall (and entering it from the foyer), you can enlarge that hall closet or divide it into two - making one your coat closet.

Good luck. I'm sure it's going to be a lovely home.

This post was edited by bird_lover6 on Fri, Sep 13, 13 at 8:49

bird_lover6

Thank for even more great suggestions with the Study & Closet

Well, I'm having to live vicariously through all of you, since it's going to be quite some time until I get out of this house. haha

Can't wait to see the finished result. I hope you stick around and share with us!

Well, I'm having to live vicariously through all of you, since it's going to be quite some time until I get out of this house. haha

Can't wait to see the finished result. I hope you stick around and share with us!

bird_lover6

We will be sticking around, this forum is too valuable for anyone building a home.

We are in the process of digesting all this information and incorporating it into our next Study Plan, hopefully with more details.

I will indeed post an updated plan for additional comments.

This post was edited by rcbob on Fri, Sep 13, 13 at 14:44

I had some free time this evening (DH is out of town!) and I love playing around with sketching floor plans, so I decided to pull out my non-professional CAD program and see what I could come up with to fit your property.

Idea was to see if I could give you all the rooms on the main floor that you wanted including space enough for 30 - 40 family members to gather, while maximizing the views of the lake, and allowing light to enter all major rooms from 2 directions and keep the heated/cooled square footage down to under 2800 sq ft. I also wanted to minimize west facing windows because those can bring in way too much heat. And of course, I wanted to make the main floor fully wheel chair accessible.

I kind of like what I came up with so I thought I'd show it to you. The floor plan is below and below that is the house situated on your property as best as I can figure based on the photos you posted.

****************************************************

FYI - all single doors are 36" wide, the staircase to basement if 4 ft wide, hallway leading to mud room is 5 ft wide with a 4 ft cased opening to the foyer. I didn't put a fireplace in the Great Room. It could go on either interior wall. His part of closet is 5 ft wide, hers is 7 ft. Shower is 50" x 102" so plenty big enough to roll a wheelchair in.

I think the only thing missing is the "sun room." I left that out b/c, except in the far north, sun-rooms are one of those ideas that sound a lot better than they often work out to be. But, if you really really want one and otherwise like the plan, the banquette could be shifted over to where the patio doors are, the kitchen patio doors moved to where the banquette is and then a sun-room with south and west facing windows could be placed in the corner between garage and kitchen. Even with windows on just two sides (south and west), I think it is likely to get way too hot for regular use tho. Besides, another alternative would be to make the sitting room into a semi-sun-room by using floor to ceiling glass. South and southeast facing windows would get plenty of light without admitting quite so much heat.

Anyway, if you like the layout, feel free to use it as is or with any changes you see fit to make. I just do this for fun so I'm happy to waive all copyright claims.

I know the pantry is not tiny as is...but...I would take it to the end of the garage as there doesn't look like there are any windows or doors in that wall. Then I would add a door from the garage straight into the pantry. Such easy access with the shopping bags.

bevangel

I can't tell you enough how much we appreciate what you did for us. I love this forum

The problem I have is that I came down with a very bad case of Poison Ivy and my face is so swollen I cannot see very well. My wife tells me it has been very well thought out. So after my swelling subsides I will have a look at it.

mrsmuggleton

I'm all in favor of a larger pantry - We will revisit again and consider cost.

Many thanks to you both.

Hope the swelling is starting to subside and am praying that that the poison ivy patch was NOT on your ten acres of land so you don't have to worry too much about repeated exposures once you start building! One bout of poison ivy - especially on the face - is more than enough for one lifetime!

Nice plan, BevAngel! I think it has everything the old plan had . . . but in a more compact footprint, and it does play to the site's strengths.

I'd want a fireplace.

I wonder if the banquette is enough dining area. I like banquettes (very much, actually), and it'd be perfect when it's "just us". If the OP's family entertains casually, and if they have outdoor seating for large groups, it'd be "enough".

Laundry off the foyer is a bit unconventional, but it works. They'll just need to keep the door shut when people are visiting. Since the door between the closets and the laundry is probably going to stay open 99% of the time, I'd make it a pocket door.

One small thing I'd add: A pass-through between the pantry and the kitchen. Yes, it's a small thing, but it would save steps.