This is one of the best-thought-out stock plans I've seen. There's so much to like -- especially the direct access from the master bath/closet to the laundry! The only thing I can see to change is the oddly angled closet in the third bedroom --cut off the foot of the "L" and just make it a straight closet. And check to make sure there's plenty of space between the master bath vanities and the fixtures behind them.

I like the keeping room and think the kitchen is so open to the other two rooms that you won't miss windows in the room itself.

Overall, I like it.

What I don't like:
No kitchen windows.
I am not a fan of the keeping room being open to the kitchen... I think it would need to have maybe french doors or something to create separation.

Thanks for the feedback so far. Chibimimi, I'll definitely check out the items you mentioned and look into the possible closet fix. Sweet reverie, the lack of kitchen windows is also a concern of mine. I think the openness of the plan is attractive, so I don't think I'd like the addition of French doors. My grandma had French doors separating off some of her rooms, and they stayed open all of the time for traffic flow, and seemed to be in the way . But they did look nice,

Just posting a picture of the plan...I'll try to resize and make it larger when I get home.

Yes, I think this is a very nice OPEN, but nice plan. I have the same architect and he has been wonderful. We are not done yet but if you need modifications i'm sure the costs will be acceptable. If your doing a true one story you may want to consider skylights or solatubes in the kitchen in leiu of windows. I like many of his plans, this one is no exception. Many users lately have this architect. (thanks again GA:)

Like the bones of this plan a lot! At first glance, these are the changes that come to mind: change keeping room to kitchen, change kitchen to dining. Change 2 private baths in guest brs. to one shared bath, change front dining room to 2nd living area. Find some way to get a half bath near rear entrance?

This is a very large plan for just 2 people: a lot of space, a lot of furnishings and a lot of cleaning! For example, typical with plans from house factories, the master dressing/bath area is almost twice as large as the bedroom (to be fair this also includes the mud room); the 3-car garage is bigger than almost any two rooms combined.

Do you want to pay for construction of spaces so large, where relatively little time is spent? The inclusion of 2 large rooms, the keeping room and family room, is a real luxury.

The area that is most questionable IMO, however, is the interior kitchen, which turn out to be a corridor-type arrangement with no windows, view or natural light. I would find this a not-enjoyable space if I had to spend much time there. Plus, it is completely open to view from both major public rooms, making it mandatory that the kitchen be neat, tidy and attractive in appearance at all times. Are you this kind of person?

Many people are drawn to features and houses much larger than they actually need, and only come to grips with the issue once construction prices have been received. Is your budget sufficient for such a large and expensive house?

Good luck with your project, whatever you decide!

I appreciate everyone's input! Hopefully I'll have a revised version of our plan for review soon.

3095 square feet on the main level (plus a walk-out basement and bonus room) for two people and four dogs? That's more house than I'd build.

I disagree with the idea that the kitchen'd be too dark. Although it is an "interior" kitchen, you'll have light flooding in from the two adjacent rooms, and I don't see this as an issue.

I do not, however, like the island. I am very short, and I would have trouble reaching across this bohemouth to wipe it down.

I like the "flow" at the garage entrance door.

I think the two guest bedrooms are "overkill". Full baths and walk-in closets . . . even for regular out-of-town guests, that's a lot of space and a lot of expense.

Likewise, this is a family-sized mudroom and a family-sized laundry room. I think you'd be fine with half that size.

Since you have so many dogs, I would consider turning that mudroom closet into a dedicated dog bath. It's close to the kitchen and laundry in that area, so you already have plumbing going that direction.

I don't particularly like the keeping room and family room being so open to one another. The idea of two living spaces is that people can do different things. In this arrangement, a person watching TV in the keeping room will disturb the person trying to read in the family room.

I think your idea of chopping off the keeping room is a good one -- unless you entertain on a weekly basis, this very large room will cost big and give back little. And, as you say, that'll give you windows in the kitchen.

I find it a bit odd that the dining room is one of the most private rooms in the house -- it has more walls than the rest of the house. If you do keep the keeping room, I like the idea of using that large space for a dining area. The dining room would be well-suited as an office, and I think we all need some space for a desk, computer, etc.

With such a large and massive plan, I would expect to see a very large and bulky pitched roof that would be required to enclose the house.

I like the fact that the garage entry is not visible from the front elevation of the house. The garage wall, added to the exterior wall of the house, however, is very long and will appear very very unattractive if it is seen from the street or front of the lot.

Good luck with your project.

So where would the keeping room be chopped off at, since it does provide the only public passageway from the garage entry to the rest of the house?

virgil - I agree with your comment on the dark kitchen. After your comment on the roof, I was curious what the elevation looks like, so I looked it up.

dekeoboe, these elevations aren't bad; not a bulky a roof as I had thought. And the additional roof over the 3 garage doors helps relieve that long elevation.

There's something odd happening with the roof over the keepting room which is parallel to the roof over the master dressing/garage, but we can't see what it is from the side elevation. We'd have to look at the rear elevation to try to find out how the two parallel roofs drain.

How would you decide whether to use the Keeping Room or the Family Room? Why do they both have the same relationship to the kitchen where the major feature from the keeping/family spaces is the backs of people on stools? To me it's tavern style living or more politely a giant man cave.

Renovator8, I've seen you make that objection before. I'm genuinely curious, how would you change it? This seems like a problem inherent in any design where a kitchen is largely open to the adjacent room. In this design, there is no way around this problem with at least one of the adjacent rooms, unless all stools are removed.

The kitchen can be partially separated from the other rooms by low cabinets/bookshelves, or a stairway. I try not to have more than 3 or 4 counter stools or chairs and never allow them to face each other even around a corner. It's a kitchen, not a diner.

And I try very hard to avoid a sink or stove in the island because neither of them is an interesting thing to look or smell or from which to be splattered. "Turn that disposer on again; I'm gettin to like it."

And I would never design a kitchen without a window because it's a space that is usually used more than the other space especially in daylight hours.

Otherwise the plan is fine.

I wouldn't consider two guest rooms overkill, and I know that as a host and a guest, I'd like the private bathrooms.

Do either of you need an office? Where would you put your computer(s)?

Since the porch is covered, that will limit light into the living room and keeping room--I know I'd rather have direct light in the kitchen.

When there are multiple living spaces, I know I'd rather have them physically separated for noise reasons. If the TV is on in one, it's really on in both if they're that close together.

Where would your primary daily eating space be? Do you want to eat in the dining room for every meal?

Just some thoughts.

ash6181- Did you decide to build this house plan? I am interested in it, but can't find any interior pictures of the plan.

First, my apologies to everyone who posted after my October 25 post with suggestions. For some reason, I didn't see the posts until forestrygirl's posts pushed the thread back to the first page.

Forestrygirl, we're still working on our plans. We won't be building the plan as drawn, but are drawing inspiration from some parts of it. (Although with the way hangs are going, who knows). I couldn't find any interior pics either. If you do find some,please share them with me, I'd love to see them.

We are also looking at this plan. I disagree with most everyone about changes to the plan, specifically to the kitchen and the keeping room. I think the plan looks fantastic. With the kitchen being open to the other rooms which are full of windows, the kitchen will feel much more open than a closed off kitchen with windows. Having been in many houses recently that have both a great room and a keeping room, a keeping room is on my list of "wants". Yes, if someone is watching a movie with surround sound turned up in one of the rooms, the other room may be impacted. But otherwise, I haven't seen any trouble in the houses with keeping rooms. (And in this plan, I was going to finish the upper bonus room to be a media room for the kids to play the loud movies/music anyway.) My concerns were the size of the pantry in the kitchen (it says it has one, I can't tell where from the plan), and the closets in the spare bedrooms (lack of a walk-in in one, and the room taken up by the other). All in all, I like this plan, but would love to see interior pictures also!

We're planning a kitchen island that'll face the great room, but I'm not really concerned about the "people's butts" argument. We're planning a house for our retirement years. My husband and I will sit at the bar when it's "just us" eating breakfast, perhaps. But when we have guests, I'm imagining the bar as a place to set out munchies and drinks -- not as a place to sit and dine. I agree that low bookcases can be a lovely idea, but it also requires more space and creates an obstacle around which we must walk.

BethOhio3, I made the comment about the guest bedrooms being "overkill". I don't think two bedrooms are too much -- three bedrooms is a pretty standard requirement for resale, even if you don't need them yourself. What I think is overkill is two full baths and two walk-in closets for occasional guests. Are they nice items? Oh, yes! But when you're talking about rooms that're just for guests -- unless your budget is unlimited -- it's an expensive luxury.

4Runner, I see the pantry: It's a small one and opens into the mudroom. This isn't ideal. Since the kitchen has miles of counterspace, I'd be willing to lose a little of that (especially since it's way over on the side anyway) to make the pantry open directly into the kitchen.

Thanks, MrsPete. I didn't see the pantry, and probably wouldn't have even recognized it there, if you didn't point it out.

As for the spare bedrooms/baths, I like the walk-in closets, but could take a jack-n-jill bath instead of two full baths.

All in in, while not perfect, I still like it. It meets most of our wants without too many additional items. (3 bedrooms, family room and keeping room, nice master with sufficient closet space, and covered porch.)

Hello. Just curious what changes you ended up making to this plan. My husband and I are very interested in this plan and have our own thoughts on modification. We are trying to get other people's ideas and opinions. Any suggestions on what you came up with would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.

Hello. Just curious what changes you ended up making to this plan. My husband and I are very interested in this plan and have our own thoughts on modification. We are trying to get other people's ideas and opinions. Any suggestions on what you came up with would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.

Has anyone built the Tallaway house plan? We are looking for a plan for our retirement home. The Tallaway is big, but we have a 5 acre corner lot in LA that needs a plan that the home won't seen lost on it. Has anyone used Mitch Ginns plans?