second floor picture here

The first thing I notice is the MB tub and access to the toilet area. You might want to double check the area needed for the tub. Is it a built-in soaking/jetted tub or more of a free standing tub?

The space between the tub and the door to the toilet area seems pretty tight if it's a tub and a surrounding deck.

Does that room next to the master bedroom say "closet"? As in, the bedroom-sized room next to the master is actually the master's closet?

Is that a garage on the front of the house all by it's lonesome? Like the nose of an elephant? A 5000 square foot house ought to be able to have room on the lot to pull it back behind the house, or make it a side load.

I like your layout. My existing house has wash ,dryer 2nd floor. lots of vibrations. I think its a bad idea. but maybe your house will be better built than mine.cheers

I think you could build it as is, and it would be a nice house, but people come here looking for suggestions, so here are mine.

Does your lot require that you put the house behind the garage? If you can manage it, it would be nice to put the garage somewhere else.

I'd recommend you post the kitchen in the kitchen forum. The second island wouldn't do anything for me, but my house isn't on this scale, so it might make sense for you. Your kitchen sink is further from the stove than I would like, also. It's a long way to haul a pot boiling water when the pasta's done.

There's going to be a view of the toilet in the full bath from a big chunk of the kitchen, including the outer island.

The switchback stairs are a pricey thing to put in your back hall. I'd be tempted to straighten them out and rework the mudroom and upstairs laundry, and hopefully eliminate some of the hallway upstairs (you've got a lot of unusable space up there).

I never thought I'd say this, but I think your mudroom is too big.

I'd lose the door from the back hall into the pantry. It's so close to the door to the kitchen, it doesn't buy you much, and it costs you storage and restricts where you can put plugs and switches.

Do you plan to store linens in the laundry room/master closet? Otherwise, I think the linen storage is pretty underwhelming compared to the overall scale of the home. There's not much bathroom storage either.

Good luck, I'm sure it will be lovely!

You have a lot of square footage but few rooms. This means that it'll always be expensive to change anything: Changing out carpet in one room will never be a couple-hundred dollars thing, for example. It'll always be a big expense.

The kitchen and dining room are both huge, but to what point? Bigger isn't better -- efficient is better. What I see here is excessive steps.

I like the size of the pantry, but I'd nix the hallway door. It saves only about two steps, yet it eats up probably 3' of storage space.

I agree that I would not spend the square footage and the money for a switch-back stair that'll be hidden in a back hallway. If it were a focal point in the entryway or the family room, yes. If you do keep this stair, at least harness all that square footage underneath it for a half-height closet. It could hold all your Christmas stuff, for example.

You have a bedroom-sized master closet. Are you planning an island in the middle? Or some other use of that middle space?

The master bath has so much space, yet you're planning two sinks jammed side-by-side so close that it'd be uncomfortable to use them simultaneously.

The other upstairs bathrooms have a similar lack of sink space. Well, no, a lack of counter space. You'll have no place to set a soap dish, tooth brush holder, no space to set a curling iron as it warms up. With all the space in this house, I'd definitely want more in the places that are used daily.

The three upstairs secondary bedrooms all have walk-in closets, but because they're narrow walk-ins, they only have space for an L-shaped closet rod configuration. This is an awful use of square footage. You're spending the square footage for the necessary walking space, but you're only getting the storage of a reach-in.

I agree that the mudroom is oversized.

The hallway leading out of the mudroom, too, seems excessive for a space that's just a corridor. I'd open up the den to include the hallway space, and have that exterior door in the den.

I like so many things about your plan....I lived in a house with some similarities. I imagine you have a larger family and/or entertain larger numbers. I prefer rooms large enough to serve these purposes too. We are a family of 8 with large extended families.

I love your back hall area with the mudroom and den. Will the den be used by "Mom?" I have a large laundry room and desk/homework are that I love...kind of wish it was even bigger now, though. I would have a lower level laundry, but that is personal preference (master down for me too).

Do you have a designated use for the closets in the family room and living room? If it works for how you plan to use them.....I would put the doors/entrance both in the same room. I admit that would be for decorating, symmetry purposes.

Good luck, Need to go....I'll try to
It's more later.

The house backs a lake view so that is why the three car garage is in the front of the lot. Also I like the circular courtyard that it creates. There will be a finished rec room above the garage in a few years after the build.

The bathrooms and kitchen layout have not been thought through yet. but i appreciate the comments about the spaces you bring up very good concerns about sink tub counter size, storage.

Instead of a his and hers we have one big master closet which will likely have a divide on one side or a large island.
It sounds like the bedroom closets could be changed....ideas welcome here.

the hallway from the mudroom opens out to the 300sf covered patio in the back. I will try to fit in more closet space in the mudroom. i want more shoe closets here and an electronics charging desk.

What is the cost savings between switchback stair and a full flight stair? No one seemed to mind the foyer stairs... that seems like it might be a costly item.

Thank you please keep it coming.

I would add a small laundry downstairs. Not all laundry is generated from bedrooms and bathrooms. Think of kitchen towels, cleaning rags, etc. I can think of a lot of other uses but since we don't know your family makeup I won't mention them as they might not apply. I 2nd the idea of posting your kitchen on the kitchen forum.

I recommend against a charging area in the mudroom. No one's going to want to leave his or her phone in a room waaaay in the corner of the house, too far away to hear. A better plan would be to place outlets at "nightstand height" so phones can be charged at night /near the sleeper. Also, the kitchen is a good spot.

Why are people talking about the back stair and not the front stair? Well, the front stair will be expensive -- all stairs are relatively costly. BUT the front stair is in a very visible spot; that is, everyone who comes into the house will see those stairs. They're a necessary spend, and a good value in the long run. In contrast, the back stairs will be utilitarian. They're hidden away. A second staircase is always a option -- not a necessary spend. So, if you're going to have a second set, most people will make it a simple, basic stair instead of something expensive. Also, this set of stairs is "enclosed" on both sides, so you won't see the stair sides -- you'll have no opportunity to deck the railings with Christmas greenery, etc. As you look at this stair, you'll miss the pretty switchback. You'll just see the first run. It's not a good value.

This post was edited by MrsPete on Wed, Nov 6, 13 at 16:32

Why do you want the patio off the back hall? It seems like something you might want to access from the public part of your house.

I think you might also want to consider how much traffic you're likely to have through your kitchen, and how that will impact using it for cooking.

Just wanted to add another vote for having cell phones charged in the mud room....many families....us included....prefers this.

It works great to charge I the mudroom for kids especially. They plug them in there and keep them there all night, rather than take them up to their rooms dring the night. Our boys are not to use their phones at night time. It works great to have them in the mud room and then they can just grab it in the morning.

I recommend against a charging area in the mudroom. No one's going to want to leave his or her phone in a room waaaay in the corner of the house, too far away to hear. A better plan would be to place outlets at "nightstand height" so phones can be charged at night /near the sleeper. Also, the kitchen is a good spot.

I think it depends on the situation. If you have a landline, you can just buy the type of phone where the cell phone ties into and rings on the landline when you are home. This works really well in a large home because you just have a number of handsets throughout the house and you can easily answer your cell phone no matter where you are in the home.

zone4newby - the patio will extend to the public space, just the side part outside that door will be covered by a roof. i didn't want to compromise light into the public space and make it as bright as possible. tyring to get the best of both worlds.

thanks i will be posting the kitchen forum for ideas.

What, no comments yet on the en suite bathrooms? OP, how old are your children? I played with the idea of en suites, but everyone I talked to said they'd be a bad idea...expensive and doesn't teach your children how to share. I changed them to two bathrooms that have a separate toilet and tub rooms. The bedrooms got bigger, and the bathrooms are shared but have plenty of privacy.