I see a few areas that could use space more efficiently: Firstly the entry area. This is a large, open space - do you have activities that might merit this? If not, you should regain some of this space for the living/kitchen areas. Also, I would try to alleviate "falling" into the living room by defining the entry area with a closet or landing area for coats/bags of guests. Your master bedroom will have very little sound isolation from the living areas, so closets between the two (accessed from whichever side is more useful to you) would mitigate this and give you more storage, which is always good. The master closet also has a large floor area compared to the amount of storage in it; longer and narrower with no jogs gives maximum amount of storage per floor area. With all those outdoor activities, I would consider either adding a door from the mudroom to the master bathroom for easy access to a shower, or adding a shower to the powder room (perhaps in it's own little room/compartment) which would also be useful for overnight guests.

MVJC - thank you - i like the idea of a closet to help the sound coming from the great room. that's something i have read here before and didnt think to apply it there.

I played around with furniture, and while it's true to size, i would likely have more. A bench or table to the left of the door, etc. I did play around with the idea of a pass through to the mudroom from the bath. I imagine a laundry door, but i will play with the layout again to see if i can get a true door there.

i want open, but i don't want waste. thank you for your suggestions!

I also agree that you have a lot of empty space in your foyer. Yet you have a cramped mudroom/laundry/pantry area.

Maybe move your stairs forward a bit. And consider a straight run of stairs. Then you could get a full size pantry in the area behind the stairs. And probably the powder room there as well.

If you flip the wall where the washer and dryer is, you can share a wall of plumbin with your master bath. As pointed out, your closet has a lot of wasted floor space. If you thin it up a foot or 2, you could then create a step in laundry closet. A convenient place to hide the dirty laundry. And keeps clean laundry clean u til you get around to putting it away.

I'd consider a coat closet near the front door.

I agree with what's been said already:

- The entryway is kind of excessively large, and it's going to have an odd feel. I wonder if you could place a wall behind the sofa . . . which would allow you to walk into the living room on the left or the right. It's still way too much entry for this small house, but it's the best idea I have.

- The dining room also seems to be rather over-sized for the house.

- Ditto for the master bath. You have so much empty, wasted space in the middle -- yet no linen closet.

Other things that I don't think have been said yet:

- You definitely want your powder room toilet and sink on the same wall. Imagine "threading the needle" to scoot between the two. This is a super easy fix.

- I'm not sure whether that's a basement door or a closet door, but the door-under-the-stair and the powder room door are going to knock against one another. Since your staircase is "enclosed", this is an easy fix: Just flip the staircase the other way so that the closet door is closer to the kitchen.

- You have a ton of space under that stair that's not being used! You could extend the pantry under the stairs and greatly increase its size.

- The mudroom, I'm thinking, is more than 20' long. That's not going to be an attractive or functional entry.

- Is that a giant refrigerator against the back wall? For the number of people who'll live in a house this size, I don't think you need one quite this big. Regardless, I'd move it to an interior wall . . . and make space for a window!

- You have so much space in the closet area . . . I wonder if you could make a little "hallway" into the master, which would make it more private.

- Typically back doors open to, well, the back. You've placed yours to the side. What's the rationale?

Just a few ideas...changed the powder room and door swing for basement, along with linen cabinets in the little hall to the powder room. Thought I'd see how it looks moving French doors to middle of wall :)

Oh, that's a piano...just getting an idea of how much space you have there. Lots of possibilities!

This post was edited by lavender_lass on Thu, Nov 20, 14 at 19:58

Pixie - the walkway in the mud room is 4 ft, shouldn't be too cramped. I do like the idea of a laundry closet, I will play around with that tomorrow. I suppose sharing the plumbing would be more beneficial than having an immediate vent exit? Thanks!

Mrs Pete - yes, entry needs work. I prefer not to add a wall but will be working on a solution. Linen closet is by the tub, but I am going to try and shrink the space using pixies laundry closet idea and see what I come up with. I think this will also save the door issue. Is it more "right" to go upstairs on the left or right side? I suppose up is on the right in most offices here.

Below is a photo of a similar mudroom. The closet and counter across are options, not sure exactly how I'll use the space yet.

I had the refrigerator where the oven is previously, and the oven in the back with a window. still not sure which I like best.

The land is quite sloped, and I am likely going to do a side deck patio. I imagine the land will be moved a lot so that could change. To the left into the property will be views and gardens.

Lavender - thanks for the ideas! I like the powder room concept. i also love the piano, or maybe I should do ping pong?

I am excited now to fix the wasted space. I don't want complicated rooms, but really want to make the most of the area. I want to make the closet as big as possible without wasting, I really need the storage.

Thanks again,

There are a lot of things that need to be improved about this plan, but for us to be more helpful, you need to redraw it with each square = to 1'. As it is now, it's too difficult to get the numbers right, which hampers our ability to accurately size the room changes.

What climate are you in? Are there trees shading all of those west-facing windows where the view is? Will guests, or just family, be using the basement as an entertainment area or is there a guest bedroom & bath down there?

I think the first floor needs a lot of reworking for kids and frequent guests to find the space really functional. Also, considering the size of the house, you've given a LOT of unnecessary space to the master bedroom, closet , and master bath.

Anne

Looking right at kitchen sink from front door. No organization of space.
The lobby has a piano; is this Nordstroms I have wandered into? Oh yes, there's the sink of the Nordstrom's Cafe! (Best caramel lattes!)
Casey

Anne - unfortunately not going to happen using this program. The dimensions are accurate aside from a few exterior ones. I am in central NC and in the woods. The house will be shaded from all sides. Basement will be entertainment, guest bedroom, bath and storage. thanks for the feedback. Once i rework with the above suggestions i will put more dimensions in and hopefully that will help.

sombreuil_mongrel - there's no piano in my plan.

OK, using your black & white floor plan, any reason you couldn't turn the stairs 90 degrees, so that you would go up or down from the left side? Very roughly, since I don't have time to figure out the numbers, then move the stairs towards the front door so that the (open) wall of the up stairs hits where the non-hinge side of the door to the MBR is (get rid of that door). Put a coat/storage closet to the right of the front door to provide a buffer between this new foyer and the MBR wall. This will create a very nice place for people to enter, a place to put raincoats, and their first view as they enter will be to your great view to the west through the great room instead of the kitchen, which is now blocked off for the most part and which can be pulled back to the right partly into where the stairs were.

You have plenty of space on that left side to create 3 spaces: With both kids and guests, it is very nice to have a room that can be a little apart from the main goings on. In that back left corner where you have the DR, wall it off with double pocket doors facing the front to make it a den, TV room, playroom, whatever--it's use would change over the years. The middle of that 40' space can be the DR, with plenty of space left in the left front corner for the great room.

Now put the MBR entrance coming in from the top left side of the room, with the WIC closet door on the top right side of the BR (not ideal to go around the bed to the bath/closet--maybe someone else can work this out better), & the bed can go between these on the long wall, which uses the space better than if it's on the short wall. You have enough room behind all of this if you get rid of the excess space in the WIC & master bath to have a separate laundry (most people seem to strongly prefer this), the powder room, and mudroom. I'd move the door separating the kitchen & pantries to the right side of the pantries--if this part of the plan still keeps this form.

Anne

When reconfiguring the back entrance, mudroom, laundry, pantries, etc., you really need to create a hall to the right BEHIND the kitchen. Otherwise, everyone will be forced to come through your kitchen to get to everything else in the house, a real negative for most people who have ever had to deal with that setup.

Anne

I am interested in the software you used for your plan. Where can I get it?