Second plan: The laundry moves to the mudroom area which is fine but there is now less room for the coats and shoes. The dining seems tight but I'm not sure. I left a spot there for a buffet or maybe the piano?? I don't love the idea of the piano accidentally getting food on it though.

I was able to get some closets and spots for built in book shelves along with a small school room. In later years we could put a door into that space from the foyer and have a small sitting area.

My main concern with this plan is things being too congested.

Or I could do this maybe. Opening the dining area up some.

Could you share how much sq. footage you have and how much you need to cut? Room sizes would help also.

Right now, they all look choppy to me, but maybe sizes would help.

These are all at just over 1650 sf for the main level.

mbr = 15'7" x 15'2"
kitchen = 15'6" x 13'
mudroom = 28' x 9'7"
Living = 19' from mbath wall to kitchen and 15'6" from top wall to the bottom of that little closet on the left

The rest of the rooms differ between plans. My original plan had about 2200 sf on the main level. Wasn't near as choppy. I am not sure of how to make the stairs fit in the house and how to not have a huge amount of "wasted" space in the middle of everything.

I do like an open concept for the main living areas but I would prefer a school area that could be closed off. Ideally a school area I could easily peek into from the kitchen but I don't know how to make that work. (I originally had the school room on the front of the house off of the dining room but I cut it.)

Neither plan is going to be comfortable. In numerous places they both have undersized walk areas:

- On both sides of the master bed
- In the dining area in the second picture
- In front of the washer-dryer in the first picture
- The kitchen island, coupled with too-small walkways will "trap" people in the U
- And numerous other places

In both plans, the area to the left of the doorway seems to be a problem -- it's space you don't seem to know how to use. I suggest you try a switchback or U-staircase in this area. Losing the straight staircase would add 4' of much-needed width to your dining room.

Only the mudroom looks comfortable in either of these houses. In the mudroom, I'd flip-flop the closets and the half-bath. Keeping the half-bath adjacent to the kitchen will reduce your plumbing costs.

The half-bath, however, isn't big enough for comfort. Imagine: You walk into the room, where are you going to stand while you close the door? At best, you'll have to press yourself against the outside wall as you close the door. You could go with a pocket door, but these are really best for doors that stay open most of the time . . . not bathroom doors.

Think, too, about the linen closet in the master bath. Even if you switch the door swing so that you can see into the closet, you'll only be able to access the items in the closet while sitting /standing on the toilet. I'd investigate sliding the shower into that corner, put a longer vanity against the wall where the shower is now, and the tub/linen closet will fit in there somewhere.

Finally, consider your sight lines. This is a very big deal in terms of making the house "nice". When you walk in a door, straight ahead of you should be something attractive: A window, a door, a focal point such as a fireplace. This makes the room feel welcoming.

Are you cutting for cost reasons alone or because you have a HOA (or similar) that limits your square footage?

The reason I ask is because I'm not sure the jog in the back wall to make the left side a couple feet shorter is going to save you any money. In fact, because it makes the foundation (a little bit) more complex and potentially makes the roof a bit more complex, it might cost you more than going straight across. I'd ask your builder about this if the cutting square footage is for costs alone.

I realize you might not need that extra depth for the MB and bath the way they are now, but with the couple extra feet depth there you may be able to reconfigure that space to be a couple feet narrower (left to right) and give that extra footage to other rooms.

I would hate to see you cut off those few feet and not save any money.

chicagoans- It's for savings. I see your point and would definitely ask to make sure. I took the original plan and condensed...so the back and front of the house was originally out away from the mbr.

MrsPete-half bath, I intended on a pocket door. I know, not ideal. Good call on flipping it with the closets.

The stairs are driving me nuts. I do not like how they fit in. Actually when I looked closely a moment ago, I realized they don't even work. doh!

I agree wholeheartedly about sight lines. I'm trying to fit in lots of things in a much smaller plan than I anticipated. I'm going to play around with the stairs a bit.

I am not an expert. I did have a few ideas for your plan. Downside: way fewer closets.
Upside: schoolroom stays on first floor.
I think this plan would be about 1500sf exterior dimensions when all is said and done (wall thicknesses added in, etc.).
I tried to respect walkways for all directions (e.g. NKBA recommendation to maintain 44" to walk past seated diner = 4' walkways in dining room, 3' walkways in master bedroom, 4' walkways in kitchen).

This post was edited by robotropolis on Sun, Nov 3, 13 at 9:20

robotropolis you link is not showing up.

Dang! Just a min. How does this look?

Robo- I like several things that you did! Biggest issues I see that I have been trying to avoid are:

-Master bedroom door faces main areas. I *do* like that I can get from the bathroom to the closet without crossing in front of the door though.
-Where to put a back door? I'd like a spot I could get to easily holding food for the grill and also a place for kids to come in with muddy feet. I guess it could go in the laundry.
-closets - Like you said, there aren't many. I really would like plenty of closets.

I want to look over your ideas some more though. I really do like some things you did. Thank you. :)

Last night I worked on some things too. I'll post a pic here.

The table in that plan could turn 90* as well.

Oh I just realized something. I don't know if I can put the stairs in the front like Robo has them. Can someone tell me if that would work? The reason I think it wouldn't is because of the windows and making it look right from the exterior.

Anyway, here's the other one I was working on. I didn't get it to work very well though.

Weren't you working with an architect? What have they recommended for cutting sq. footage?

I'd prefer yours of Nov 1, 13 at 17:57.

I believe the kitchen stays the same in all your layouts. You seem to have around 3' aisles around the island. I learned from this forum that for one cook kitchens you'd need 42" and for multiple cooks 48" aisles.

I guess you could have small windows for the stairs. I came up with a layout doing just that. Since I'm no expert prepare yourself to see a lot of inapplicable features. I'm not sure if the laundry has enough length, and the kitchen turned out quite long and not very close to school. School room is quite tiny, but you have a good sized pantry.

Yes, we have been working with a designer the architect suggested.

Thanks Sena- Yeah, I'm just not sure how the stair windows would look from the outside. I am working on one now with the stairs in the front placed in space between windows so that wouldn't be an issue. It's not quite right and I need to go to bed. LOL Hopefully I can work on it some more tomorrow.