Just some thoughts for you.

I'd suggest using homestyler.com which is an on line free software that will let you add furnishings and such to the space so you can better picture it ... it also does 3d projections. It will help you do things like line up the walls which is good for structural reasons...see the bedroom walls are misaligned.

One thing I notice is the MBR is deprived of the view. Another is, do you watch tv? If so where will you put it and how would you arrange seating. The public space as illustrated seems to be a giant hallway with nothing to define spaces or make it cozy.

Will you be wanting a wood stove or other similar heating device? If so, you'd want to plan that in now.

For energy purposes, think about heating vs cooling needs. It looks like the view is really NW which is also where the prevailing winds come from.

For budget purposes, if you are on top of a slope, think about building down with a full walk out basement instead of adding up. Being bermed, it will be more energy efficient, and cheaper to construct as you have to dig in footings and such anyway. Basement areas keep the upstairs more temperate too. We did that in our house, only we have a southern-facing slope, and used 9' and higher ceilings as well as lots of windows, so the downstairs is true living space, not a basement.

The first thing that jumps out at me is that you have only ONE entrance: The front door. I don't think this is legal. I think fire safety requires that you have at least two doors.

The second thing that grabs my attention is that your living room is extremely large and waaaaay long. Maybe you want this: maybe you're thinking of a music room that blends into a living room . . . or maybe this room is just way off. We don't have the information to answer this question.

If this is extra space is indeed extra, you could bring the master suite forward a bit, allowing it more square footage. As it's shown now, your master bath could be laid out more comfortably . . . if it had a few more square feet.

I would consider flipping the master bath to the back of the house. Moving your laundry plumbing and your bathroom plumbing closer together is a money-saver, and it will save you from the problem of hearing the washer/dryer in the bedroom.

I like U-shaped kitchens, but it's hard to get a U-shape "right" in an open floor plan: The huge pantry insinuates that you're a serious cook . . . but the U-shape as you've laid it out doesn't give you enough space. Consider: You're going to have to have to place the refrigerator on the pantry wall . . . and you almost certainly want the sink /dishwasher under the exterior wall (so it can have a window, though that means that the open dishwasher door will block access to your cabinets) . . . and that leaves you with a cooktop on the penninsula . . . but no appropriate space for ovens, and you probably don't want to do a range in the penninsula. The answer is that you need the pantry wall to be longer -- longer so a range can fall into that cabinetry run. Or make is into a G-shape, allowing you more cabinetry.

About the loft: I agree that how to access it is going to be a problem. I'm tempted to say ditch its current shape, which seems to have been chose at random, and instead make the loft more shallow . . . but make it as wide as the house. This would allow you to add a set of stairs in front of the entrance (very traditional placement), allowing you to access the loft at the far side.

However, I don't think the loft is a great idea -- definitely not as a playroom for a 6 and 9 year old. While very cool, lofts provide NO acoustic privacy at all. So if the kids are watching cartoons (or screaming, or whatever -- you know the things kids do), you won't be able to watch TV or read in the living room. Also, if they're sitting up there quietly, they'll overhear any private conversations you have downstairs. You can alleviate a bit of this problem by going with carpet and plenty of other soft, sound-absorbing furnishings, but it will be a very significant problem.

How'd I learn this? We once rented a lovely lakeside cabin, and my husband and I loved the look of the loft master bedroom -- visual privacy, but beautiful views down to the massive fireplace, balcony off the back of the house. However, we never rented that place again -- not after we realized that every little sound (and every cooking smell) resonated up to the master.

I'd flip the entrance to the utility room from one side to the other. Why? Sight lines. When you look down that hall, you don't want to see the washing machine through an open door. If you shift the door towards the master bedroom, you can have a solid wall in that spot -- or perhaps a niche, which could hold a nice piece of artwork, something that'd be nice to view looking down the hallway. I'd also consider a light in this spot so the hallway won't be dark.

I'd flip the whole back half of the house so that the master bedroom would have the mountain view.

Do you have an outside view of the house? I'm not sure which side will be the front, but either way I can't imagine how the windows will work out nicely.

You say time is of the essence in this build. I vote for taking all the time that's necessary to get the plan right -- this is most definitely a first draft.

This post was edited by MrsPete on Fri, Dec 26, 14 at 11:12

I like the idea of moving the kid's bedrooms and play area to a walkout basement.

The lack of a defined living area is a real problem for this plan, and I agree with others that if you have a nice view, it would be nice to be able to see it from the master. Also, the area between the kitchen and hallway seems like it is likely just wasted space. There are many many vacation home plans that are designed for a view with a loft, have you considered any of them?

Thank you all for your great comments. The loft will be isolated from the open area living room, so they would not be affected by the sounds from one to another. Right now in the house we are in there is a loft in the attic space that is used as a homeschool room. We plan to build a cabin for that purpose on the land, but like the idea of an art studio/loft. Moving the kids rooms to the other side of the house would allow us to access the roof from the loft for star gazing (very dark where we live) which would then be above the master.

I agree the master bath is not quite right. I had considered putting the master looking at the view, and might still do it. I like to see the sunrise in the morning while laying in bed. This is the main reason the master is on that side of the house.

THe master bedroom is too big in my opinion. I like bedrooms for sleeping in, not hanging out. Now the kids might like them for that. THe living room, the loft, and the patio are the hang out spots in my plan. The LR is large and would have essentially two sides. One with a wood stove, piano, and an exercise eliptical, and the view side with a sitting area. We don't have a TV. There would be sliding or french doors on the view side of the living room that I have not drawn in to give walk out access to the patio. WHere there are no doors would be windows. Essentailly a wall of windows.

I am having trouble placing the appliances. I had the stove orginally in the bar area of the kitchen, though I don't like that. Now am thinking of having it backed to the pantry so it can be vented easily. Sink either on the wall with window outdoors or on bar.

The idea of the large pantry is to store extra food, kitchen gadgets, and otherwise cut down the need for cabinetry.

I could change the entrance such that the pantry along the wall and go for the G shaped kitchen. The entrance to the "great room/LR". I like the dining area looking on the view. The view is essentially a valley full of cow pastures with mountains in the background.

Thanks also for the reference to the online drawing tool website. Will look into this. I really enjoy outdoor living and like to bring the outdoors into the living space. Big houses tend to trap you inside (my current house is like that). I like it opening widely onto a ground level patio living space.

The lot is 25 acres and is nearly all pasture. Thinking of planting orchards (blueberry, apple) and vinyard. My buddy nearby has made some incredible wine from his own grapes and I want to give it a try.

Since you're going to be using your land and not just looking at it, I'd recommend making a larger entry so you have room for a chair and a good place to put muddy boots and that kind of thing. Will you have an outbuilding to store yard tools?

Also, if you plan to grow much of your own food, I would consider how you plan to preserve it when you're designing your kitchen. If you're going to freeze the fruit, you might want to make sure you've got room for a chest freezer in your pantry. If you plan to can, you might want to think about that when you're designing your work areas.

A floorplan doesn't equate into a buildable or livable house. You really need the services of a professional.

Tennessee? I'd make part of that patio a screened porch...and you need more detailed layouts for your kitchen.

Try e-plans.com. I think this might really help you find a floor plan that will work for your space :)

Greetings All, I have incorporated many of the comments and they stimulated my thinking. Thank you too everyone who has helped so far. I decided to create an entrance way that would be where the door is in this photo. Trying to avoid entering and seeing back door immediately (bad feng shue). So the entrance not shown in this dwg (ran our of room) would avoid this and provide a mudroom with a piece of art when you open the door and the muddy stuff behind the door (shoes etc). Each small square is 1 ft.

Note that the loft is not open to the living area. I moved the MBR to the view side which helped make the M bath more appropriately sized. Also enlarged the kitchen and pantry. Put stove in the peninsula which might be longer. Sink will have window looking NE.

This will be a working farm among other things. The loft will have windows all around and will allow access to the roof over the MBR for star gazing (very dark here). Keep the ideas coming!

As LWO stated you really cannot just draw a floor plan and have it be able to be made into a house. The exterior elevations need to all be developed together to insure they will work correctly and form a buildable house.

Thanks. I know that much more is needed than this. I am just working on the floorplan and will have a drafter who can put it together for SIPS panels do the elevation. The thought was to have a shed roof over the whole thing but by shifting the loft to the non-view side, I would have to go gable.

What I am looking for is ideas on the floorplan and things that I might be missing, or that don't make sense. For example the loft has a very narrow staircase that would be open to the hallway, but is still narrow. I think it is wide enough for use, but not big enough to cart a grand piano up that way.

The living room would essentially have two sides. One sitting area near the view and centered on the fireplace (which is not centered, it put it there quickly), and the other towards the front doorway. Will likely have a piano there. We currently have a stage on our house, and might put one there.

Are you sure those stairs meet code?

We are in the county, so I am thinking I could get away with it. But if code can be met, why not. I will look and see. By having a wrapping staircase I am alleviating some of the problem I had with the last design for accessing the loft. Had thought about having a ladder and a fire pole or slide for up and down too. Trying to have a little fun with it. But stairs seem practical and I am not getting any younger.

A ladder and a fire pole or slide would be outstanding! When I was young I slept in a loft that was accessed only by a ladder and had a sky light over it so I could watch the stars when I went to bed. The floor of it was 10 or 12 feet up and the ceiling was about 5 feet above the floor at the highest point (shed roof) I thought it was great. It was like sleeping in an indoor fort. The hard part was getting down in a hurry, especially at night if I had to go to the bathroom. A fire pole would have solved that problem.

I think putting your ideas on graph paper is a great idea. That is how my wife and I are putting together our house. After we got our ideas down we took it to a draftsman and they made it into a home. But then after the draftsman put it together I posted it on here and it got pretty tore up and we tried to make some changes but ended up going back to the drawing board. It is tough to find a simple single roof line high functioning house plan on the internet. Most everyone wants lots of bling inside and out.

The pantry is really large. You want pantry shelves shallow - so you can see everything on them. With an 18" deep shelf on each wall, you have a 6' walkway. Which is 3' of wasted space.

I'm not sure I understand the loft concept. How does this differ from a second story? Or a bonus room? Or by calling it a loft, are you able to skirt building codes?

The second bath is tiny. Looks like 5x8. For comparison, your master bath is 3-4 times as large. Yet this bath is designed for 2 kids, as well as being the powder room when you have guests over. Once you have tub, sink and toilet in there, there will just be enough room for one person to stand. And there will be hardly any storage. The 2 kids rooms are big enough that you can steal a foot of space per room to make the bathroom a bit more comfortable.

Thanks Pixie for the comments. I will make the pantry narrower as I do want a wide space, but 6' walkway is excessive. I plan to put a chest freezer in there too. Good idea on shaving the kids room. Our last house had a 5'X7' bath for 4 of us! That is the minimum practical, so bigger can be better. But at the end of the day, you don't spend much time in there.

The loft is more of a bonus room type thing. Studio/playroom/art center/maybe movie room. Perhaps a AirBNB some day when the kids move out. I also plan to put the AC on the side near the LR wall to centralize the AC system. Am thinking of running plumbing up there for a sink at least for cleaning art supplies.

I really appeciate everyone taking the time to look my plans over!!

I agree that you are wasting space in some places, and being far too tight with it in others.

Start placing furniture in these spaces-- you can cut out paper replicas if you want to stick to using graph paper. Keep in mind that you will want 3 feet wide walkways through your open spaces.

I suspect the area opposite the kitchen will be large and essentially unused -- yet it's the same size as your kids' bedrooms. That's a lot of space to remain empty in a home this size. Because of the way it is sandwiched between the hallway and the U kitchen, it would feel uncomfortable to sit there, unless you put a table in the middle or something to really define the space, but you've got your dining room elsewhere...

FYI, when you're planning the space around your woodstove, think about where you will keep the wood outside, both when you're seasoning it, and when it's on deck for burning, how it will come in the house, and where you will store it inside. Wood is heavy and burns best when it is warm, so it's good to have it inside at least a few hours before you burn it. And it's also good to have a sheltered spot near the house to store the wood you are about to burn, so you aren't burning wood that has just been rained or snowed on.

We burn 24/7 through the winter-- if you are just planning to burn every once in a while, this kind of planning may not be important.

Do you have a TV? I don't see a place to put it in this plan.

We are in the county, so I am thinking I could get away with it. But if code can be met, why not. I will look and see. By having a wrapping staircase I am alleviating some of the problem I had with the last design for accessing the loft.

How wide are those stairs? See those triangle steps, at what point toward the outer wall are they deep enough for you to safely put your foot down?

The stairs are 3' wide. The corners are 3'X3' square in which I put 3 steps.

The area between the kitchen and the MBR wall is the real sitting area. It would have a sofa and comfy chairs with a small table circled around the wood stove. There is 18' between the wall and the kitchen peninsula (might need to extend the peninsula) so there seems like enough room. We haven't had a TV in nearly 20 years, but we do on occasion wheel out a monitor on an AV cart and watch a movie. The real movie watching would be in the loft.

How about a spiral staircase if space it tight?

This post was edited by robin0919 on Tue, Dec 30, 14 at 22:22

When looking at floor plans, I think of it like a factory. You want the most space devoted to the places you use most and you want adequate space for all the critical functions and you want the least space devoted to the areas used the least. You want the space you have to work for you. You want the house to provide all the services you want and need. It's a matter of balance and best utilization of the capacity that you have.

When I look at your plan, I feel a big imbalance. I'm still feeling all this excess space that is very awkward to decorate and is fundamentally a giant hallway (wasted sq ft) from the front door to the kitchen, and yet I'm feeling a little cramped in the MBR, cramped in the staircase, the need for a real mud room, and more closet space for linens and utility/broom storage.

I'd suggest looking at Sarah Susanka's Not So Big House books to get a better handle on designing efficiently, and for function.

Thanks Annie. Just bought the "Not so big house" book on amazon. I really appreciate all the help from this forum. Found the website with the furniture in it and am using that to create the floorplan above. SO far just the bedroom side.

Using a spiral stair saved a lot of room and is cool on its own. See this one attached and comments welcome from all. Alos resized the bedrooms to take from the too wide hallway and made the laundry room smaller to accomodate the spiral stair and to enlarge one of the bedrooms. Also made the 2nd bath larger and inserted the entranceway in the floorplan, but have not thought much about the sizing of it. Also moved entrance to walk-in closet in the MBR to the Mbath as part of the circular stair insertion.

I like the homestyler and it let me put mockups of various bits of furniture to get a feel for sizing.

Since you aren't afraid of stairs, would something like the plan at the link below appeal to you?

I feel like you've locked into a floor plan that doesn't work as well as it could, and there are better ways to meet your needs in a small, efficient plan.

This is a floor plan for a log cabin, but I think the layout of rooms works better than what you've got planned, and the utility room off the kitchen would be indispensable on a farm. Since you have so much land, I assume you have some flexibility on the orientation of the house? If the view were to the right of the house, instead of to the back, then this would still let you enjoy the view from either both the living room and the eating area.

Here is a link that might be useful: Oregon Trail cabin