To come up with the best solution, there is A LOT more information that is needed. Contact a local architect(s) and talk to them about your wants and needs. Select the one you feel the most comfortable working with. A good architect is the best investment you can make in a home.

We worked with an architect a couple of years ago and the only way he was able to solve our "problems" was to grow the house much bigger than what we wanted. So we are regrouping and trying to solve many of our issues before we go back to work with an architect again. Based on our last experience it seems we need to have a design at the 80-90% level or so before we go back to work with an architect. So we were trying to get to the point where the architect only has to do some fine tuning. Seems that would help save time, money, and frustration. So we were looking for any help or ideas we could get before we took the next step with an architect. Thanks.

Sorry to hear your goals were not met by the first architect. A lot of architects define the budget and size of the project very early in the design process, and make it known if either is not achieved in each design presented.

I have had clients in the past where they have come to me with a preconceived deign, either their own or out of a magazine, and want me to fine tune it of make minor changes. When this happens I will most of the time come up with two schematic designs, one based one my clients design and one based upon my client's needs and the site's features. So far they have all chosen the design that I came up with.

My point is that there a literally millions of decisions that go into designing a home, every thing from budget to wind direction to structural integrity to view to privacy to codes to spacial relationships to . . . and the list goes on. You need an architect that has the experience in orchestrating the architectural design process to your liking. Don't be surprised if the architect you find comes up with a better design than what you come up with here on Houzz.

Every architect will have their own approach.

My reaction to this layout: there are too many non-useful corridors, and walk-in closets/pantries. These are wasteful of space, and as a result the bathrooms in particular are too small and seem like an afterthought.

The traffic flow is odd, walking through the kitchen to get to the living room, but you are saying that you like that arrangement, so it's not a factor.

While the house is technically reasonably spacious, the plan is generally too busy. Your design should be consistent with the amount of square footage that you are targeting. Attempting to work in features that would be normally found in a far larger space will actually make yours feel smaller.

Regards, S*

Thanks for the input. Are there any specific features that you are referring to as being too large for the plan? Thanks.