Can you post an image of the plans? The link takes us (me) to snapfish and requires a log in.

Agree. Just upload from your computer. Click on the photo thing. Snapfish is just another way to suck money from us. Lose it.

So it looks good to me. What do you want changed?

Here is the second half story (husband insisted on a second floor). I don't really like it, but not sure what to do....having the high ceiling in the living room makes it tough to fit in a second level according to the builder. Thoughts?

Just some thoughts. How do you plan on using the space? We are building a home with a keeping room and designated that space as our main area since we spend most of the time in an around the kitchen when we are home. As such, we made ours a little larger ( I can't quite read your dimensions).

Is there a way to move the fridge so you can access the pantry from the kitchen instead of rounding the courner?

What does the front elevation look like, with the garage in front of the house, like that? How do guests approach the house? Do they park in front of the garage and then walk around to the front porch, or is their a guest parking area with a more direct path?

Given the fancy foyer and staircase, it would be a shame if everyone entered through the mudroom because the path to the front door is too out of the way.

front of house

back of house

We were thinking maybe a u-shaped driveway for guests that goes up near the door. Husband doesn't want people entering through the garage, for the reasons you said, Sebat. I'm not totally sold on that type of driveway, but it's the plan for now.

The keeping room is 12X12 and is going to be my "mom's escape." I love reading and the rest of the family watches tv in the evenings, so I envision them in the living room and me cozied up to a fire in the keeping room, reading for hours on end. Can't wait! The builder originally had it significantly larger, but we were trying to shave off some square footage, so it was one of the places we cut.

I feel like the dining area is a little inefficient, but need suggestions. We have a dining room table that is 4'X7' when it is not extended, with 8 chairs around it, so need lots of room for it, but I wonder if this is too big. We have a large family and like to entertain, so want plenty of room to spread out when we have company, but don't want the space to be cumbersome the rest of the time either. Again, I am open to suggestions!

Lastly, we do live in the midwest with cold winters, so do need closet space.

Does the pantry seem too big or awkward? I have a hard time picturing how it will be configured inside. I love to cook and have lots of use-once-a-year small kitchen tools and appliances I want room for, and also a lot of food storage space. I also have a commercial fridge on wheels that I want to be able to put in the pantry.

Thanks for the thoughts so far!

I'm not quite understanding how the stairs work? A straight one goes up to two bedrooms, and a U-shaped one goes down, but where does that one land on the main floor?

The powder room has a straight-on view from the kitchen and great room, not so nice. Perhaps you can scoot the study forward, and create a nook for powder room and closet?

Do you have 5 kids at home? You may want outside doors in the back hall. And a computer desk in there? Do you think you will use that? It seems a little far from you for "mom central".

You're right about the pantry, it is large but seems to have either wasted space in the middle or hard-to-access space around the sides. How do you plan to use it, besides for the once-a-year appliances and commercial refrigerator? Vacuum? Brooms? Food? Paper products? Gladware/wraps etc?

The steps to the upstairs begin at the end of the foyer on the right side. The steps will be open on both sides to the great room.Actually, if you look at the picture I posted of the front of the house, you can see the steps going up. Does that make sense?