Good to know!! I emailed him and he was reluctant to share more pictures of the exterior. :/ I get it though.

Better to find that out now than after you've spent money. I paid up front for revisions to one of his plans and he would not let me see the back elevation until he was completely finished. It did not look good. When I offered to work with him and pay for his extra time to make it like I wanted it he argued with me until I finally walked away.

No two-story house would be my 'forever home'. I'd also want a house with a floorplate only a step or two from the ground. If this plan would work well for you for 16 years, sure, go for it!

I see enough things that would have to change, especially for a family, that if it's hard to get changes done to your satisfaction, you might want to look some more or hire an architect. Cute house from your link, though!

This will be our first build, and I don't really know what changes to make. I have gone over it a million times, and I *think* it's great. Do you mind sharing what you would change bpathome?

This is very helpful feedback!! Thanks!

Well, with 4 kids, those upstairs bathrooms are tight, one only has a ppedastal sink.

This is true mshahmd. I noticed that, and I was trying to figure out a way to fit a bigger sink in there. That bathroom would be my daughter's (our only girl), so I'm sure she would require space for makeup during the teen years.

I actually like it but it does have problems. Your useable space in the family room will be smaller than you think with the entrance from the foyer, MB and kitchen area. One whole wall is windows and I'm sure you wouldn't want to block them with the furniture. Also, a very small landing at that side entrance where you and the kids would probably entering from. That could be tight, especially if it was raining.

Wait! Hold up! With 4 kiddos, you MUST have a separate dedicated pantry and bigger laundry room.

Family entrance could be re-worked so traffic does not enter in the middle of the kitchen behind the cooktop.

All of the above. And I wouldn't want my master bedroom and master closet and bathroom right in front of the door to the living room. If you ever have company over, the dining room will fill up quickly with little room to scoot by.

Thinking about your daughter: if you do the expanded bedroom 3 for two boys, you might be able to steal some space for a vanity in your daughter's bathroom.

Also to get to the powder room you need to go right past the working area of the kitchen? And it's kind of convoluted to get to.

I don't like the two separate closets not near the master bath. If one person is sleeping in, and the other has to get up, that means they go into the bathroom, and then into the closet and back to bathroom, etc. Lots of opening and closing of doors.

Also you only have one wall for your bed and it's on the bathroom wall. Not only that, but if DH goes to the toilet in the middle of the night, unless you have lots and lots of noise insulation, you'll be hearing every flush (and hopefully not other stuff).

I also don't like the side entry in front. A door welcomes you to a house. Why hide it?

Bedroom 4 has a ridiculously small, odd closet. Almost like closets over 100 years ago. I believe it looks to be only about 3-4' wide at most, but it's deeper than just a reach in.

What is it about this plan that you like so much?

I'm cracking up! You guys are amazing. I honestly would have never thought of these things, so this is awesome.

Cpartist, some things I like about this plan is the exterior. It has a wraparound front porch, but not around the entire house. I like the drawing room b/c it's kind of a bonus room downstairs that would get utilized more often. We homeschool, so we are home a LOT. I like that all of the kids' rooms are upstairs, and I also really love that the dining and kitchen are combined. I want a model farmhouse look

I'm still scouring the web for the "perfect" plan. But they all start to look the same after awhile. I suppose I might end up using an architect, although I am afraid it would be outrageously expensive.

Sometimes an architect is a lot cheaper because even the best online plans need to be run by an architect from what I understand.

You can put a wraparound porch on just about any house so that shouldn't determine why you like a home. In this house it's called a drawing room. In a different house it's called a den. In a third house it's called a dining room or music room. Don't let names sway you. Most homes have kitchen and dining combined. Mine does.

Okay folks! It's settled. We're going with an architect. I'm excited! Thanks for all the advice.

We will eagerly await what he/she comes up with!

May I ask what you ended up with? I was searching for other people with four kids to get ideas!

Cevamal,

We found a local freelance architect and had him design our farmhouse. We are about to break ground next month. (Fingers crossed.) It has been a long process with soooo many decisions. I tell my architect that he's also my therapist. ;)

Our house has a modest main floor with a mudroom entry for the family and a dedicated pantry in the kitchen. Kids' rooms (3) are upstairs with an open common space as well. Master down. We also added an unfinished basement for TV and office space.

I would post my plans, but with so many differing opinions on this site, My head might explode.

-Z

Ha! I know what you mean. Posting plans at this stage is kind of like telling people the baby's name before it's born.

Glad it's going well!

Exactly! I appreciated the critique in the early stages, though. Very helpful. Now I just want everyone to say..."Looks perfect!"

onlyblue I hope you post updates as it's being built in the monthly thread. No giving negative opinions in that thread. :)

I can't wait until I qualify for the progress thread! Soon, hopefully.

The child occupying Bedroom #4 has to go across the open stairway balcony to get to the bathroom ... which means having a robe always available or streaking past company. And that closet is pathetically small. With the way the windows are placed, you can't add a full wall reach-in either.

It has extremely limited furniture placement and poor traffic flow. This guy is doing checklist architecture with little thought to the people who live in his drawings.

Take this, or ANY plan, and just go through the motions of daily life, drawing lines on the plan to show movement for various activities.

• Bring in groceries
• Collect laundry
• Come home from movies with kids with full bladders
• Come in dirty from gardening
• Have a casual party with people getting stuff from the frig ... do they cross into the cook's danger zone?
• Get up quietly and go to work with a sick spouse you don't want to disturb