Where is to be built? Illinois.

What does the site survey look like? I do not have this available yet.

Is the site flat or is there terrain? Relatively flat. The ground does slope to slightly from west to east. There is also a slight slope from south to north.

Where are the neighboring structures? There are house located to the east, west, and south. The road is to the north.

Is there a body of water on or near the site? No

What does the 360 degree view look like? Unavailable at this time.

Where are trees located? There are 2 fairly large trees in the backyards of the neighbors to the east and west. This provides ample shade for the back of the house except for the very middle of the day. The front yard also has some shade from other trees on neighbors property. There are no trees on the lot we will build on.

Where is all the other existing vegetation located? See above.

When you stand on the site, what do you hear and what direction do the sounds come from? This is a small town, so some kids, minimal to no traffic.

When you stand on the site, what do you smell and what direction do the smells come from? Nothing? The only item that may affect this is the occasional smell from a farm a mile or so away in the summer when there is a strong wind from the east.

What size of road is it located on? Standard road with minimal traffic.

Will it be on a sewer or septic system? Sewer

Is natural gas available? Yes

Where does the source of electricity come from? There will be no above ground wires. Standard electricity through the town.

These are some of the questions that should be answered be a design is started and be known by anyone giving you feedback. Hopefully that was a good start.

Every married (or unmarried) couple should have at least two lavatories in their bathroom. Trust me on this! If you need explanation, I'll be happy to provide...

Elevations ?

What is the rating on that two lavatories explanation?

I can tell you that a single lavatory is not a purty sight--ever!

A family living in Illinois seems to me would need much more storage space for stuff. Like boots, coats, vacuums, luggage, strollers, etc. I might do away with the bathroom near the kitchen and make that storage space instead. I like the location of the utility room (washer/dryer) but it is too small to include any of this other stuff.

Actually, taking a second look, I might even move the door to the garage from its current location to enter the house through this bathroom-changed-into-a-mud-room. I can see a major bottleneck the way it is currently set up.

The lack of storage (for coats, boots, kids' backpacks, etc) stood out to me as well. A large closet by entrance to the garage would be ideal. Otherwise i think it's a fairly good use of space.

I would hate to live in a one bathroom house. However, there are other bathrooms on the main floor--one member of a couple can walk a bit across the house and use a different bathroom if the other member is in the master bath.

For a house this size, I'd put more space into storage than an extra toilet. Put a closet where the middle bathroom's bathtub is. The kids can share the bathtub near the bedrooms.

Where are you going to keep the vacuum and cleaning supplies? What about the kids' toys? What about the adult's hobby stuff? (I'm all about the storage)

As a couple that wants a family, how do you feel about having the bedrooms at the front of the house? Before I was a mother, I never thought twice about it and had a similar last out. Once I became a mother, I decided I was not fond of that. As babies, I want my children safe and away from the front door, then as curious Toddlers and little children, still away from the front door, and as teenagers, away from front windows and doors to sneak out. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I'm trying to find a plan myself with bedrooms in the back of the house.

I'll second more storage. There really never is enough, especially with children. Will you have a basement?

I can't imagine having an office right by the front door. I'm a neat freak in my house, but my office? Lots of piles and I don't want it seen by any guest anytime. And then children's rooms right by the front door. If one entertains adults, are the children going to be awakened by their coming and going? Also, a long distance from MBR for a new baby or young child. And again - toys and stuff near the front door.

I think you can do better.

1. More storage at entrances.

2. The width of your family room is too small. Add two to four feet.

It is also common for the master bath to belong to the woman of the house and the man can use it when it's not occupied if he remembers to leave the toilet seat down or he must share the other bath with his kids. With 3 full baths in this design I doubt a second lav in the master bath will be of much use.

However, this design feels more like an apartment than a house. A few additional s.f. would transform it.

Do the garage doors need to face the front?

LOL at requiring two sinks. I've never had a double-sink bathroom in all my 50 years, married or not. I'm fine. My husband is fine. And our sink is clean.

Hi, there, Mr./Mrs. Bears. :-)

Would you consider seeing an architect to design your home? The house y'all have depicted here is "too fat," and it's best to live in a nice, light-filled home (think of floor plans that are 1-2 rooms deep, and shaped like letters... L, T, U, C, H/I, etc.).

Good luck and have fun!

imstillchloecat, you are one of the lucky ones on the face of the earth...:-)

@ace_des_travelbug

Your post about teens sneaking out made me reminisce. When I was a teen I snuck out of my bedroom a couple times - it was in the back of the house right next to my parents bedroom. My son snuck out his bedroom at least once I know of, - his bedroom was in the front of the house. My mother admits to sneaking out of the house numerous times when she was a teen. Her bedroom was on the second floor down the hall from her mother's room.

Where there's a will, there's a way for naughty teens I suppose. :)

I'm with Miss Chloe, lol. I actually *want* only one sink in the master. We have had both single and double vanities. Unlike Miss Chloe, however, my sink is never clean, because my husband has a dark beard. :-) But I don't care, because I looooove his beard!

It's all about training a husband. It's why as a 73 yr old widow I can never again marry. Took at least 15 years to train my late husband - don't have the time or energy to train another!

Miss Anglo, my mom talks about that very same thing -- husband training -- I'm far too busy tryin' to train children! And he wants to get a dog, too, soon. Maybe he knows of this feminine desire for spouse training, and is covertly keeping me otherwise occupied... Hmmmm.... ;-)

Hint: It's a lot easier to "train" a husband when he has his own lavatory, and storage under, and doesn't have to share either with the rollers, hair dryer, make up equipment, and other implements of torture which always seem to be in evidence... :-)

Virgil, that's why God invented dressing tables in the MBR. Gets ALL that stuff out of the bathroom - makeup, hair stuff - the works. The bathroom is then for using the toilet, showering, taking a tub, shaving and brushing teeth. Makes it all SO much simpler!

I like your thinking, Anglophilia! :-)

I read 'lavatory' and thought 'toilet'. Duh.

As for two sinks, I wouldn't want to share a sink with my husband. When we travel, I dislike sharing :-)

I didn't make my kids share a sink either--they had a double sink and it really limited disagreement about mess and dirt in the bathroom. They each had their own area that they kept at their desired level of organization. They were cats and dogs about other things--but the bathroom was never an area of contention. Two sinks.

Beth, you weren't the only one, lol... Took me awhile, too. ;-)

Sink= kitchen and laundry; lavatory=bathroom. It's architectural terminology! Toilet, water closet and bidet = those other things :-)

As an architect i always look at a plan like this and think, "What a missed opportunity." This is a stock builder plan that will yield a stock builder house. Houses like this are perfectly adequate to live in, but history has shown will not appreciate much over the years. Of course I'm bias, but I have had many clients that come to me with their thoughts and dreams and we are able to come up with designs that exceed their expectations with solutions they never thought of. These houses, like the ones we all love from days gone by, have character. They are fun to live in, fun to show off, and usually have a greater return on investment over time. So, if you're willing to go through the effort to build your own home, find a good architect and make it your own. I think you will be rewarded with a warm glow every time you come home from work, meet the kids at the door, or have your family over for the holidays. Best of luck.