Your statement about first floor masters being desirable, depends upon where you live. Before putting the master on the first floor, decide if this is what the demographics in your neighborhood/county/city desires.

@felizlady, The front door opens in, just put this together quickly. The doors are more or less in the right place.

If the DR is too far from the kitchen living room (you just walk through a door from either to get into it), what would you suggest? And I agree about the issue of getting to the living room. That being said, the "main" entrance to the house will be from the back, because that is where parking is (the door by the kitchen). I can't imagine I'd really use that front door much, if ever, even though it faces the street.

@shirlpp, I honestly have no idea how to decide if that's what the demographic wants/desires. It's a small mostly blue-collar city in Connecticut, most homes this size sell between 130-180k. I see both options on MLS, can't tell really if there's a pattern to indicate desire. I thought it was just common knowledge that most family homes would seek out a master on the first floor. If not, would you say I leave it as a dining room/den?

A young family with 3 small children and one of them being a baby - would want a master on the first floor and the others upstairs? Hmmmm.....Not really. A community where the ages are > 55 - maybe they would. It could be a guest room.

A few comments:
- Formal dining location is fine.
- I would not lose a bath that guests cannot access on the ground floor.
- Bathroom doors should not open directly onto a dining or living space. Better to open to a hallway for privacy.
Good luck!

@simstress I can't change the door of the bathroom downstairs. Do you have any suggestions?

@shirlpp... Yes, that is a situation that I understand. It could also just as well be a couple with two high school aged children...

Honestly, the biggest concern for me is the entrance. You mentioned the back door (where the kitchen) is being the main entrance which is a huge problem. No one wants to walk right into the kitchen.

I would recommend looking into switching the kitchen to where you have the informal dining room right now. It will improve the flow of the house so much more.

Also, as others have said having a bathroom on the main floor that guests can't access without going through a used bedroom is a problem. No guest wants to do that.

Where is the front door in your diagram? Do your guests enter the house from the back or from the front door?
Another Houzzer did pose a good question....do parents of young children want to have their bedroom downstairs where they can't get to the kids quickly in case of emergency? My answer would be "no".

Everyone brings up good points. My main concerns with option 1 are that the bathroom opens into the dining area and the kitchen size. My main concern with option 2 is that it eliminates the guest bathroom for the 1st floor completely. I do, however, like that option 2 increases the size of the kitchen. Given the size of the house, and the expected selling range, I would concentrate my money on the kitchen, bathrooms & storage/closets. I would suggest that you close off the kitchen hallway as you did in option 2 so that you can make the most of the kitchen. But, I wouldn't go so far as to turn the adjoining space into a bedroom. I would keep that room flexible. I might also remove the wall between the living room and the room at the front of the house opening up that whole side of the house for dining and living. Upstairs, I would try to enlarge the bathroom (as in my drawing) and add a walk-in closet to the room at the bottom, making it the master. Obviously, I don't know what this space looks like - I don't know if these rooms are under the eaves or full-height 2nd floor. At any rate, here are some ideas to consider.

I like Madden et al suggestions. I don't think anybody wants a study that is also the entry to the house. When we were looking for a new house with a 4 year old, being on the same floor as our son was one of the non-negotiables. Think about if the configuration of the second floor bathroom can have a walk in from the master with the walk in closet. I like the playroom in that layout as well.

This layout would still give the option of someone making this a first floor master.