Are you using a licensed architect or a drafter you are calling an architect?

Without knowing all the facts, I can still safely say that you can do better than this; BP's right. Your instincts are right to be unsure of this plan. Unless you are designing the house and not the "architect", your instincts should also be telling you to find a real architect.

It appears that you have a lot of hallway upstairs. Does the game room have to be completely closed off? Maybe you could switch the game room and bedroom #4. You could always enclose the main upstairs hall from the game room with a door. However, the game room would still be open to the stairs.

I grew up with the exact Jack and Jill bathroom set up you have with pocket doors. It was a nightmare with the girls on one side and the boys on the other. Constant locked doors, peeking in at people and fights. That's also a very big bathroom with a lot of open space in the middle. Since you have another bathroom up there already, why not make it a little smaller and add storage or enlarge the bedrooms.

Bedroom #2 has a tiny window, but the huge closets have two bigger windows. Maybe you could switch the closets to an inside wall and let that bedroom have windows on two walls. Same with bedroom #3.

Think about how it will be with the master bedroom visible from the living room. There is no privacy. The split closets in the master bath are nice though.

As others have pointed out, try not to have a powder room so close to the dining room. Unless you insulate, get a solid core door and put weatherstripping or some type of soundproofing on the bottom of the door, you will hear everything. My friend has this set up and when she has us over, through experience, no one wants to use that restroom during dinner. We go all the way down to the basement bath.

The space between the kitchen island and the wet bar seems a little tight, especially if you will have seating at the island. I have a walkway behind my island and I have 5 feet clear from the edge of my island to a piece of furniture behind it and it's perfect. I wouldn't want to go any narrower.

In the kitchen, it looks like you have ample room to add another window over the counters to the right and still have plenty of upper cabinets. You could also add windows on the left wall in the breakfast nook to make it nice and bright. Unless there is something on that side of the house you don't want to look at like a neighbor or something. :-)

Designing a home takes time - be patient and you will get the perfect plan for you and your family :-)

Yes, you need to find a different architect for sure. I think you feel like this is sub-par too. Cheaper and easier to cut ties now and find someone new than to keep working here. Always cheaper to make changes in paper rather than building too. Good luck!

Then start over with a different architect; and quit telling them how to do their job. The architect should gather from you how you want to live, the spaces you want, the features of those spaces, the character of the home, and perform a site analysis. They should come back to you after a short period of time with a design, or designs for you to review. You should not stifle your architect's creativity by showing them a preconceived floor plan or tell them where the rooms should be.

hi everyone so after a month of back and forth with the architect here is what he sent me for the floor plan. he has not sent the elevations yet.

You must mean designer or draftsman because any architect worth his degree would have given you a plan that is sited on the land along with elevations. (To see what I mean, look at the work of Architectrunnerguy.)

I'm sorry but this looks more like the work of a CAD operator or draftsman.

even though most if not all of the locations of rooms are where I told him to put them I'm just not loving the flow

Bingo! Now I know it must either be an architect who graduated at the bottom of his/her class, handed this off to a CAD operator/draftsman in his office or was created by a draftsman because a good architect wouldn't just give you what you asked for but would have suggested ways to create a better flow and would have worked closely with you to create something even better than you thought you wanted.

For example, no architect worth his degree would create an entry with a long hallway that the first thing you see as you look ahead is the side of a fireplace.

No architect worth his degree would have front steps impede entry into the garage.

No architect worth his degree would put a powder room practically in site and sound of the dining room.

No architect worth his degree would create a staircase that seems to create it's own bump out on the second floor and will add to the cost because it appears to be its own entity.

No architect worth his degree would put closets on the outside corner walls like in bedroom 2 and then to add insult to injury put windows in the closets so the two closets wind up having only 1 narrow wall each for storage or clothing.

No architect worth his degree would create a hallway like the one upstairs where you're going around 90 degree turns just to get from the staircase to the rooms.

No architect worth his degree would create a master bedroom where you look into it from the kitchen and the living room.

No architect worth his degree would put two kids bedrooms next to one another without some sort of sound barrier between them

You can do so much better but a generic internet plan isn't the answer. Unfortunately, just like in every profession, some architects are lemons and you found one.

@Alison this is the 2nd draft and I dont think it's that bad

T Bull, I'm sorry but yes it is that bad.

Is there a tv next to the fireplace? If so you need soundproofing or else someone watching tv can wake up someone in the master bedroom. Also, everyone has to carry laundry through the center of the kitchen. I had a setup like that once and hated it.

"But we got there and are super happy now with our plan."

The person that gets to park in the right side of the garage won't be.

I am unsure if I should just start from scratch again,

Yeah, I vote for starting over from scratch. I don't see much to like here. Specifics:

- A courtyard garage can work on a small lot, but in this case the path to the garage looks too tight. I think someone's going to hit the front stoop.

- The entryway looks uncomfortable. Imagine walking in that bitty space ... on one side you have an expensive set of switchback stairs, but they're crammed in between a wall and the closet, so they're not going to look lovely and gracious ... on the other side, a closed-off dining room ... and then a bowling alley pathway to the living room. This is not a welcoming entry.

- The dining room is too many steps away from the kitchen. Imagine walking back and forth multiple-multiple-multiple times to bring all the dishes to the table (and then back again ... and the bathroom just outside the dining room isn't the best of ideas.

- The kitchen is okay, but I'd want a bigger window above the sink (it is the only window on that side of the house -- not so nice). Also, I'd want a pocket door between the kitchen and the laundry room.

- Once you place a table in the breakfast nook, you won't be able to comfortably use the only door to the backyard.

- The master bedroom is okay, but it would be nicer with windows on two sides. The master bath is mediocre at best ... one small window on the end? It's going to be a dark room on the far side. For a start, why not rotate the bath and closet 90 degrees so the bathroom has the benefit of more exterior wall /can have more windows ... then bring the whole of the closet toward the interior ... this would also allow the closet door to be nearer the bedroom. You could open a second closet door to the hallway, which would chop in half your steps to the laundry room.

- The stairs seem to be poorly placed. Because it's placed in the corner, you're forced into a long hallway /the rooms at the back of the house are a long walk. Imagine carrying laundry baskets through the twists /turns of that hallway ... worse yet, imagine moving large furniture (like a double dresser) through that hallway -- I don't think you could.

- This could be made a little better by switching the game room with the bedroom ... this would mean you'd come up the steps /immediately be in the game room ... and the bedroom would be adjacent to its bathroom.

- Upstairs, the two bedrooms that share the jack-and-jill bathroom have several problems: By placing the closets to the exterior, you're giving up your chance to have nice windows on two sides of the room ... and you're giving up the chance to use closets as sound barriers. You really don't want pocket doors on bathrooms; they're great for doors that're rarely closed, but bathroom doors don't fit that bill. They're not as easy to open as swing doors, and they break relatively easily ... and may require a pro to fix.

- The jack-and-jill bathroom is oddly laid out ... two small sinks interrupted by a closet ... everything seems to be pushed out to the corners, which will not make for a cohesive, attractive room. I like jack-and-jills, but I think they're hard to "get right".

- The gameroom is nice and big, but its odd shape creates wasted space and will be hard to furnish.

Seriously, though, I don't think this plan is worth fixing ... it has lots of problems and no strong points. Start fresh. A well-chosen generic plan would be better than this.

An 11 ft dining room?

The foyer is bad.

Honestly, your architect should not have even presented this plan to you.

3500 sq ft is a lot to work with and should produce a really nice house. Your instincts are good. I agree with mrs. P. A well chosen generic plan would be better than this.

Just a thought...

we had hired an architect at one point and quickly learned that his draftsperson was doing much of the design and not him. It was pretty clear on the “work” since we had used him before and we knew he was good.

is it possible your architect has passed your house off to his draftsmen?

Mark's comments result from a simple observation: the front steps project into the driveway, beyond the right jamb of the garage door. Do you see? It means entering and leaving the garage from the right side is problematic.

As for the second floor, the problem is simple. The location of the stairs, in the lower right quadrant of the plan, is as diagonally far removed from the rest of the habitable second floor as it's humanly possible to locate the stair. The result is needless corridors and wasted circulation space on the second floor.

It appears the first floor and the second floor were designed totally independent of one another, rather than designing both simultaneously as a single entity.

If that's the case, look out for the elevations, which should have also been designed as a simultaneous activity with the floor plans.

Not a good beginning.

Are you saying the second floor wasn't even designed until you approved the first floor? This sort of sequential first floor--followed by the second floor--followed by the elevations is a disasterous and completely counter-intuitive approach to residential design.

Floor plans and elevations--interiors and exteriors--are linked and inseparable. Every experienced architect knows and understands that one must design the inside and outside as integral and simultaneous process.

You apparently may not be working with an experienced architect. Or even an architect.

3500 sq ft is a lot to work with and should produce a really nice house. Your instincts are good.

This.

3,500 sq feet should be enough to give you everything you need and a fair amount of what you want, with gracious, liveable proportions.

I have made suggestions but I also made it clear that if it didn't work for the total design not to do it and let me know what works. he doesn't do that.

Respectfully, the total design isn't worth keeping. This house has no basic design, no axis from which the rooms emanate, no logically thought-out layout, no progression of rooms. The rooms are clumped together haphazardly and connected awkwardly. There's no "total design" to save.

Most people posting on this site are against using a stock internet plan. Frankly most of the internet plans I see at 3500 sq feet are better than this plan. The master bath is a mess.

Why is the stair projecting from the main mass of the second floor?

Why are here 22 risers in the stair (22 risers x 7 inches per riser = 12'-10" floor to floor)?

Why are the treads shown different sizes?

Why are there no windows in the stairwell?

Alison - sorry about that, I erroneously quoted you in making the point about the OP's garage. Glad to hear you do not have a problem with your garage. Perhaps you could share your architect's contact information privately with the OP.

@Virgil the plans presented to me were initially sent separate. I'm not sure if he had a second floor designed at the time but it wasn't sent until I approved the locations on the first floor.
this is all new to me so i am not sure how the process should have went once we had our first meeting. living and learning.

I'm sorry T Bull, but that's how draftsmen design houses, not architects. You say he's a licensed architect. Have you double checked with your state licensing board?

Mark - I can't do that because I've sinned and used a designer ;0

I always feel so sorry for people who have thus far done the right things and gotten such a poor product. This isn't going to work. Make a long list. Meet in person. If you don't feel confident after that meeting, move on.

I just advised someone to do this and it may apply to you. How about working up a bubble diagram to give to your architect? This will allow you to express your needs and desires in a format or language that they should speak.

Bubble Diagram

There are some really good references for you to review, too. It will make you a much better consumer.

It’s hard to believe that this is the work of a licensed architect. I would find a new architect.

T Bull....on top of everything that was said here, there are also no windows or natural light in the upstairs hallway. So, aside from all the twists and turns it will also be an extremely dark and very closed in hallway.

So much opportunity with 3500 sf! A house with that amount of square footage can be absolutely beautiful and flow wonderfully.....so agree with those here, you can do a whole lot better.....and have a home you love and are truly excited about.

So, will you be looking for another architect?

I'm sorry T Bull, but that's how draftsmen design houses, not architects.

There is an old joke that comes to mind...

What do you call a doctor who graduated bottom of his class in medical school?

...Doctor.

------------

Certainly there is a strong correlation between good home designers and architects. However, neither of those things are a guarantee of the other. There are NAAB accredited online architecture degrees at for profit schools, and although those schools probably turn out some fine architects, someone still graduates bottom of their class every year.

In the end, whether licensed, or not, doesn't matter, even my untrained eye can see that he is not up to the particular challenge of designing your home.

Good luck.

Some features in a house design, when not designed properly, throw up flags and should make one wonder about the capabilities of the designer. Parts of the house that project into the pathway of a vehicle entering a garage, stair treads that are not all the same size, clothes closets that take up 20 feet of exterior wall, dining rooms with direct view into a bathroom, and a lot of little things throw red flags for me.

Your stairwell sticks out like a sore thumb to me in more ways than one.

Some drafters claim to be licensed, but have an licensed architect or licensed engineer actually seal the drawings. Granted not all architects have the same experiences and talents, but basic space planning is an important one to have. Most States have a web page for verifying licensure.

I'm really frustrated as now not only have I wasted time but money also.

Consider it an investment in education, and be glad it happened sooner rather than later : ) .

There are any number of threads of builds here where this counts as pretty small potatoes, and hopefully not too far in the future you'll be able to look back and see this for the learning experience it was. Your new house will be so much better for it.

thanks everyone for the comments and suggestions. I'm really frustrated as now not only have I wasted time but money also.

I feel for you T Bull and it stinks that you've paid good money for crappy design. However better to realize it now, than to have built this and then have to live in it.

I too had a lousy draftsman. However I was lucky in that I do have a bit of a design background plus I was able to get advice from several of the architects here and with my being able to draw it in photoshop, I was able to show my draftsman what I wanted.

In the meantime, might I suggest reading the following two books? Both were wonderful in helping me with my house and mine isn't too small either at 2870 square feet, so don't let the title scare you.

The Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka and

Home by Design also by Sarah Susanka