That's lovely! It will be so much brighter. And flows so much better. Yay!!

WOW. Just wow.

Not only will this house flow better, have more light, and be cheaper to build, but I'm willing to bet it's the prettiest house in your subdivision.

Amazing job by both of you, Nat and ARG. Nat, you and your family should be pretty pleased, especially considering how little time has elapsed since the beginning of this thread!

To provide some context, both for the process and the project, here's the original site plan:

And being a corner lot, here's the other "Front" elevation:

And here's my quick "Parti" or the "Big Idea" in laymen's speak. Moved the house forward creating a better back yard, got the garage off of the corner and placed "Grandma's Room" there with a private courtyard enclosed by a low brick wall with a gate:

And since we do have two "front" elevations being seen at the same time I built a quick SketchUp model of the house:

And now the exterior door to "Grandma's room" has some definition

Studied an alternate roof (which I actually like better but Natalie isn't sure),. First one would be all brick and the second one would be 2nd floor shakes, maybe flaired at the base over 1st floor brick, (HOA requires some brick)

Aerial

But either way, we greatly simplified the roof. I asked that the carpenters send me a case of their finest Texas beer when they're done framing...LOL!:

Not there yet but making progress! Great lady to work with!

I would say huge improvement, but that is a gross understatement.

Nice work. Make sure the builder knows he doesn't own the copyright to the design or you might be seeing it all over town.

I like the new design, but I don't get reminded of Grand Teton National Park.

Huge improvement. What is the size of grandmas room now?

Someone needs to save the "before" (first post and posts from 5/17)) and "after" (ARG's post from today) of this thread, so that when someone asks the question, "what difference can an architect make?", a link can be provided -- the pictures say it all -- wow, just wow! I hope Nat Mc will post progress and reveal pics.

Congrats on the new plan! Big improvement (love the new roof line :)

Couple of questions... Where is the laundry? In the mudroom? I like the private garden off of grandma’s space! Will her room be large enough? Also, will having the access to the upstairs right outside her room be too noisy?

Studied an alternate roof (which I actually like better but Natalie isn't sure),. First one would be all brick and the second one would be shakes, maybe flaired at the base over brick, (HOA requires some brick)

I drew this a few years ago as a learning exercise. Might help the OP visualize the alternate roof ARG has proposed.

Sorry I’m so late to the party...three kids keep things fast paced.

For all those asking, the guest suite and potential MIL suite is about 11x12.

The laundry is off the garage and I’m thinking it would work best for us to have the mud room in the same area.

Lots of compliments from my realtor but he does mention the 5bed to 4.5 bath is an odd ratio. I absolutely appreciate the functionality of two baths upstairs but could we get away with one?

I would love an extra bathroom upstairs.

I'm especially thrilled with the attention to a private entrance for Grandma, in addition to the much larger room....this will give her more a feel of having her own place. There is always the chance to blend with family too.

I love the last elevation ARG created.

ARG's elevation, above, is vast an improvement that it's simply defies comparison.

Give the man some cake, and see if he has any free time to further develop (for appropriate compensation, besides cake)...!

Wow! Much better rendition. I love how grandma has her own room, courtyard and entrance. I’d keep the two baths upstairs. When your kids are out of the house, and return as adults with their kids, or if you have guests, having that extra bathroom will be really nice.

The new plan will be STUNNING sitting on your lot. It will look very grand. Like an estate, like it belongs. Like it's been there forever. Not like that monstrosity from before.

Bravo!

Great!...appreciate all the input especially on the bathroom. Any suggestions on a galley style kitchen?

What do you mean about any suggestions for a galley style kitchen?

Any suggestions on a galley style kitchen?

Place the refrigerator closest to the eating/socializing area, so that people aren't crossing the length of the kitchen to get a refill.

Offset everything, so that none of your appliances conflict with each other, even if you don't ever think the fridge will be open at the same time that the dishwasher is being loaded *and* cookies are being taken out of the oven *and* butter is being melted in the microwave *and* raspberry glaze is simmering on the cooktop.

If you plan on upper cabinets suspended from the ceiling over the "island" side, go with glass doors on both sides, to give it a more open feel.

Find a kitchen designer -- or -- post your plan in the Kitchens subforum here on GardenWeb. :-D

What a great story this thread is! If only stories like this were more common. Congrats Nat Mc.

Cpartist just general galley kitchen considerations. Like ODD just gave

Hi, I've been away a while.
Great work there! It's a major improvement in numerous ways.

It's not so common we see separate dining rooms, I like that. It works well.
The 2nd bedroom is much better, kudos.

What's happened since, any decision on the roof line?

The breakfast room doesn't get eastern light. Any chance of playing around there now?
In the kitchen, I dislike the straight, bar-like seating - makes for bad conversation & eye contact, and a lot of shuffling platters around. Something with seating on 2+ sides is better.

The latest and greatest:)

What a pretty looking house!

Can you post the layout larger? It's too small to see.

This might be easier to read?

Thank you for contacting ARG.

Thanks to all who encouraged reaching out to ARG(Cpartist, I’m talking to you!) He’s a dream to work and we are thrilled with the results. I’m pretty sure I’ll be posting pics and questions as things unfold. Stay tuned:)

This is such a huge and positive difference. I'm particularly thrilled for Grandma who now will be able to have her garden and more importantly, the privacy and quiet she deserves when she is in her bedroom.

A few comments:

I notice there is a door from the hallway to Grandma's room. Is that for convenience for Grandma? I ask because there is a separate powder room and if not for convenience, I'd ditch the second door to Grandma's bathroom.

I also note that right now you have it as a tub for Grandma. Unless it's one of those walk in tubs, tubs can be dangerous for the elderly if they have any mobility issues. A walk in shower would be better and as long as you have tubs in other bathrooms, you should be good if you ever decide to resell.

I just wanted to also bring up a point to lurkers. So many people design the master off the living room and have it so they share a wall and also so you have to walk through or around the living room furniture. Note how well done this is done with a "spine" that leads you past the living room to get to the master? Well done!

Not trying to diss Grandma or anything but I just noticed I forgot her toilet!

I thought that was part of her exercise program.

LOL to both of you.

I just assumed it would go on the side of the tub/shower.

Nice house! Such an improvement over the original floor plan.

Cpartist great points. Mom’s bathroom will be a zero entry shower and we may consider getting rid of the hall entry door. Also trying to work the side exterior entry to come by the stairs rather than the mud/utility room. Love the general design/theme of the exterior but stuck on the brick color...we have time to figure that out but if anyone has any suggestions let me know.

Glad to hear Grandma gets a zero entry shower. I have one and I love it.

Also trying to work the side exterior entry to come by the stairs rather than the mud/utility room

Wouldn't it still be better off coming through the mudroom? I'm thinking working in the yard, etc?

Love the general design/theme of the exterior but stuck on the brick color...we have time to figure that out but if anyone has any suggestions let me know.

My personal favorite is a weathered brick look with multiple colors. Gives it character IMO.

lol Nat -- needing help with the brick etc. is what brought you here in the first place : ) .

My personal favorite is a weathered brick look with multiple colors. Gives it character IMO.

I also like bricks that look weathered like these Cherokee Old Orleans
Bricks I Like

LOL Becky...looks like I’ve come full circle:) Yes Naf and Cpartist I love the washed out brick. Also love this light brown/dark brown contrast. Thinking dark stained pergola over moms garden and using some landscaping to add interest and color to the exterior.

I hear you on the mud room Cpartist, but there is a door from the garage to the mud room(family will use) and another from the garage to the backyard. So I’m thinking the side entry (guests will use) would be better if it didn’t lead to the mud room/laundry...rather not have guests walk through my laundry mess:)

Almost a year later but it has begun!

Good luck! And keep us posted on the progress!

Foundation done! Framing next

^^ You've got quite the little character there!

He keeps it lively:)

Framing is coming along.

Looks good so far.

Hopefully not too many changes?

and thank you for posting. So thrilled to see the design take shape.

If you‘re interested in following the progress of the build, below is the new thread

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/new-build-in-central-texas-dsvw-vd~5700181