That's lovely! I know a lot of people like garages with breezeways but I'd not want to have to go "back outside" after getting out of my car to get into the house especially if its raining or snowing and the wind is blowing. :)

Nice work Doug!

The breezeway makes it possible to walk around the house without walking around the garage and you might want to do that in VA. You can't have everything in the same design.

Love it!

I am partial to Doug's designs anyway :) And, to me, breezeways are wonderful. Looks like a winner to me.

Excellent blending of site, interior spaces, exterior massing and architectural style, and simple roof structure. Congratulations to all involved! It's good to see strong designs posted here! Good work, Doug!

Love the scale and proportions of the home. Nice work!

Every design I see of ARG's gives me comfort. The siting, organization of spaces, massing, flow, all contribute to a unified solution. Good job ARG and thank you Carolyn for doing it right.

Oh, nice clouds too.

As usual, Doug nailed it. Great flow that will be easy to live in.

I think your dream house is my dream house! Well done!

It's really, really, nice!

questions:

What is a "baton", between the garage and sceptic field? Edit: oh, it's "barn".

Does the driveway wrap around to the back yard? What about the slope?

Will you have steps from the breezeway down to the back yard? Answer: yes you should.

If you extend the house two feet, it's going towards the garage, if I'm reading it right? Will the garage move, too? Or will you and an even shorter breezeway?

edit: I had wondered about the stairs but figured it out, "never mind".

In th master, well, I had a master bedroom with the bathroom vanity directly across from the bed with double doors, and it was...meh. I mean, it was okay, I was single at the time, but not sure I would choose that design. In fact, now I have my reach-in closet doors across from the bed, and they are nicer to look at, though I'd rather have a window or a tv (I know, I know, no tv in bedroom, but sometimes ya just gotta, like when DH is out of town and I want to binge on sappy movies late at night or watch the morning news while I get dressed.)

re:the breezeway: did you consider having a back-load garage (if terrain allows) and a Porte cochere instead of a breezeway? My friend has one, and while it wasn't their choice when buying an existing home, they've come to like it because a guest can pull up under it and park, same with service people. There's also room for the trash and recycling there. They use it for unloading groceries, vacation packing, etc.

I really like it! I could live in that house just right!

To me, the advantage of adding 2' to width would be in the living room, which only appears to comfortably seat 4. Room for a pair of small upright occasional chairs would also be most convenient for elderly or handicapped visitors.

Suggest you plan a vigorous groundcover for that sharp slope behind garage. Even a low & casually stacked retaining wall would permit you to reduce the slope, and a matching little wall at the other end would serve same purpose. As a gardener, I would need a flight of steps coming down from the breezeway, but perhaps you are planning a gentle ramp off the driveway so that wheeled tools could use it as well as a tired gardener?

On 8 acres, where is guest parking & does it work with a straight path centered on front door ?

Be aware that inability to use a bathtub is common issue for us ageing types. I would exchange master tub for a shower & then do a bang up spa atmosphere in the guest bath. Or, even better, if you add that 2' put modest shower there & squeeze in a door opposite entrance to master so that guest bath could function everyday as "his & hers".

Recommend you get Doug to specify design of railing that will be necessary on the upper deck so that carpenters don't screw it up, as seems to me they frequently do when left to their own devices.

Congrats on the house design! Very nice!

Having lived with an enclosed breezeway, it really just becomes a room of doors lol Having it open makes sense and looks very nice

Some small comments

- in the Master, I would personally rethink having the bed point at the bathroom... obvs there's different preferences and if the bed is put on the top wall, that will (1) affect the window placement and (2) mean whomever is on the far side has to walk around the bed. But it also means no one is getting the vanity lights turned on right in their eyes =)

- Also I would switch the door swing (it's currently in the way to go to the WC - which is much more frequently accessed than the bath

- For the laundry, I wonder if it'd be worth flipping it so the machines were on the outside wall? Would also slightly privatize the laundry room entrance ie wouldn't be able to see into it from across the house. Also (also lol) you could put a cut-through in the wall (behind the master closet door) to push i.e. a cart back and forth between the laundry room & the closet!

In the master bath, if you move the toilet to between the vanity and the tub, you could have a single door in the right-hand corner. This would give the persons the bathroom more privacy (around the corner from the door), and convenient for going between closet and bathroom, especially to touch up hair or makeup after dressing. Keeps some light out of the sleeper's eyes, too.

and you can have a nice piece of artwork and a console table to look at, instead.

Here's another thought: you mentioned maybe widening by 2', and the plan seems to show that that extends the house to the left. Could the extension give you either a slightly larger laundry room (room for elbow room, or for storing an ironing board, broom/swiffer, etc), or a slightly wider short hall to the bedroom, which could be useful if you ever need a wheelchair/Walker, for making the turn.

Where is the closet in the guest bedroom?

The laundry looks small. Can you even pull out a machine to service it?

@josh_rat Doug does work internationally! (He just finished up working with a couple in Canada I believe.) You can contact him @ https://www.houzz.com/user/architectrunnerguy. Can't say enough good things about him. I had a LOT of trepidation about working with an architect. I worked with design professionals (not calling any group out individually by any means) for years that were "stuck" with their own vision and ignored the client's vision. I was needlessly worried about this part of the process. Doug took my hot chocolate mess of ideas and came up with this. And we are working on a micro budget... so for us this was a big leap of faith, but I'd rather spend the money on the planning stage. Once we get into construction , this will more than pay for itself.

Hi josh, here is our home design experience. Good luck in your quest (: https://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/4449548/the-journey-for-the-plan-has-finally-been-realized-long

@ bpath Oh Sophie Thank you for the helpful insight. We were thinking some of the very same thoughts.

Will you have steps from the breezeway down to the back yard? Answer: yes you should. At some point we will. Once we get the lower floor design mapped out there may be a separate entrance for the one bedroom... We were envisioning an apartment/extra guest quarters nearest the driveway. Still in the planning process on that.

If you extend the house two feet, it's going towards the garage, if I'm reading it right? Going to make the guest bedroom wider, so the house would be extended to the right (not the garage side) and add extra room to the laundry room.. but still pondering the MBR bath/closet area..

did you consider having a back-load garage (if terrain allows) and a Porte cochere instead of a breezeway? Cool idea but the ground starts to slope away so we will stay with a side load garage. Plus, we wanted to put an extra parking area for guests in the driveway somewhere. We have to the property and stake the house outline . (We are in NY. Property is in VA)

In the master bath, if you move the toilet to between the vanity and the tub, you could have a single door in the right-hand corner. This would give the persons the bathroom more privacy (around the corner from the door), and convenient for going between closet and bathroom, especially to touch up hair or makeup after dressing. Keeps some light out of the sleeper's eyes, too.

and you can have a nice piece of artwork and a console table to look at, instead. We asked Doug to keep the toilet separate so two people could use the bathroom at once. I see what you mean about the single door. I had the same thought, but this is one of those preference issues that the husband/wife have a difference of opinion on ... :)

Here's another thought: you mentioned maybe widening by 2', and the plan seems to show that that extends the house to the left. Could the extension give you either a slightly larger laundry room (room for elbow room, or for storing an ironing board, broom/swiffer, etc),

House will extend to the right. Want to give the guest room more room and expand the laundry room.

@ samarnn . Great suggestions.

To me, the advantage of adding 2' to width would be in the living room, which only appears to comfortably seat 4. Room for a pair of small upright occasional chairs would also be most convenient for elderly or handicapped visitors. Good idea. We were thinking of adding 2' in width to the guest bedroom to install a closet or built in cabinetry.

Suggest you plan a vigorous groundcover for that sharp slope behind garage. Even a low & casually stacked retaining wall would permit you to reduce the slope, and a matching little wall at the other end would serve same purpose. As a gardener, I would need a flight of steps coming down from the breezeway, but perhaps you are planning a gentle ramp off the driveway so that wheeled tools could use it as well as a tired gardener? Steps or a sloping path are in the future plans. Have to say I am spoiled rotten with a sub compact tractor and all the accessories that go with it. I hardly ever use a wheel barrow ... the bucket on the tractor works great, and we have plenty of room to move around. :) Love the idea of vigorous ground cover. Any suggestions for VA? In the wooded area there are naturally occurring bulbs (daffodils, day lilies to name a few) plus a plethora of holly. The ground floor is all leaf mold or fallen trees. So we have a really clean slate to work with. There are a ephemeral water gullies that run on the property lines and meet at the back of the property

On 8 acres, where is guest parking & does it work with a straight path centered on front door ?

Guest parking is something we need to figure out when we visit the property again. We have to stake out the house, look at the slope, etc. I'm hoping we have enough flat area to put it on the backside of the garage so its hidden from the street, then with steps down to the lower level (on the other side of the breezeway.

Be aware that inability to use a bathtub is common issue for us ageing types. I would exchange master tub for a shower & then do a bang up spa atmosphere in the guest bath. Or, even better, if you add that 2' put modest shower there & squeeze in a door opposite entrance to master so that guest bath could function everyday as "his & hers". We may not do a tub at all and just put in a walk in shower with a bench.. It will be tight but want to make sure we can have everything wheelchair accessible. ...

Recommend you get Doug to specify design of railing that will be necessary on the upper deck so that carpenters don't screw it up, as seems to me they frequently do when left to their own devices. Thank you . Great idea!

@damiarain Thank you for all the great ideas... Definitely thinking all the laundry/MBR bath suggestions are good ones. And the pass through from the closet to the laundry.. my husband said the exact same thing. Less walking is good (in the house that is!)

@ chispa You're right. Laundry is small.. But Doug is working with what we gave him. If we add 2' to the total width of the house laundry will get some of that extra footage. And with it right next to the walk in closet.. we are still playing with those diimensions.

We asked Doug to keep the toilet separate so two people could use the bathroom at once Ah, I missed the separation of the toilet; on my small screen it looked like it was just alongside the vanity.

You demonstrate the value of professional design for your specific lot and needs. Well done.

I love the rear elevation. You will feel as if you are in the trees.

I see three things that I would double check and a potential problem.

First, do you have enough room for both seating at the kitchen island and at the long dining table? It looks crowded to me. But, I don't have full measurements. I would take a hard look at them.

Second, why didn't you put the master bedroom on the back corner of the house? That's prime real estate from a design standpoint. Instead, your bath room is getting the prime corner. I would rework the master bedroom, bath and closet to get the bedroom on the corner in order to take advantage of the natural light.

Third, I know the guest room will change with the addition of the two feet. You have two walls. Once again, there is opportunity for great light by putting a window on the outer wall. I would point out that that entire side of the house lacks windows. I like to be able to see out of all four sides from a security standpoint. I assume there is no rough view that you are trying to avoid on that side of the house.

You may have already had those discussions, but if you haven't, I'd discuss them with Doug.

Last, I know this is your retirement home. I've appraised in Northern Virginia. I'm familiar with the area. The house as designed is considered a two bedroom house because the extra bedrooms are below grade. If you are paying cash, no worries. If you plan to finance the build, the two bedrooms would become an issue. You indicated that you bought a wooded property. Houses that have ocean, lake, river, or mountain views are exceptions to this problem because there are other comparable houses with the same features and a local market comparison is possible. Your house in the woods could be difficult to finance. It's not an insurmountable problem, but you should be aware of it.

You are going to really like this house. Isn't Doug great?

@ homechef59 . Thank you for ALL the helpful suggestions. I'm mapping out the interior dimensions of the house in the next couple of days. (We have a 5000 square foot empty barn to play in.) Totally agree with the master bathroom on the exterior wall. ... One of the reasons we put the sketch out on Houzz to get other sets of eyes on the it for feedback. As far as the guest bedroom goes, we needed the extra 2 feet for closet space, will have to see if we can fit a window in. Not the end of the world if it only has one window. Its not that large of a room. Although having a front corner it would be nice to try and work one in.......DOUGGGGGG!!!

What a lovely, liveable design. Great job, Doug, and congratulations, Carolyn : ) .

Are you planning on aging in place? I would consider having him design in a future elevator to bring you up to the attic and down to the lower level-- for now have it designed as a column of 3 closets sized and positioned for a future install. This would provide you with great flexibility. Looking at the plans maybe in the breezway area? If you also have the attic sized for expansion have the mechanicals brought up now - ie plumbing so if someone expands they wont have to open walls to do the attic space.

@ deb s . Yes, we are planning on "aging in place". Ugh thats painful to think about . lol. One of the reasons we are making the house as a one story with as few steps as possible. Chatted with Doug this morning about the eventual elevator conversion. The pantry area could be renovated into an elevator (at that point if my husband is still cooking as much as he is now I'll be dead from overeating anyway. ) Good idea about running plumbing up into the attic. I'll run that one by the hubby .. Would be easy enough to do.. Although us personally , will probably only use it as an office/storage space, the gable end looking out over the forest would be a beautiful space to convert over to another bedroom area. Cool idea. Thanks!

Fun project for a fun couple.

ARG, aren't all your couples fun?

I love when you write about your process, it makes me want to build a house!

@ bpath Oh Sophie " Fun project for a fun couple. " lol. I was kind of thinking the same thing.. that and "clouds" and "cupolas"all seem to be Doug's signature hallmarks. :)

The smoke is where the real artistry happens.