Nothing appears in the way of plans or pictures.

thanks, the file didn't upload for some reason- fixed now

I can't figure out the plans versus the section. There are four plan levels shown. The section shows three levels. As far as I can see the stairs dont' match up and connect on the floor plans.

The plans show 7 bedrooms. Is this a multi-family apartment?

Was this designed by someone experienced?

One of the levels on the plans is just to show the mudroom, which is at ground level, same as the garage. From the mudroom you take stairs up in to the family room on the right side or down in to the basement on the left side. It is a fairly standard mudroom layout for this neighborhood in Chicago but can be confusing when seen on plans. It is a single family home, with 6 bedrooms, one of which is being left open as a small family room on the bedroom level.

Would it make sense to add an elevator? How do you get to your bedroom after a knee replacement or major surgery?

What about the stairs is not code compliant? Are you talking about the main set of stairs that takes you up to the bedrooms, or the stairs in the mudroom area? And with the powder room, is it just too small? I could shrink the pantry to make the powder room bigger, but I am guessing it needs to be wider not longer? Maybe I need to shrink the island width some so that the powder room can be bigger? As for the couches, while I don't find it necessary, every house in the neighborhood is built with both a living room and family room. The room upstairs is meant to be a place for a kid to do homework, or watch a movie away from the rest of the family but without having to hole up in his own room.

As for the elevator....how does anyone get up to the top floor in a multi floor home if they have surgery? I haven't seen many elevators in single family homes other than the enormous 10 million dollar ones.

As for the elevator....how does anyone get up to the top floor in a multi floor home if they have surgery?

In many cases they don't. If they have a bedroom on the main level, they use that. Another, far less than ideal, options is that they stay in the family room until able to tackle the stairs, but in a house like yours even that's not an option, as all levels require stairs in one form or another. At that point, you might be looking at a stay in a rehab facility until able to manage stairs. And while that's absolutely an option, most people would prefer to be home, in which case it's worth thinking about whether your home can be made accessible via an elevator.

In some new raised /two story homes in Florida, I have seen an elevator shaft built, but floors are added, so the empty area can be used as closets while folks are young, but converted to an elevator later.

Unfortunately the reality of building a single family home in a city like Chicago is that some stairs are involved as you are dealing with a 24 ft wide lot and can't expand the footprint. Yes, I could lower the ceiling height some, but once you are already going up a flight of stairs, does 1 or 2 extra steps really matter much? For people concerned with stairs, there are plenty of condos available with elevators.

Do you need three eating areas?

no- and i dont think that bar between the kitchen and dining room should have stools. If we keep the bar, I would anticipate it being a waterfall counter where the counter runs down to the floor of the dining room. Alternatively I have been considering getting rid of that counter and maybe putting a slat screen wall there to divide the kitchen from the dining room.

IMHO, the peninsula bar off the kitchen is something I'd avoid,. I like your big island,

The house is long and narrow. There was an episode of Windy City Rehab, where PIER MIRRORS were fabricated & used to break up the bowling alley look to a deep narrow house. It was a beautiful architecture feature placed in the center of the space between the dining & kitchen, but the space was still open on the sides. Although the Windy City Rehab mirros had an antique look, I imagine a more modern mirror would work just as well, A pantry was built on the back side of the mirror- on the kitchen side. So, storage was abundant. I can't find pics for the episode, but basically it's is a large ornate trimmed mirror with a small shelf.

Master bathroom.... For the love of Pete, please construct a DOOR to separate the toilet area. No one wants to see a sig.other/spouse in that activity... It looks like there is plenty of room for a toilet behind a door. Example-

Was there a reason that the 2nd floor has a master suite and two bedrooms with two hall baths, versus all three with ensuites?

The bedroom at the front does have ensuite. The other bathroom has access from the hall so that anyone using that extra room can access a bathroom without going through a bedroom. That extra room could also be enclosed by adding 1 wall, which would give the house 4 bedroom's upstairs (a desirable feature for anyone with 3 children), in which case you wouldn't want the 4th bedroom to lack bathroom access.

If it were me, I'd put the kitchen in the back.

We put the family room in the back because there is more natural light back there (no house on either side back there, in the front and middle of the house there is a house 22" away on one side and about 5 ft on the other) and also so that you can go directly from the family room out on to the deck above the garage. Also, shouldn't the kitchen be next to the dining room? Are you saying kitchen in back, dining room where kitchen is, family room in the front?

The proper way to draw and illustrate the floor plans is to show only the garage parking on the plan for the lowest level.

As it as drawn and shown above the bedroom level interconnecting with the garage/parking is duplicated and shown twice, as if they were two separate floors.

OK I can have him fix that- I asked him to break out the mudroom on its own and he duplicated a floor. The mudroom is the only interior space on the same level as the garage (ground level). The lower level is down the stairs on the left from the mudroom, the family room up the stairs on the right from the mudroom.

The issue with the stairs is the tread must be 6" minimum at each winder and 10" min. at the walk line 12" from the inside of the winder (the Stair Manufacturer's Association publishes a free visual guide to the code). Winders that come to a point as shown are no longer allowed since that part of the stairs would be unusable and unsafe.

so stairs can't make a 90 degree turn?

Yes they can with a landing. The plan I saw appears to have several winders as the stair turns the corner.

thanks, i will discuss with my architect and engineer.

Are you saying kitchen in back, dining room where kitchen is, family room in the front?

Yes. Personally, I'd want my kitchen to have the most light.

I hate the exposed powder room on the ground floor, and in a house with that many bathrooms, I don't really think you need it. I'd reposition the one on the 2nd floor to be near the head of the stairs and have that for public use.

a powder room on the main floor is something I can't do without as I don't plan on sending my 3 year old upstairs every time he needs to pee. However I think it might be too small- it is 3.5x6. Is 3.5' too narrow? Should I widen it by 6" and maybe shrink the kitchen island by 6"? The island is currently 4' wide

How wide are the aisles on either side of the island?

4 ft between island and counter, 5 ft between island and powder room wall

Consider enclosing the front entrance to a vestibule/air lock type entry. Nothing like having a shot of Chicago polar vortex whistling thru that open space every time you open the door.

Ok, this is just my opinion and I'm not an expert. I would suggest loosing the kitchen island because it is something you are going to have to constantly walk around to get from the front of the house to the back. It feels too narrow to have that large island in the middle. I have 7 feet between my island and the wall behind and I wouldn't want it any narrower, especially when someone is sitting at the island. Also, when standing at the sink, you will be looking at a wall only 6 -8 feet away. Instead of an island, the suggestion is to place a large peninsula between the kitchen and the family room. Place the sink on this peninsula so you have a view out to the back yard and back of the home. You could add cabinetry or a coffee bar on the wall by the pantry. You could also increase the width of the pantry and the powder room. It's going to be a nice big home :-)

There is a lot of good things about the plan - I also agree the kitchen needs work. With the peninsula by the dining do you really need seating in the kitchen? I'd loose that for better traffic flow and maybe have another peninsula by the family room like someone else suggested. I'd also add an out swing door to the toilet niche. Your master sinks are going to be really tight. Really analyze how often you bathe in a tub vs get ready at the same time and decide what you will be compromising. And no linen closets? I'd have one in the basement and one on the 2nd floor. Chicago sees every season so realistically you'd want storage for seasonal bedding for all of those beds.

And, that small laundry closet on the 2nd floor will be your workhorse laundry with the main bedrooms up there. The bedrooms are a generous size so I think you could do back to back bathrooms so that the corner bathroom could go away and become a laundry 'room'.

Love it. Room for everyone. Room for a media room and also a hangout room. I love how you’ve thought through each question. The powder room is in the right spot. I’m jealous of your pantry, exercise room, guest room and many bathrooms.

ok so ive increased the width of the laundry closet by doing an angled ceiling above the stairs- closet will now be 60" wide allowing for either side by side with counter above the machines and upper cabinets for storage and linen's, or stacked with both base and upper cabinets to the side for storage

question for thinkdesignlive- why would the master sink be tight? the vanity is drawn currently as 75" isn't that pretty big?

Well it’s not horrible but once you have 2 sinks you have very little counter space and 2 users are bumping elbows if being used at the same time. If both users are super efficient and tidy its ‘doable’. However, it’s about scale and proportion too. A 75” vanity in a 1500 sf house is luxurious. A 75” vanity in a house of this scale is tight in ‘feeling’ and function.

If a bigger vanity is needed the tub could be flipped to the wall with the vanity and the vanity could take up all 100" of wall space where the tub is with a window between the sinks i suppose? And maybe put a skylight over the middle of the room or over the tub?

A 75" vanity is fine. I don't understand the need for these oversized vanities. Mine is just under 72" wide and it works fine for the two of us. Of course we keep everything in the drawers, under the sink and in the medicine cabinets instead of cluttering up the counters.

or the tub could be placed on somewhat of an angle which would allow for a vanity of maybe 85 or 90" if it stretches all the way to the shower enclosure

You are already running the risk of not being able to clean around that tub without doing serious gymnastics. Maybe the location of the door needs to shift down. Really not a bad idea to enlist a kitchen and bath designer to help you get all these details right. CPartist said it - they keep all products in medicine cabinets and drawers in order to make it work. OP has a blank slate as a new build. Now is the time to get it right.

This is a crude sketch but maybe this would be a better layout if I steal a bit from the closet area for the toilet and split up the sinks? It would make for a much bigger shower and no issues cleaning the tub, and would be easy to enclose the toilet with a pocket door. And yes, a bathroom specialist might be helpful, I am already working with an interior designer/architect on the design, I was just looking for input from some people who haven't been rearranging this thing for months already

As long as that niche is wide enough to code I think it’s a better layout. Let your architect and designer take over. Especially if you’ve been rearranging for months. You have good instincts and it seems to be on the right path so let them take it to the finish line. Good luck!