What you need is anarchitect not a draftsman . First you design a house according to the site . I am not sure the drawing is to scale , I never like bonus rooms they either have a purpose or not .Where are all the rest of the bedrooms ?I am not seeing the ofice but to me a piano in an actual working office is a bit odd .IMO you need more bedrooms on the level you show if living on thta level is the plan.

@Patricia Colwell Consulting Thank you! The basement will be finished with a family room, kitchenette and two bedrooms. I was planning to use the office by day and the piano by night 😅 it is a little odd, but not sure where to put the piano otherwise. I updated OP to incluse some of this

How big is your lot?

@chispa no major boundries since building in a cornfield. the garage side will be close to other farm buildings.

Anything angled automatically is disqualified from ever caring about wasted space. Angles waste a huge amount of space. It's the quick indication of "added interest" that really just means "poor design skills". And that is the case here.

Are one of the main level bedrooms and bath for your parents? Will they be living there full-time?

You indicate that the land is flat, yet you are placing many rooms in the basement, including bedrooms for your children. Since there won't be any grade from the front to the back of the house, will these basement rooms be underground? Will there be adequate light, air, and egress? A local architect would know.

@User Well Shoot! I was thinking the angled garage would allow better access to the farm buildings and the backyard while keeping the front of the house looking well designed. Considered rotating the house so that the back yard faces a little more south. (front door faces directly east here)

@Louise Smith Was thinking my youngest would live in the mainfloor BDRM 2. It's possible my mother lives with us later in life, she uses a wheelchair so I thought about the hallways being a little wider and would make that bathroom accessible. There has been talk about daylight windows in the basement for the bedrooms. but not a lot of sunlight otherwise.

The basement bedrooms don't sound very appealing with ground-level windows? Make sure you understand bedroom egress code.

Also, if you have so much room, is there a reason to have to walk through the bathroom to get to the closet in the primary? There are many times I don't want to share my bathroom with my partner.

@User LOL Did I start from bad inspiration? Or muck it up along the way?

Luxurious Mountain Ranch Home Plan with Lower Level Expansion - 95046RW | Architectural Designs - House Plans

Pinch points?

I don't see pinch points for you and your family, but I see a whole lot of things that could be problematic for your wheelchair-bound mother:

- How will she enter the house? I note you've placed her bedroom at the faaar end of the house ... it would be better placed near the garage entrance. This would also move her away from your bedroom ... unless you think you'd like sleeping with your husband while your mother is literally 10' away?

- She won't be able to use the half-bath. Or the hall bath.

- If she's going to live in this first-floor bedroom, she'll need a closet; she'll need an adult-sized closet. Elderly people don't like to give up their stuff when they move in with a child (ask me how I know). You're planning a 10' closet for yourself and your husband ... in addition to the whole house. Think about how you'd feel if one of your sons asked you to give up everything you're planning in this house /everything you've collected over your years and move into a child-sized bedroom. With no closet.

Want this home to accommodate aging parent(s)

Parents plural? Then you really need to step up this first floor bedroom.

Will include a finished basement with two bedrooms. Finished basement to include theatre area, kitchenette, pool table, etc.

That all sounds nice, but with pancake-flat land, I'm with those who say, "Go up instead of down." I am guessing, but I think it'd be cheaper to build up rather than dig down ... and upstairs rooms with more natural light would be more pleasant /better for potential resale /easier to escape in case of fire.

I do want it to be cozy but able to entertain with ease.

I don't see cozy.

What does entertaining look like for you? Where would people park? Where would they enter? Where would you serve food?

I never like bonus rooms they either have a purpose or not .

Ideally a family house would include a large room where everyone can gather + a smaller room with acoustical and visual privacy. You have that on the first floor + you're looking at kind of a rec room in either the basement OR an upstairs ... that could fit in the bonus room. But, yes, do identify each room's purpose /don't just assume it'll all work out.

Well Shoot! I was thinking the angled garage would allow better access to the farm buildings and the backyard while keeping the front of the house looking well designed.

Eh, I don't hate-hate the angled garage ... IF it's the only "interest item". But your inspiration picture is too busy for a farmhouse ... it will not look right in a cornfield. Simplify, simplify, simplify.

Was thinking my youngest would live in the mainfloor BDRM 2. It's possible my mother lives with us later in life, she uses a wheelchair so I thought about the hallways being a little wider and would make that bathroom accessible

I see a couple problems here:

- If you're putting your mother in this space, especially since she's in a wheelchair, I'd like to see an exterior door for her safety. But that would be a bad idea for a small child.

- What will you put in the bathroom? A tub for the child or a walk-in shower for your mom? These two people have different needs.

Other random thoughts:

- The perimeter is full of jigs-and-jogs. This will drive up the cost of the house and complicate the roofline without adding any positive look or function to the house. Simplify.

- The worst thing about this house is that the main living areas are bookended between two porches, which will make them dark. This is a very big deal. Your inspiration picture includes some celestory windows ... that would help but wouldn't be the same as standard windows at eye level.

- I'd keep the front porch over the door /lose the side portion. A 4' wide porch isn't useful, and it's just keeping the light out.

- Since you'll need to "float" the furniture in the living room, you'll want to have a couple floor outlets built in.

- You asked about wasted space ... the angled mudroom could have the same spaces in less square footage, if it were straight. I see why you want a covered porch over the back side of the mudroom ... but this one looks larger than is necessary. This isn't a place you'll sit /hang out.

- I'd consider flip-flopping the half bath and the pantry. This would mean your bathroom plumbing and your kitchen plumbing would be in the same wall ... this is a small money-saver and reduces the amount of space where you can have a leak.

- You don't want this mudroom to be dark ... consider an all-glass back door and, if possible a window. And a motion-sensored light.

- I see you've included a BBQ in the back ... I'd add a pass-through window between the kitchen and this outdoor cooking area.

- Flip the kitchen door's hinge so it doesn't run people into a cabinet.

- What's the 48" in the kitchen? If it's a range, consider downsizing. No one really needs a range 80% as long as I am tall ... and a range that large drives up a whole lot of other items: it requires a huge hood, reinforced flooring.

- The sink would work better in the center of the kitchen, which would mean on the island.

- Is the dining area large enough for a family of five ... once the boys start bringing home friends? Can mom pull her wheelchair up to this area easily?

- Have you considered how you'll lay out furniture in this living room space? Where will the TV go?

- The office is the best room in the house /will have the nicest light.

- I like that the laundry is near the bedrooms ... but laundry is best on an exterior wall so that the dryer can vent directly to the outside. It's cheaper to build and more fire-safe.

- I mentioned an exterior door in your mother's future bedroom ... I'd like to see one in your bedroom as well. This would make bringing in furniture easier and (again) would be more fire safe, as your bedroom is fairly far from any door.

- I'd flip-flop the hall bathroom so the toilet /sink are on the wall shared with the office. This will allow a door between the bedroom and bathroom ... in fact, since guests can use the hall bath, why do you need a hall door in this bathroom at all?

- I'd like to see a broom closet /cleaning closet somewhere.

- You didn't mention it, but boys on a farm are bound to want dogs someday. WIll you want a small fenced area so you can let them out without supervision? (The dogs, not the boys.) What about crates inside? Storage for dog supplies like big bags of food?

I grew up using a basement bedroon with ground level window in Kansas. It was cool in the summer, we had fire egress, we were away from parents…I think this is common in midwestern rural builds. I rarely wooried about being swept away in a fogue tornado. That said, work on the built in accessibility features now.

If you are surrounded by farm fields DO NOT have lots of windows facing west. You will spend all afternoon in a cave of closed insulated curtains. If you have some nice banks of trees between the house and the fields, that helps, but please, please focus on south facing windows. I live this misery all summer every summer. (And what's worse, septic field is due west, so no planting tree for me). My house also has angles....such a waste of space.

@Lomo LOL Did I start from bad inspiration?

You started with a bad inspiration. I suggest you work with a talented residential architect and forget about going to a draftsman. A draftsman will just spit out anything you give him, whether bad or good and sorry, this could be a lot better.

You especially need an architect because of your mother being in a wheelchair.

If you have been reading these forums, you know I constantly post this and anything in bold needs to be reconsidered.

The best homes are designed to suit the site and are a marriage of a well designed interior and exterior.

The best houses orient the public rooms towards the south for the best passive solar heating and cooling

The best houses are L, U, T, H, or I shaped.

The best houses are only one to two rooms deep. And covered lanai, porches, garages, etc count as rooms in this case.

The best houses make sure kitchens have natural light, meaning windows so one doesn't have to have lighting 24/7 to use the kitchen. (And no, dining areas with windows 10' or more from the kitchen will not allow for natural light.)

The best houses make sure all public rooms and bedrooms have windows on at least two walls.

The best houses do not if possible put mechanical rooms, pantries or closets on outside walls

The best houses do not have diagonal interior walls making for odd spaces.

The best houses keep public and private spaces separate.

The best houses do not have you walk through the work zone of the kitchen to bring laundry to the laundry room.

The best houses do not have the mudroom go through any of the work zones of the kitchen.

The best houses do not use the kitchen as a hallway to any other rooms.

The best houses do not put toilets or toilet rooms up against bedroom walls or public areas.

The best houses do not have walk in closets too small to stand inside.

The best houses have separation, such as closets, between bedrooms and between bedrooms and public rooms.

The best houses do not have roofs that are overly large, and dominate the exterior of the house.

The best houses do not have stick on exterior materials only on the front façade.

The best houses have an organizing “spine” so it’s easy to determine how to get from room to room in the house and what makes sense. Meaning they don’t have meandering circulation paths.

The best houses design the inside, the outside and how the house sits on the site all at the same time.

The sun is harsh. The land is flat. The mighty westerlies will blow off your hat.

If you are going to have older parents living with you, especially one in a wheelchair and if you haven't already, you need to google, research and familiarize yourself with aging in place suggestions/requirements. Do not rely on an architect to plan for that.

@Amanda Bauman who could argue with advice to go to an architect? Ha! Even though I did, I was told the resulting plan was terrible, awful. So don't feel bad. You can't please everyone… So ya' got to please yourself. I like your poem.

I didn't see any plans for the basement. Were there any? People who haven't lived around tornados may not appreciate the comfort of underground living. It may be a design challenge for the claustrophobic, but basements are cool in summer heat and safe in summer storms. I would take full advantage and just plan lots of lighting.

Sorry if I missed it, but what were your plans to get Mom underground if needed? Elevator, stair lift? 

On a farm, I imagine you will have a generator somewhere. Have you planned for that? I'm just curious as to where you put it. Ours cranks every Friday at 10:00 am for maintenance, and is so noisy. I can't wait until it stops...grates on my nerves the whole time. Maybe yours is attached to an outbuilding?

I think you've made at least one improvement over the original plans: the double islands being replaced with a single island. You may get comments about wasted space with angles to the garage, but never in a kitchen. Ironic, because extra space in a kitchen will wear you down. My point is don't worry about it in the path to the garage. Instead ask hubby where he will want to sit down, take off boots an coveralls for a bite of lunch in a nice warm place in winter. Or is this a much bigger farm with multiple employees who will need an outbuilding with a kitchen and bathroom.

If just a family farm… Ha! I say just… Consider an entry, boots and coveralls space (boot and glove dryer is nice), bathroom, laundry transition to the kitchen. You may have already planned that, but I can't tell from your drawing. A separate laundry from the family laundry is nice, considering pesticides, animal waste?, and grease that comes with the farm laundry. 

I looked at a lot of plans with a bathroom between the bedroom and closet and wondered how you could keep the clothes from being musty. I wished for more ventilation and a separate exit from the closet, kind of like a Jack and Jill situation but with one bedroom being the closet. This assumes one person in the bedroom doesn't want to disturb the sleeping-in other. Not sure if that's even an issue with you two. If not, regular closets are more efficient use of space...walk-ins are just hype, unless you like them, and then go for it!

In summary, planning a real farm house requires as much special thought as making a home accessible for someone in a wheelchair, but less than 2% of us provide food for everyone else, so it's going to be hard to find an architect who knows what a farmer needs. Sometimes it's best to get input from hubby on this and his friends and their wives. 

If you haven't built the shop yet, make sure you get radiant heating in the floor. He'll love you for it! In fact, consider it all through the house, because he'll be sock-footed a lot, and maybe so will Mom.

Now is the appropriate time to draw some massing sketches (3D if possible) Don't wait until its too late for anything other that typical builder nested gables and fake dormers

Why not occupy the space under the roof? no one should have to live underground

When in Nebraska, you dig out a basement. Especially in the wide open where you susceptible to storms and tornadoes. Many communities near this farm house have been completely wiped out due to tornadoes.

Since that is a necessary cost, it makes sense to finish that space Vs. Build higher.

I open to 1.5 story with a few bedrooms upstairs but it may be cost prohibitive, especially if another Hvac unit is needed. We are used to basement dwelling.

@Mrs Pete Agree 100% with the simplifications!

Any bedrooms in the space would have egress windows to code. Larger varieties allow for additional daylight.

My mother has used a wheelchair my entire life. I am acutely aware of her needs from an ADA standpoint. She is 62, recently retired from teaching and living independently right now.

Appreciate the comments around the mudroom/laundry importance. And farm living considerations. Was considering an additional W/D in the basement with access from the mudroom steps. But maybe the architect can image a scenario where the master/laundry isn’t so far from the mudroom.

I enjoyed reading through some of the “Architecture 101s!” Super helpful.

Where you live, you absolutely need a basement!

A basement is, of course, essential for safety but the master bedroom is not in the basement so there‘s a clear hierarchy involved

As for not building higher, there are second story windows in your inspiration house and garage

An “egress window” is a commonly used misnomer that can lead to poor choices

"Egress" can be used generically but a code required basement ”egress path“ is up the interior stairs or through an exterior door with required riser, tread and headroom dimensions

A window cannot be part of an egress path; it can only serve as an “emergency escape and rescue opening” which can be a challenge for children or the elderly

Practice use of the escape windows with your children and place exterior signage at the escape windows for firefighters

On a farm, I imagine you will have a generator somewhere.

I don't think that's a given. I grew up in farmland, and I don't know anyone who has a generator.

A separate laundry from the family laundry is nice, considering pesticides, animal waste?, and grease that comes with the farm laundry.

A washer/dryer in the garage could take care of that.

I open to 1.5 story with a few bedrooms upstairs but it may be cost prohibitive, especially if another Hvac unit is needed. We are used to basement dwelling.

Admittedly, I live in the land of no basements, where tornados are unheard of, so perhaps the OP was right to go with basement bedrooms in the first place.

My mother has used a wheelchair my entire life. I am acutely aware of her needs from an ADA standpoint. She is 62, recently retired from teaching and living independently right now.

So you're thinking she won't need this space for years?