I know you didn't ask but that second gable on your home elevation doesn't look correct.

Here are some alternate designs.

Thank you for your input and design ideas. I will ask the architect to look into your observation. I am hoping that because this was the initial draft, it may change once we finalize the design and move on to blueprints.

Have you had this conversation with the architect? Is he involved with helping with the floor plan? Do you have a floor plan as the description is a bit confusing.

We have not as we are still trying to figure out what changes we want to make on the window placement. I attached the draft of the floor plan. It is the same floor plan as our first floor, except we modified the rooms and what they are to be.

The entire second floor would be a master suite/level. I attached the floor plan in the previous comment.

Thank you, this would be something to consider.

Are you sure your "architect" is an architect? The plan is not well thought out.

PPF did something similar to what I was just working on. In my case I was think more about the simplified and asymmetrical Colonial revival houses of the 1940s, which is essentially what your house is, but a floor shorter.

This conceptually splits the windows in the bedroom around the bed and then applies a similar approach to the front of the walk in closet where the previous approach to center the right window over the door felt awkward. This could still use some refinement but I feel like it will work better for both the interior and exterior of your home.

Your master bath doesn't show a key component. No large walk-in shower. The closet appears oversized in square footage with a lot of unused open space. The center staircase location contributes to the inefficiency. Since it's new, a location along a wall could help.

You seem to be only concerned about the windows, but I would be more concerned about the layout. Are you sure you want to put the bed under a window? Why is the closet so big? Why is there no shower? How will you use a sitting room 20 feet long? You are creating a master suite as large as all of the rest of the house, which is unusual to say the least. Perhaps a smaller addition would be more efficient, more attractive and less expensive.

My first impression when I looked at the second floor plan is everything looked bigger than it needs to be. Add a hotplate and a refrigerator and you do not have to go down stairs.

I would recommend giving these schematic drawings to a few contractors for a realistic cost estimate. I have a feeling that will eliminate doubling the square footage for an inefficient Master Suite that is way out of proportion compared to the downstairs. And don't forget the taxman really comeths with a doubled SF.

Sorry everyone is not on board with your plans. I understand the idea of having a great master suite, but the plan just doesn't seem right.

How many bedrooms is the house now? How large is your family? How long are you staying in the home? Would it be better to make that level for kids and guests and changing the main level to have first floor living and to be able to age in place?

Just some thoughts....

As for the windows - I always felt that on the front of the house there should be some sort of alignment or balance, but the sides and back can be any placement - do what's best for the layout. I like Andrew's idea for windows.

Make sure to ask your architect about making changes - some allow a certain amount of changes, others charge for every little thing.

Good luck

Thanks everyone for input. The 2nd floor layout is the same floodplain of the 1st. Currently our master bedroom is where the new master closet is, then a small bedroom where the master bath is going. It is not efficient for our family as we do need more space. We priced out tear down vs. addition and that is not cost effective. Multiple contractors have proved estima a for this idea, within budget. My concern was just the design of the exterior.

"floodplain" ?

probably autocorrect for "floorplan" Ain't AI great?

I do not know how to help that is your architects job. I wonder how the new stairs affect the main floor. All I can think is what awaste of money for a bedroom and I sure hope you had all the engineers on board before this is even planned . Not all homes can support another level , not to mention the plumbing issues .

Design all four sides of the house at the same time and treat each side equally.

It's not the fact of building up that's the problem, it's the concept of what is presented.

A 2BR/1BA house, adding a 2nd level to get more bedrooms, space, and to get a Master Suite, should combine the 1st floor bedrooms for the Master Suite, add 2 bedrooms upstairs, and maybe an Office/Flex upstairs because it probably won't fit downstairs with adding a stair and Powder Room. The upper footprint does not have to be 1:1 over the main floor. Guessing that would give you a 3-4BR/2.5BA house in the 1800-2200sf range, which makes much more sense given your Kitchen and Living Room are static in size and layout. Interpolate for your exact house.

To make a serious attempt to design even the windows we should have both floor plans and all elevations. Climate and neighborhood information would help as well.

Without that information all I can say is make the windows larger, possibly omit the muntins in the lower sash and add some frieze boards under the eaves and rakes.

By the way, your house is possibly a Minimal Traditional but not a Cape.

Thanks for your input, res3srchitect. All this time, I thought it was just a cape.