I think this is my very first post on houzz! I've been a lurker for quite some time. My husband and I have been in the planning stages of designing our new construction home for almost a year. This design is based upon many hours pouring over floor plans and houzz idea books and photos. We are hoping to break ground this Summer. I have decided I will be taking my plans to an architect firm (not sure who we'll use yet) before we get started but I would love to get some preliminary advice on what we have put together so far. We are going to be building on a 1.22 acre lot backing up to the snake river canyon and so we would like to take advantage of the views to the rear of the house. We have four children (2yrs - 11yrs) and my husband works from home full time and I work from home about 20% of the time. We both come from large families and like to entertain so spacious common areas are a priority to us. We were originally hoping to do a daylight basement, but because of our lot we have ruled that out and now will try to utilize space above the garage. Overall, we are hoping to keep it under 4000 sf so I'm expecting an architect to help us eliminate unnecessary square footage and ensure the home meets our space needs yet still feels warm and inviting. I like how the floor plan is coming together, but I have no clue how this layout translates to roof lines and exterior features. (Another reason for the architect) And although we want to take advantage of the space above the garage, I also don't want that to make the house seem unbalanced. I've posted our inspiration floor plan (Sutton) as well as our edited draft floorplans. Are there any obvious things here that we should really reconsider? This is our first build and likely our last so we're trying to take our time to get it right.