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olldbobbi I think we need to know what you don't like about the floor plan before we can advise!

travis4710 I would prefer a big open layout, therefore I don't like all of the individual rooms.

Ashley Hoffman I would combine the Den and Kitchen into one nice big kitchen with an island. I would also get rid of the wall between the foyer and living room. Here you could do pillars for interest and it opens the space so you can see who's coming in. You could even do a half wall with a bookcase or storage on the bottom and pillars above. This is all pending the walls can come down, since I am not an engineer or architect. :)

Dytecture I agree with opening up the living room to the foyer. Perhaps switch the Den and Dining Room, this is more of a personal preference as I don't like guests seeing into my dining table when entering the house.

And it provides you with a more private Den / Study area by closing off access to the Master Bedroom.

Otherwise the overall layout is great as it is.

travis4710 Thanks for all the suggestions so far! Anyone else have any ideas?

Stanton Designs-online design services You can make that whole area open! With good space planning...that could be stunning!

travis4710 @Stanton Designs. How would you recommend laying out the house if I opened up the center area completely?

decoenthusiaste I think opening up the foyer, living, kitchen, dining and den would be the perfect solution.Like the idea Dytecture had about reversing the dining and den spaces. Can that large round area on the back of the house be incorporated into the living space? That would be an awesome way to extend your home into nature a bit! I see there is an exit to the outside and to the garage in the misc. room. Could that room become the kitchen? Make the dining area a bit larger, and utilize the current kitchen space as a walk through atrium leading out to the round area which would be a sunroom, greenhouse and all around relaxing area.

travis4710 I'm stuck on the location of the kitchen. Where would you guys recommend placing the kitchen?

Ramona Putting the kitchen next to the garage makes the most sense to me. I hate carrying groceries through a house. That leaves the center part of the house with lots of options. I would make something of a private entry into the master bedroom area by putting a den or den like space there.

decoenthusiaste I vote for the kitchen in the misc. room location! Like Ramona said, easy grocery offload and it is already there with a 1/2 bath and a back porch - can't beat it!

Joanne Jakab Interior Design Nice home layout - it makes it easy to give suggestions. If you want both a formal and casual dining area then I would take down the wall between the den. Add an island with casual bar height seating. I would utilise the back room for storage, mud room,pantry etc.
If the current dining room is left as a formal space then leave it open to the foyer. It's not used often and will add pizazz to the entry. And when you are entertaining it will be quite inviting for your guests to see a beautifully decorated table set just for them as soon as they walk in your home.
By opening up the kitchen/den you will create a large gathering room great for casual entertaining and active family life that will include the living room area.
Hope to see photos of the finished project.

Joanne Jakab Interior Design Also, yes please close the dining room off from the kitchen leaving just a single 30-32 inch door preferably with translucent glass inserts.

travis4710 I like the misc room location as well, I'm just scared that it will feel small and secluded.

travis4710 @ Joanne I do not care about a formal dining area, as we will hardly ever use it. We are more in to casual entertaining and prefer the open atmosphere.

E You have a great floorplan. So many wonderful possibilities. I live in Texas and we're used to having a formal living and dining, and a separate family/den and breakfast nook. There are probably 2 - 3 options I can see:
1) move kitchen to where the den currently is. open part of the misc room closest to the now kitchen as breakfast nook and leave the rest of misc room as mud room / extra refrigerator etc. open walls between living and foyer. Use current dining as formal living, and current kitchen as dining...with no walls in between which would open to the living/family area.
2) move kitchen to current den; change dining to study with wall and french doors. open walls between living and foyer and use left side as formal living and current kitchen as formal dining. Use right side of living as family room. same use of misc room as above.
3) leave kitchen as is. Use current dining as formal living. open walls between living and foyer and use left side as formal dining. Use right side of current living as family/den and current den as breakfast nook.

like I said, so many possibilities.

Ramona I would take out that powder room. It is in the wrong place. The entry from the garage should have a place to hang coats, etc. Then pull the kitchen out into the former den. Think off the back end of the kitchen as maybe an entry way and pantry area and pull the functions into the former den area.

Joanne Jakab Interior Design Okay, no formal dining area. Then what do you think about the possibility of placing a partial wall floating ( centred and about 4 feet or so wide) where the dining meets the foyer and create an interesting entry focal with a mirror, chest etc. it would block the immediate view from the entry into a casual eating area. Plus all your family and casual activities can flow from seated eating area, thru kitchen into gathering area. I feel pantry storage, mud roo is best for back entry area.

travis4710 I took down some walls and changed a few things with the master bath and closet. I also added a garage which we have considered adding in 3-5 years. Does that help or hurt the house and does that change everyones recommendations? Thanks for all the help so far! It's great to have so many helpful people.

travis4710 Forgot to attach image....

Ramona By moving your kitchen forward, you still have a back room which may or may not be very useful. The garage is neither here no there as it doesn't really do anything to the interior. If anything, I would sacrifice the entire current garage and then you have a huge space which can be redone in zillions of ways. Will you really need a four car garage?

travis4710 @Ramona I agree about really needing a 4 car garage, but I do have 3 cars currently. Plus, I really don't know what I would do with the current garage space if I converted it to living space. I would also have a fireplace in the middle of the room to deal with.

Ramona Your kitchen, if it were to go behind the fireplace wall, which itself could be open to a less formal dining/living area with windows to the back. Then you have lots of options for entry/formal living room/den in the rest of the area. You could leave the powder room. I think it would be worth a consult with an architect as you are looking at spending a lot of money here.

travis4710 @Ramona Yes, I plan on consulting an architect and I hope to save some money by doing a lot of the work myself. I have 5 yrs experience in the construction industry plus my father builds cabinets, so hopefully I can save a lot of money in labor.

aussiephil is the back yard on the side of the dining/kitchen/den? is there a deck or outside entertaining area there? I would consider opening it up so you open the door and can look straight through to that area if there were one. Always keep in mind your outdoor entertaining needs as much as your indoor depending on how often you use the outdoor space.

Andrew Crocker Architecture / Design I think you need more separation between the foyer and the rest of the living space. Frank Lloyd Wright always said that the contrast between a small entry space and much more open living space is quite compeling. I would combine the living room, den and what is now the kitchen into three areas separated with furniture. One dinning, one living, and one media (or where the t.v. goes). I would move the kitchen to where the dinning room is and separate it from the foyer with a storage wall. You should also consider the light in the space and how you typically enter. Also, you will likely run into structural issues that could drive the design. Many of these buildings built in the 70's would not meet todays code. Hope it helps.

travis4710 @aussiephil Yes the backyard is on the kitchen, den side as well as the round sunroom that you can see in these pictures. The sliding doors go from the current den to sunroom.

travis4710 @Andrew Crocker Would you really want to enter the master bedroom from the kitchen area?

Andrew Crocker Architecture / Design No you are correct. You would need to carve out a little space for a hall. Using the storage wall and counter layout this could work nicely.

travis4710 @Andrew Crocker What exactly do you mean by "storage wall"?

Mary Dancey Interiors Lovely setting Travis. If you have the budget for a complete gut then I think now is a good to decide what you want to see when looking out onto your property and from which area. Is the kitchen area a great place to enjoy the sun rising/setting sun or is the family room a better spot? Get what I mean?

Cheers
Mary

travis4710 @ Mary Dancey The sun rises on the garage side and sets on the kitchen side.

umaqeel I have a suggestion regarding the location of the main bedroom door. Would you consider making the entry from the bedrooms corridor through the Walk in closet and extend the WIC to the main bathroom. This way you can give your Master bedroom a private entry than the entry from the open area of the living room.

Another point: you can change the 1 car garrage into utility/mudroom and pantry storage. It would be more useful. Also you would need a powder room to serve the living room.

Good luck.

Andrew Crocker Architecture / Design What I refer to as a storage wall is a wall that divides a space, but does not make a room, and is thicker because it has cabinets, or shelves on one side or both. The thicker wall allows for a more gradual transition between spaces.

travis4710 @umaqeel I don't know how I feel about entering through the closet, although I do like the idea of being able to make the master bath a little bigger.

decoenthusiaste If I remember correctly, Candice Olson (HGTV) redid a kitchen for her mom that opened right into to a sunroom. Was in Canada, so she added a little stove as a feature. Wow! Now we're on track - don't obsess about the garage. If you need to house three cars, incorporate most of the misc room into it and what's left, plus the WC, can serve as a storage or small shop or hobby room.

travis4710 What do you guys think of this kitchen layout in the misc room?

Joanne Jakab Interior Design This example is about 12 feet wide and about 20 feet long. Where will you put your basement stairs and current washroom?

stargazer51 travis4710 -- Great house to start with! You have lots of room, a nice lot, and lots of ideas after all this input and looking at pictures on Houzz. Before going any further, meet with an architect who can help you prioritize your ideas, identify the bearing walls, and pull it all together with a cohesive style. He/she can also give you an idea of cost which can be sobering! I'm moving a kitchen and opening/moving walls and was surprised how much extra work was involved bringing a late 1970's house up to current code.

travis4710 @Joanne Jakab. Can I email you to pick your brain a little more?

Joanne Jakab Interior Design Hi Travis - Just reading this email today. Lost my hard drive and was down for a week. I would prefer to keep long distance houzz discussions on this site - I feel it's the best route for everyone to stay connected and benefit from the discussions. Thank you so much for the vote of confidence. Cheers.