Being able to build your own house is a wonderful opportunity, and when you should be able to customize it best to your own personal needs. So you'd need to be more specific about your family & lifestyle .. how many bedrooms & bathrooms do you want/need? How old are each of the family members? Will the house be detached, semi-attached or attached .. which controls window placement? Do you have a casual or formal lifestyle, want individual rooms, or open concept? Does family do a lot of cooking, and have activity revolve around the kitchen? Does that "triplex" include a basement and/or garage? Bottom line, is that "the best ever designed plan" might be totally different for you, than me, so a designer needs more details from you!

I think a comfortable distance between the island and the counter is around 42". It seems that you have only 30" between your cook top and the counter. I might be a little too tight. The wall between the entrance and the kitchen could be 4' long instead of 6', you would then be able to move the island a foot which would give you more room between the cook top and the island. Could you switch the location of the toilet and vanity in your dad's bathroom so your enter facing a vanity instead of a toilet which is a lot nicer.

Tsilanko, I would always recommend professional installation where needed. But what I am doing here is suggesting that WHEN you are planning to build or renovate, to consider how your plans will affect you in 20 or 30 years time. Split levels are very hep when you are young. A kitchen 3 steps down at 30 is rarely a problem, but might be a hazard at 60, or, as Marjie1059 suggested, if you break a leg. ... All my parents' homes were terrible for old people. They were forced to move to a bungalow in extreme old sge because the location and design of their home was more suitable for an active young couple with a large family than for an elderly couple with stroke disabilities. I would not want to move again, so my present home has features built in that make ageing in place simpler. Mostly small changes, like grab rails, and lever handles on doors and faucets. A major disability suddenly suffered requires major changes if permanent. I did look at this because it came up in the discussion, but if you look at the heading, Planning for Disability, it means just that. Plan ahead so you don't have to make expensive changes later on. But thank you for your advice, yes, major changes are not in the DIY domain.

Before asking for any help, first of all I'm grateful to the Team Houzz for showing beautiful ideas for our sweet homes. I don't know how to express myself. I am so please to find this website that I can spend my whole 24 hrs. going through innovative ideas to beautify our homes. Long live Houzz Team. My good wishes to you. Pl. keep working good work like you are doing now. Million thanks. Praveen, India