The relative placement of rooms can play a major role in how a home lives. Do you really want your children's bedrooms directly over the master bedroom? We all love our children but there are times when even the closest of families need their privacy. The master shouldn't be too close to the family room, either. With the popularity of surround sound, TVs have become louder and more pervasive. The best plans keep the master at a comfortable distance from other activities in the home, ideally in its own wing with nothing above or below and no common walls. 

Not all room adjacency issues deal with privacy. Sometimes it's about togetherness. For example, kitchens should not isolate the person preparing the meal. Eat-in kitchens are great places to bring families and friends together. By combining food preparation and dining we create wonderful opportunities for conversation and closeness.

The game room concept is changing, too. Instead of just converting an extra bedroom, families are finding children's retreats to be far more useful. A children's retreat consists of a common recreation/study that serves as the hub of the children's activities and is surrounded by their bedrooms. This area of the home becomes a special place just for the kids, where they can do their homework, play games or watch TV while mom and dad enjoy some quiet time with a movie or reading by the family room fire.