Design Digest- Which Option did we Choose?

So the designers went through these three options with some questions peppered in along the way.  I can't speak for Scott, but my head was spinning by the end.  This was a lot of information to take in during a very short time and our decision had to be made immediately so they could refine it for a meeting next week (really tight timeline on this project).  What did we think about each design?  Let me give my impressions on each one.

Option 1.

I included the photo to help your memory.  We liked that the kitchen was large, had a roll-away island and even included a pantry.  Our bedroom was separated from our daughter's for maximum privacy.  There were lots of large storage areas and room for a spacious living space and dining table.  I also really liked the idea of a storage wall that would make all our most-used stuff easily accessible.
I didn't like the fact that we would have to use a ladder to get up to our bedroom.  We have a toddler and the thought of her climbing up the ladder in the middle of the night, or us going down to use the bathroom was less than appealing.  Removing the double doors and replacing with a single door towards the yard would be expensive and might interfere with the landscape design.  The bathroom was also much larger than we needed it to be.  We understand that being under a bedroom that has to accommodate a king size bed, makes it large, but we didn't feel the need for double sinks and would rather have a linen closet or other storage in that space.  I also didn't like the idea of the laundry in the bathroom.  It would look very cluttered with the laundry basket in front of it on laundry days, and I rarely finish the laundry in one day.  I just foresaw the space looking cluttered all the time.  Lastly, our television is quite large, yet we rarely turn it on.  I didn't like the thought of hanging it above our dining room table, even as I acknowledged that's the only wall space that would accommodate it.

Option 2.

We really liked that this option kept the remaining double doors and turned the activity areas so that the focus was the backyard.  Again, we liked being separate from our daughter's room for maximum privacy.  There were a lot of areas for storage and it felt like it had the most open living space.  Rather than a ladder, this space actually called for a really compact staircase.  We have just a few items of furniture that we'd like to keep and this plan seemed to accommodate them best.  There were also options to tuck away tables against the wall which would maximize floor space when we weren't using the tables.
One thing that really worried me was that there was no door going to the alley.  While we were assured that this is to code since the space is so small, it still bothered me that I would have to carry groceries all the way around the garage to get them inside.  Going down a narrow sidewalk, letting myself in a gate and getting across seemed like it would be annoying enough in the long-term to affect my happiness with the living situation.  Again, one of our main storage areas would be in our daughter's bedroom.  This isn't so much an issue now, but may become an issue as she gets older.

Option 3.
This plan seemed to address many of our concerns with the first two options.  We were able to keep the double doors and still have an entrance to the alley.  There was a staircase rather than stairs.  We still had a large kitchen, pantry, roll-away island and could align ourselves to see the backyard.  The washer and dryer would face the living space, making more room for laundry.
Our daughter still had the largest closet and our bed was tightly fit into the master, which may make making the bed difficult.  (In our current apartment the bed is shoved in the corner and I absolutely hate making it.  I know that low-level annoyances like that will affect my long-term happiness in the garage, so it's best to design for that now.)

The Verdict?

After putting the three plans side by side and discussing the pros and cons of each one, we came to a decision.  We chose D- none of the above (sort of).  We had some ideas in our mind going into the meeting of what we saw for the space and they weren't captured in any of these designs.  We began with option 3 as our base (so I suppose you could call that the winner), added some trace paper above, and got to work.

Essentially, what we decided to do is move the alley-side door to the bump out.  This would allow us some hooks and perhaps some shelving to store coats and shoes as we walk in.  We would then make an L-shaped kitchen.  Having a kitchen wall along the yard would allow us to get some windows in and really capitalize on the view.  We could put the dining room closer to the yard and having the living room in the back by the stairs for relaxing.
To address the large closet in our daughter's room, we'll move her bed to the alley-side wall and then put a large closet in the middle of the structure.  Having the closet in the middle also allows us to shrink the size of the bathroom into something we find more reasonable for the space.  The stairs are going to provide our main storage space.  We'll have all our clothes in closets underneath the stairs, and try to use more of the wall in the staircase up to the bedroom for other storage.
There is a storage area upstairs with our bedroom, but looking back at the plans, I can't remember how we're going to access it.  I'll also need to figure out if it'll be open or closed to the rest of the space.
They took the designs and the work we did and are going to come up with the final plan next week.  At that point we'll get our contractor to price it out and see where we need to do some cost-cutting.  Once that is complete we'll really delve into the design of the space and go into much further detail.  For this to work, everyone needs to be on the same page and move quickly.  Our lease at the apartment is up in six months and we have no intention of going month-to-month.  Cross your fingers for us.