Thank you very much Harbor I really love that one, I could easy pick out 3 other ramblers, but I don't think I have the space they need with the ones I already have growing. Even my "short list" of antiques I want for the lower garden I really have to cull some because there are more than I want than I space for with out removing the hedge. It is not that I love the hedge, but truthfully, maybe it is foolish to remove an edible hedge that is probably antique itself that needs no water for roses.

The company Structur Inc out of San Francisco has regional brands, but I haven't heard the Villa Bella name. Looks new to me, but some mixed with Bella Cera. Others brands: California Classics, Southern Traditions, Rocky Mountain, and Palmetto Road. It looks like this one is targeted at Northeast states. Ken Fisher

So refreshing to see someone conceiving the style of a home first, rather than doodling floorplans and then sticking whatever mishmash suits them on the outside. Because, hey, no rules to design as long you like it! Lots of Italian Villa flooplans on-line that might help. I don’t want an attached garage. Thank goodness! I need to keep it around 3500 sq ft The inner courtyard enables you to have a generous footprint minus the building cost. Zoning, or cost? If it's cost, the incremental footage between 3,500 sf to 4,000 sf comes at a much lower cost than the 3,500 sf. That's because some of the most expensive items--HVAC, number of baths, kitchen don't change.

hi @Joey - please see photos below. They are not very good photo--due to my bad phone camera and lack of light AND because we're still in the midst of renovations. I will post more in 3 weeks when the kitchen is closer to done. hi @TeeCee84 -- First of all, after spending all this time managing the renovation of my 93-year-old Mom's house myself, as a complete newbie, I can tell you, objectively, this issue is super confusing, but when you understand it, it's simple. I'm finding this same phenomenon with many--if not most--products in our renovation, like cabinetry. Manufacturers are located god knows where--I would say probably often China, but I'd be making that up. However, this part is true: the product gets bought by a range of companies one degree of separation from the manufacturer. From there, some those companies rename the product depending on where they are selling it--or even which big box stores they get a contract to sell to. Other companies at that level sell to other wholesalers who then also may rename it. I found out after my inquiry here, and way after we purchased this flooring from a high-end flooring store (which was, in turn, 2 degrees of separation from the big company that contracted to sell/distribute the product from the actual manufacturer), AND after I was finally able to reach one of the main wholesaler's customer service agents, who was kind and helped me untangle some of this, among other things, that HOME DEPOT actually carries this product. I was there buying a vanity and happened to walk by a display of OUR expensive boutique-y flooring. And yes, the very same exact product. Totally different name of the product. The flooring company name was totally different. It broke my heart a bit, because Home Depot was much less expensive than the local Mom and Pop store from which he purchased it and which also installed it--and did only a B+ or A- job of installing it, for a lot of money. Not an A+ job but A+ pricepoint. NOTE: this flooring is easy to install (I discovered because I hired a rather talented handyman in town, but not a flooring expert or carpenter, to lay similar flooring in my office, and he bashed it out beautifully in a few hours, for 1/2 the price of the Mom and Pop shop), so even for a 1200' space you probably don't need the very highest-end flooring pro, but if you can swing it, a high-end expert will have greater accountability than a no-name handyman (or an installer through a big box store--which everyone, even sales people at big box stores, will tell you to avoid). So, the long story is that. It is likely the exact flooring you want--Churchill--is ubiquitous throughout the United States and Europe, but goes by different aliases. Again: that is because all these various retailers and Mom and Pop shops and contractors can give you a price, and you cannot easily comparison shop. Furthermore, sometimes these companies simply let one name fade away--but the same company re-names the floor so it may appear to be a new offering. I just checked and see the floor we got now goes by even more names! Additionally--which I don't imagine is by design--you can't easily find reviews and look at customer photos since they all go different names. Meaning, the companies who claim the floors as their own are different and have different names. One big global company may call this exact same flooring 10-12 different names. In Northern California it's one thing, in SoCal, NV, and AZ another, in TX another, in Florida another, upper midwest and Chicago another, etc. All the same "company" -- and this isn't even counting any other companies that carry it. I remember one unhappy woman who posted here--an interior designer--saying I was making a mountain out of a molehill and when someone here nicely asked how everything went and I let them know very well, she piped in, basically "Toldja so, maybe next time stop unnecessarily fretting." That's why I am taking the time to break it down for anyone unfamiliar with the "reno game" or whatever it is. It is anything but intuitive, but as they say: IYKYK...If You Know, You Know. And now we know. Incidentally, same with our cabinets....4 different names of what one would think are the manufacturers, but they're branded differently and it's hard to find out who actually makes them all. And--more to the point--almost impossible to comparison shop. With that said I unreservedly recommend these floors--whatever name they are going by. When I interview carpenters and workmen for our other work they all remark on how nice and high-quality these floor are. Every single day my mother and I loved them. They are dreamy and distinguished without being uptight. * * * PHOTOS Been waiting to post photos until renovation is complete---it's been taking forever---cabinets FINALLY arriving this Thursday, after 8 months. I wanted to share photos here when everything was finished and looking great. So--these photos TRULY don't begin to show 1/2 how gorgeous these floors are. They're incredibly beautiful, elegant, understated but create a lovely lovely effect. They look more "rustic" and textured in these photos than in reality. In reality, they are light and smooth with just the most understated hint at texture. The knots in these photos are prominent but in reality, the knots are grey, not black or dark. I would say the photos of the product are VERY accurate, so maybe that is also so with "Churchill" or its equivalent. [EDIT: I took a screenshot of a photo on a website of Churchill--not of the flooring but of a kitchen with the flooring showing an island--did a Google search of that image and, yes, the flooring appears to exist under different name and companies--good luck!] If our flooring is at all representative, the overall effect is subtle and gracious. I will post better photos in 1 month when the kitchen is presentable with the correct cabs and counters--repainted with all new furniture.