I think a little retaining wall or a rock garden a the front edge would be an excellent idea, but with some plants other than ivy which is awful stuff. You could just cut the rocks into the slope at the line with your neighbour, or maybe talk to your neighbour and see if they'd like to do their frontage at the same time. If they don't, you'll probably need to consider how you affect their mowing. Around here dogwoods can take a whole lot of sun, so your environment is unlikely to be too much. I agree you can probably dispense with the fence, but why not plant first, and then add it if you think it is needed. Sounds like you're going to pave where you and the postie walk anyway, which sounds like a good idea. Making your own pavers is very labour intensive, but if you can be organized it might not be too bad. Of course it isn't done at the same time as you lay them but in advance. Alternatives on a budget would be looking on your local Craigslist for free/cheap blocks or used concrete. I would actually transport the bed you've planned to the slope you're having trouble with. Then you could have an open space with a good lawn next to the walkway you're planning. Although around here, where lots are the same size as yours and houses very similar, most people (including me) have gardened up almost the whole front yard. By the way it looks like the dimensions you've given apply to your front yard, not your whole lot, correct? KarinL

I've almost finalized my lighting. I went back to the lighting store and they advised me that these are the wall wash trims that they have: https://www.amazon.com/Recessed-992P-4-Inch-Scoop-Baffle/dp/B0039PFKEO These trims have a black baffle but they can order trims with a white baffle. I asked what the difference is, and they thought it would not change the appearance of the light. I'm not sure if I should take the black ones, or special order the white ones. The white will blend in with the ceiling better, so what would be the advantage of the black? I'm going to stick with the 4" HALO lights that I originally chose due to the low cost and the fact that the color temperature can be changed. They are inexpensive enough that they can be changed in the future if we (or a future owner) are unhappy with them. After looking at the rendering of the kitchen, I see that they are placed very close to the crown molding on the upper cabinets, so I will need to move them out a little bit, but still not directly over the edge of the countertop. How close is too close to the crown molding? Finally, I checked e-bay, and I can purchase another semi-flushmount light to match the other 2 fixtures that I have already purchased. When I look at the rendering, it looks a little crowded with the additional fixture. The hanging fixture over the table is 17" diameter and the semi-flushmount are 16" diameter each. They can use up to 100 watt bulbs, so I can probably go with ~1100 lumen bulbs which would provide more light per fixture, but adding another fixture will provide an overlap of light, whereas increasing the lumens will not. Here is an updated plan with the extra light fixture added. I'm really torn on this because as RL said above, once the cabinets are in, I will only have a ceiling space of 10 x 10.

Quick question is it okay to have your main entrance into your living area? This was something I was previously told to avoid and to try create a "landing area" where coats etc could be kept and random knocks on the door would not have a direct view to your living area. When doing these things, in order to focus on what I want emphasized, for better or worse, I try to keep as much other stuff the same as possible so the owner doesn't get side tracked and it's easier for them to compare "apples to apples". In this case I was talking about moving the entrance. Sure, the entry could be a little better defined and maybe 5'x5' (1.5mx1.5m) but that's another conversation for another day with your guy/girl. Maybe the front door moves out to the plane of the wall with some sort of entry roof figured out. But foyers don't have to be big to get definition and a visual separation from other spaces. Examples below. Also would the hallways be very dark? This is again something i have tried to avoid. Again, I was focusing on the entry without getting you distracted so I didn't touch that but I'm not in love with that hall either. I'd be getting your designer to take a whole fresh look at that wing which is going to be time consuming. And I do have one question for you....normally the elevations, sections and the plan are developed simultaneously. In your case it looks like you have a well defined hard lined floor plan to the detailed level of different wall thickness shown for the exterior and interior walls but then you drew the elevations on level of what looks like a freehand crayon rough sketch. Does your guy/girl have elevations? If not, they should.

We are not planning on having more than one kid, if any. We plan on entertaining friends and family, but the only one who might stay with us for a week at a time is my mom from out of town. With these needs, you have lots of unnecessary space in the basement. Those basement bedrooms don't look comfortable -- the closets are minimal, and they're pretty far from the bathroom. We have a dog and plan on getting another. This doesn't look like a house that lends itself to indoor/outdoor living. Where will you let the dogs outside? The living, kitchen, dining room is all vaulted ceilings, which extends to the covered porch. The living room looks rather narrow, while the dining space is extra-large. Have you laid out appropriately-sized furniture in this design? Don't miss the fireplace and TV as a part of the layout. Do you enjoy grilling out? I see your only outdoor space is the front porch. Consider that your "taking the trash out" path will be fairly long, giving more opportunity for spills and leaks. Moving the kitchen nearer the garage door would reduce this path. The fiance is pretty set in stone about the layout but I know for a fact it needs more tweaking. As a first draft, it's okay -- but I think you can improve it pretty significantly. Keep at it. Changes on paper are free. I know for a fact we need some more linen closets, but I am open to any more advice I can get! The master bath is laid out rather awkwardly /wastes space -- you could easily work a linen closet into that same space. You have plenty of space in the basement to carve out a linen closet. Is it a bad idea to have the two extra bedrooms on the lower level? Given that you're thinking 1 kid max and 1 occasional guest, yes, two bathrooms on the lower level sounds like overkill -- forget "more" and work on "better". More to build, more than will need cleaning and maintenance. Does the powder room on the main floor need to be larger? Its just so guests can use it when we are entertaining. My daughter has that half bath, and it's acceptable but not ideal. It's small and dark. I'd get rid of the toilet closet in the master bath /design a half bath (with two doors) that'd serve the master AND would be open to guests. Less space overall, cheaper to build, only one toilet to clean each week. What else are we missing? Ideally dryers are placed on exterior walls so they can vent directly to the outside. This arrangement is cheaper and more fire-safe. One option: Flip-flop the laundry room and the master closet. In fact, I'd consider flip-flopping the whole first floor. This would allow you to have windows on two sides (improved natural light) in the master bedroom, and the living room makes more sense on the side away from the garage. You could funnel garage-entry traffic through the pantry. If you keep the laundry in its current space, you can combine your garage entry /laundry room and have a much larger /more comfortable space for both. Pull the master bedroom door "back" a bit so the door can "park" in the hallway and won't interfere with the bathroom door. Note that a person coming to the front door will have a sight-line right into your bedroom. That L-shaped stair hides a lot of space underneath -- are you harnessing it for closet space? You're paying for it; you shouldn't allow it to be wasted. You're missing mechanical equipment and vents. You've chosen a 30' wide space -- are you planning on using trusses? IMO the basement bedroom situation is not ideal with the bathroom so far from the bedrooms Agree. The overall plan is rather clunky, especially the basement. While all the necessary players exist, it doesn't look like a plan that'll come together as something really special /something worth the effort of building. I think a bigger kitchen would be better than a walkin pantry . I much prefer pullout pantries to walkins. I think the kitchen is one of the better parts of the plan. I'd like the kitchen better if it were turned 90 degrees so you could have the sink in the middle of the long cabinet run /have a window over the sink. I very much like the idea of a small kitchen and a huge adjacent pantry -- I'd want a pass-through between the kitchen and the pantry. Walk-in pantries allow you to see everything at a glance, and they cost a fraction of the cost of built-in pull-out cabinetry. Additionally, pantry shelves are superior for storing large items like InstaPots and punch bowls. If this were my walk-in pantry, I'd want pegboard on the no-shelf wall. What's the closet-inside-the-pantry? I think your pantry shelves may be too deep for comfort /you don't want things to "get lost" in the back. I hope this pantry is at least 5' wide. An 8 x 10 closet is pretty small for 2 people I'd call that "just right". I would put an egress in the office and not the exercise room if you have to pick. Working in a dungeon isn't fun for anyone. Agree, and work-from-home space is likely to become more and more important in the future. Is this enough space for two spouses? I would consider adding a doggie bath station in the basement somewhere. Actually, even better, do 2 laundry rooms, move the office upstairs and making the laundry room up there smaller with a stackable set (even combining it with the master closet) and putting a larger laundry room downstairs with doggie bath. If you do have kids, you'll be hauling laundry either way with the current set up, so if you have the space doing laundry on both floors would be my pick. You don't necessarily have to outfit a second laundry room with machines -- now. I just bought a new washer/dryer last month, and I was amazed at the size of the machines that're available these days -- they're all huge! By that I mean, the footprints aren't that much bigger, but ALL the machines are all taller /more bulky. Much more bulky than my old front-loaders. If dogs are a priority, I would consider space for crates, food bowls, food storage and more -- you can find some really nice customs spaces online.