jeniferrlynne I was suggesting cedar shingles as a rustic but lower cost alternative to brick. Put the stone on the front gables and shingles elsewhere like the famous white shingle and stone house by David Adler shown above. Be cautious about partially covering brick with mortar or stucco or with rustic or high shadow joint treatments. The surface of brick must be maintained as a weathering surface to prevent excess water getting into the cavity and that means the joints must be hard tooled with a narrow concave steel trowel. Don't spend that much money on brick and end up with a high maintenance wall. You could even consider James Hardie's fiber-cement shingles or large thick red cedar shakes. I'm renovating a 1920's colonial with soft "used" brick and struck but not tooled joints. The wall bows out here and there from freeze thaw of excessive water in the masonry veneer. The outer face of many of the bricks has spawled off. I have recommended removing all of the brick from the back of the house and covering it with rigid insulation board and red cedar shingles. We'll have to continue to patch and repoint the front and sides. I try to avoid working on brick houses but this one is for a friend.

We agree about the workroom being in the south area and the bedroom in the north area. Plus, it makes since to have the bedroom and clothes closets close to each other. Hopefully, Ill have room for a window seat with storage underneath in the south area. This could also be used when company come over. Ill just have to remember to keep my table cleared off! There is no sink in the laundry area. We had thought about adding one where door #1 would go, but cant remember why we gave up on the idea. Probably so we could put door there instead of in south area. We had thought of a murphy bed, but felt it still wouldnt give us any extra space. You have to leave the area clear that the bed opens into. Wish there was some way to lift the bed high, like a loft, for space underneath. There is the unused attic in the current workroom, but dont know if it can be made into a loft. Plus, my health is not that great for climbing stairs. However, will discuss with husband about the possibilities. Im not sure if the workroom/living area wall is a load-bearing wall. Before the garage was added on, it was just a large one car lean-to, with a dirt floor. The only room with cement was the workroom. Garage isnt even a year old. This shows that this whole situation came about rather suddenly. Otherwise, my sister would have planned on accommodating all of this. She didnt even have heating ducts run into the garage, which we now have to do. The north wall between the possible bathroom and workroom is the current outside wall. If we can make use of that, instead of tearing it down to expand the workroom, Im sure it would be cheaper. It was mentioned that we add on going east from the workroom, to the edge of the patio, and then south to the house. That would be an 8 x about 20 room, encompassing the outer walls of the kitchen and current bathroom. However, as nice and as much as I would like that, Im sure its going to be well over $10,000 and unaffordable. What ever were going to do, it needs to be completed by Sept. for us to move in. Im getting so discouraged over this, that Im about ready to hang two hammocks and put everything else in storage! Sorry about that burst! You have all been so great and I appreciate the suggestions. OK, back to the questions!! The 5 bump out is only proposed. Nothing has been done to the garage for us to move in. Right now, its just one large room with a cement floor, the existing workroom at its north end, and the laundry area. All of the walls and ceiling are dry walled and painted white. One window on west wall, one window on north wall in workroom (both have to be replaced), and an automatic garage door. Because the cement flooring is about 8-10 inches thick, we were told it would be too expensive to rip it up to put in pipes, etc. Id rather not sell the fireplace as it was a Christmas present, so still new. Dont know if mounting TV on wall will work, as its really heavy. I agree with you about the cabinets. I dont think there can be too many! I looked at the sites you sent on HGTV and it gave me some ideas. No, were not set on laminate flooring; just something that would be cheaper but not look or "be" cheaper. Yes, we have a craigs list in our area and I check it daily. We also have a habitat resale store and a large salvage yard full of doors, cabinets, etc. Weve already picked out a few things, but dont want to start buying blindly before we have a confirmed floor plan. Ill try to get a before picture so you have some idea of what Im working with. Thank you all so much! You are helping me to hang on to what little sanity I have left!! lol :)

I have noticed the differences between East and West. Not sure how the mid-west fits in, but probably more Eastern? Our country was mainly settled in the East, and then people migrated West. There are many more historical minded people in the East. California has a lot of Spanish influence, and many of those homes have a lot of color in various rooms. One such home had a roof fire a while back, and driving by, I was amazed at the various colors inside that house! Pink, mint, aqua, orange, lavender....wow! There are many new developments here, and for many years those homes come in one color on all walls. Maybe people think "new" should be neutral, so they continue with the trend. If they buy "old," they tend to paint all the walls a neutral color to update it. Our entire home is painted a soft neutral beige with white wood accents except for one room. The ceiling is painted dark navy blue and the walls a deep brown. That room is where we go to watch TV and gather with friends. We call it our "Pub." There are differences between Northern and Southern California too. San Francisco has a lot of color. Maybe because of the fog? Whoever said weather has an influence is probably right.

Mama, I've been going back an forth on the prep sink ... not really wanting to disrupt that stretch of work space. Do you think it's a must, in this plan? As for the fridge, it will be a SZ single door, fridge over freezer. I like the bookshelves, too, and am hoping to make it a pull out to expose a hidden broom closet. (Oh, and the aisle dimensions are counter to counter.) Benjesbride, the front room will become the DR, but could always revert back to a LR for future occupants. Because of all of the windows, I'm exposed to all of my neighbors who walk or drive by -- makes it impossible to hang out in my jammies on a lazy day! I also want to keep a formal DR, so this space suits my needs well. I'm eliminating a separate LR and making it part of the K. I have a rather large FR a few steps down for overflow.