MUCH MUCH NICER! Still a few things that could be improved tho... 1) Those windows in the two upstairs closets (for bedrooms 2 and 3) won't work well. While you do need windows over the porch for the exterior facade to look right, you don't want them on a closet wall where you will want to hang things! Wondering if there might be some way to use the space with windows for bathroom space instead and move the closets to interior spaces. Maybe bedroom 3 could have a reach-in closet like bedroom 4 and the closet for bedroom 2 could move to where its bathroom is currently. Then both bathrooms could be back to back in the space between bedrooms 2 and 3. It's a great idea to have a full bath downstairs so that, if you ever have someone unable to climb stairs (temporarily or permanently) the study could easily become a bedroom for them and they'd have a full bath to use. I rather like the exterior door for the downstairs bathroom. Easy to run in/out and not track mud into the house! Sure the garage door is not that much further around but when a kid's gotta go, they WILL take the route that they perceive to be shortest. NOT having a door directly into the bathroom from outside makes it more likely, I think, that they'll decide to come in thru the patio doors cut thru the living room. And, I wouldn't worry about someone trying to come in while you're showering. You're going to be out in the country and that door is well hidden from the driveway. So the only folks who'll ever know it is there will be family members. Having one of them try to open the exterior door while you're showering is no different than family members possibly walking in on one another via an interior door. Not something to freak out about. I do think you should flip that downstairs bath tho so that you don't have a view directly into the bathroom from next to the fridge. I know that would put the plumbing into the wall shared with the study which isn't the greatest but you can greatly reduce the sounds of flushing water by using cast iron drain pipes so I don't really think that would be a huge problem. I don't like that there are no windows in the master bath upstairs and I also think it would be better to move the laundry a bit further away from the master bedroom. Wonder if you could move the laundry down to where the toilet and shower are and make the masterbath more squarish? If the vanities were then put on an interior wall, maybe there would be room for at least one window in the masterbath. I don't know about you but when I'm getting ready in the mornings, I really like having natural light in the bathroom. It helps me wake up! Plus, its easier to get one's makeup looking right and make sure one's socks actually MATCH under natural light. A dark blue sock and a black sock can look identical under artificial light - especially when you're half asleep anyway. LOL! You may get some negative feedback about the dogleg-shaped island in the kitchen. There are folks on this forum who think that that particular island shape is overdone. I like it however. It gives you a nice large work surface that is easily accessible on the kitchen side. And the bar seating on the back side allows for conversation between folks sitting there...unlike a long straight island that forces everyone to sit in a row like birds on a telephone wire. I love the way the staircase is open to the dining room. That is going to make that space feel very spacious. If you hang a pretty chandelier in the dining room, you'll get to see it from the staircase as you descend and maybe even be able to glimpse it from upstairs. I don't like that the laundry is right across from the stairs from the dining room tho...especially since the design shows an open railing between laundry room and staircase. If the door to the laundry room is left open, you would be able to stand downstairs in the dining room and look up and see into the laundry room. And, if you're doing laundry and leave the laundry room doors open while you have dinner, you'll be able to hear the washer and dryer running from the dining room. So...Another reason to move the laundry room down closer to the bonus room. Overall tho, this is a terrific design. Simple, classic, space efficient, and organized. I'm so glad you and NickE found each other on this forum. You're on your way to a lovely home and NickE is probably thrilled to have a chance to create a real life design for his architectural portfolio and see it actually get built! I doubt that there are that many architectural students who can show potential employers pictures of a house they designed and the client actually built. Keep us posted on revisions and I can't wait to see you start posting pics on the monthly "How is your build going?" thread.

Another issue popped up last night, regarding one of the realtors I interviewed. This lady gave me the lowest comp, and I had already decided not to use her. She called me a couple times since then, and she offered to give me new comps. She also said she was sure she already had a buyer for the house - it was exactly what they are looking for. Yeah right, I'm not going to fall for that one. Well, I still wanted to see what the new comps were and I was curious about the "buyer". She came over last night to the house, had a camera with her, and was snapping pictures everywhere. She wasn't waiting for me to escort her throughout the house, she was off and running the minute she got in the door. She kept saying out loud, "oh this house is perfect.....they will LOVE this.....I already told them about this house and they can't wait to see it." OK, I admit I find it interesting, but I'm still not convinced she truly has anyone. I'm very suspicious she is creating a sense of urgency so I will sign with her. Then the story got even weirder. She said she used to be a mortgage broker. She said she helped these people get a reverse mortgage on their house. They are senior citizens - in their 80s. They are relocating here from 2.5 hours away (coming from the city to settle down in a smaller town). They had a contract on another house, but the bank foreclosed on it, the owner freaked out and stripped the house of all light fixtures, plumbing fixtures and the heat pump, so that deal is done. They have all this cash from the reverse mortgage and are just itching to spend it on another house. She said she was going to show them my neighbors house, but wanted to give us first dibs. I asked her if she could show them the house BEFORE we signed, treat it sort of like a FSBO and I would giver her 4%. She was not interested in that, she wants a listing contract first. So........who else finds that story to be totally unbelievable? My wife thinks she was telling the truth, because who would fabricate such a story if it wasn't actually true? My biggest problem with the story is who gets a reverse mortgage only to use that money to go buy ANOTHER house? Is that even legal in the first place? Secondly......if they want another house so bad, why would they wait around for mine when there are plenty of others that are actually on the market? Another thing she kept doing that I found annoying....she must have asked me 5 times what my rock bottom price is. She kept suggesting whatever it is, thats where I should price it. I would never tell her, b/c its none of her business, especially since we haven't signed yet. And no way would I ever price a house at rock bottom, knowing full well that I will not be getting full price offers. After I refused to give her my lowest price, then she started doing what I thought was a "trick" to figure out on her own what it might be. She started saying, "So if your lowest price is say....$270, then you should start there......or if your lowest is $250 you should start there...." To me it felt like she was fishing and she was studying my facial expressions whenever she hit the right number. Once I figured that out I broke eye contact and showed no emotion. I'm pretty sure thats what she was doing. Anyway, I'm sure I should stay away from this lady. I just wanted to know what you guys think, and if my gut feelings here are correct.

Just got back from vacation tonight and catching up on some reading. Alisande, thank you for the links--I will review them closely. Update on my friend--Her neurologist returned from vacation and ran some more tests. They were afraid she had something called NMO (I think?) which is a horrible form of a degenerative disease similar to MS that attacks your optic nerve and causes blindness and can also cause paralysis of the limbs. Thankfully, she did not have this. They thought she might have it because they saw some possible lesions on her chest CT so they had to do a cervical CT. They did a spinal tap on Wednesday, and now she is suffering from a spinal headache. If she is not better tomorrow, they will do a blood patch which she is not happy about. I was afraid this would happen. I do know that they can diagnose lyme with a spinal tap, but hopefully they are looking for that. I was also worried this could be lyme disease because we have a lot of ticks in Wisconsin, a lot of lyme disease, and she spends a lot of time outdoors. The saga continues:( Her symptoms have not progressed, though, so that is one good thing!

Ok, so all of you who are on this thread who actually OWN a GE Cafe Fridge---how are you liking it (other than the fit!) Do you have the ice and water outside? Does the icemaker still work, as I know that is a known issue with just about all french door fridges when the ice is made up in the fridge area, not down in the freezer. We are looking at a full-size (not counter depth) GE Cafe Fridge. We do want the water and ice in the door for convenience. Are compressors still working? Have they frozen up? I worry about them dumping water on my new hardwood floors, since I have never had hardwoods in a kitchen before! It seems not many fridges have great reviews if you don't want to spend your life savings on one so trying to find the best of the bunch. Nothing I hate worse than a fridge that doesn't run and trying to get all your food in coolers until you can get it fixed or replaced! Advice and reviews on these would be appreciated! Thanks!