Thanks for suggestions. Furnone, we have one of those hoods, and it is just too small. Mike, thanks for that site. Gives me an idea that a hood could be made from a solid plastic basket, bottom of a 30 gallon barrel(trash barrel), etc, with modifications. Spouse thinks he'd still like to make one of wood. I aim for ultra simplicity with max function, minimal cost, and ease of cleaning. Ours is not a commercial shop. Will try to post the results. cella jane

That's an ambitious project for a beginning woodworker (or even a somewhat experienced woodworker), and impossible to do without more tools. Mitre saws are really great tools, but their primary purpose is to cut things to length. You have many panels and shelves in your design that can only be cut accurately and cleanly with a table saw or radial arm saw. (You could also use a circular saw for this, but you wouldn't like the result.) It would also be important to have a lot of bar clamps, a biscuit joiner, a router, a power sander, and a power drill...and the knowledge of how to use these items. You would also need to know where to use various kinds of joints and where (and where not) to apply glue to provide adequate strength and prevent cracking from seasonal wood movement. Believe it or not, I'm not trying to discourage you; I simply want to suggest that this is probably beyond the ability of a non-experienced woodworker as a first project. If you want to be able to do stuff like this, you need to try a few less ambitious projects first. I've been doing woodworking for 45 years and am still learning. It is something you can do, but not without some practice that only hands-on experience can teach. You should do some reading: subscribe to a few magazines (Fine Woodworking; Better Homes and Garden Wood magazine, etc.), look at some books (like those published by Taunton Press), and take a woodworking course or two in your community. I know this is probably not the answer you wanted, but I guarantee that if you try to do this project with just a mitre saw and your minimal level of knowledge, you'll be kicking yourself for wasting a lot of money on the wood you've butchered. Even crown molding can be tricky, despite how simple it looked to you when an experienced carpenter cut it. Good luck...don't be discouraged.

will be doing an owner/build exemption. I don't know what this means. We have what will become, our master bedroom, already built ... We know essentially what size we want BUT we dont know best layout for everything nor the roof lines and so forth ... We don't have design software experience ... couldn't find any for 24x32 floor plan ... Okay, I think this was a very complicated way of saying, "We have a small building and want to add onto it. This is a renovation /an expansion." What you are describing is a heck of a lot harder So much harder, but you have what you have. I assume this is an older house that was already on the property? Is it in good condition? What kind of foundation does it have? I wonder if you might do better to use this as a storage building ... and "start fresh" elsewhere on your 12 acres. So we built a 24 x 16 cabin thinking this would be our great room Oh, you walked into this on purpose! I'm wrong about this being an old house. Was the cabinet permitted? How is 24x16 not an ample great room? We intend to add on and it doesnt have to be that complicated. This is probably why we will just do the plans ourselves. I think you need some help with the plans. Why? You've already put money/effort into one space, which you've now determined isn't what you need. You have a gauge on the sizes you want (even though you missed on your first try with the great room) ... but you don't know where to place the rooms. This seems like a backwards way of addressing the design. Step back and ask yourself, what would you say to someone who told you what you just told us?

i wondered about flora's specific hybrid name ... but it was tough without a scale for height ... an ALLEGED dwarf lilac.. lol ... only 6 to 8 feet tall .. and about as wide as you let it be ... yeah.. thats my idea of dwarf .. lol .. and it actually is .. compared to the old house swallowing ones .. but as for a label description.. perhaps a bit misleading ... ken