Deckman22, Thanks for the response. I had considered the idea of a ladder on the wall, but wasn't sure if it would make the deck any weaker having the gap in the joists back at the ledger board, vs in the middle of the run. In both cases, will have doubled joists on both sides. It sure would be alot easier for her to get down a rigid ladder. Thanks again, for all of you pros who are willing to take your time to share your expertise with us DIY's. John

yesterday in another discussion, a ledge or shelf was mentioned, for a Karbon wallmount K-6228 and spouts for filtered water. A 1771 Tapmaster ( or 1776 locking ) was to go in the kickplate space. So far so good. I see the ledge was a way to hide the view onto the sink. A lot of thinking went into this plan. Your big piece of apparently self-standing furniture in the middle of the space is a good idea as a view block. This barrier and the fireplace combine to block the view onto the sink. That's good too. If these entryway cabinets go all the way to the ceiling, you could easily get plumbing ("DWV vent") brought into the counter. I'm jealous because in several renovations I've done, I've wanted to have a back of a wall be an appliance garage behind sliding glass doors, and slip it between built in shelves on the other side. Or something similar, with a bathroom / hall combination. Kudos on your hutch counter / hallway storage. Kudos too over at the sink ledge. A wallmount faucet is a great way to give you loads more useable countertop space behind the sink, and this is good since it's a tight space in a corner. Q: Is the sink stainless steel, is it welded into the counter and backsplash, and are you welding ridges onto the sink side walls to get the advantage of being able to suspend grids colanders and cutting boards in mid-air in the middle of the sink. See Franke Orca for inspiration. In the images, some text is illegible. Even on photobucket, zooming in doesn't make it legible. I'm curious about the textual comments inside the cloud balloons. I can make out a fair amount, but not all. The hutch on the LHS of the range is kinda sorta like free standing buffet furniture, and also built in. The other possible "hutch", in the center of the room, is a bipolar personality. On the grand entrance side it's like a showy buddha alter flanked by presentation display cabinets, and on the kitchen operating side it's like a peninsula / island counter workspace. This unit could have plumbing and electrical. (According to Code, a.f.a.i.k. or remember, this peninsula counter needs outlets). The space shown for the fridge is small; a deeper fridge works well here, and costs $1000 less than a shallow "CD" fridge. Or, a 24" by 25"d fridge would work well. A second 24" fridge could go in your remote pantry. The 4'9"L counter could widen out where it's far enough from the fridge door. Next to the fridge are two box shapes, undefined: perhaps the open one is an appliance garage for the toaster and blender. What is under the 4'9" countertop? A DW and a fireplace side by side. Who would have thought it could look so good? I think the fireplace is two-sided, open both sides, janus-faced, with glass doors to stop cross breeze blowing ashes out. Or is it? Continuous multioutlet electrical in a horizontal line. It is good visually because it looks like a backsplash shelf from a distance. Something is sliding glass, above the horizontal electrical line. In the hutch area, it is the appliance garage. What is it in the sink ledge? This must be a small storage area. Will there be thin tube fluorescents inside these sliding glass spaces? Here is a savings of $1000 : in the 12" space under the counter between the hutch and the range, put open shelves instead of a bank of 10"w drawers. It's also more practical. Or, pullouts without high fronts to hide the stuff they hold. It helps continuity with the nine drawers of the hutch. You can hang a flat textile/ fabric over the 12"width when you truly need to hide its contents when guests arrive. For inspiration see "roman blinds" because these can look deceptively rigid, not floppy like anything drape-y would normally look. (Since the counter is 12" you don't need to have a complete new circuit and outlet on the backsplash above that piece of counter, btw., and I see that in the images. But, it breaks the visual continuity of your horizontal lines.) The LR and DR are defined, but that means the other doorways lead to something else undefined. Bedrooms, storage space, garage access, TV room, study, hallway, whatever. All the "east" and "north" areas are undefined. New version (not shown) with cupboards facing east (not south) for a Miele speed oven = = means you give a view of an oven "hole" to all those who are out in that other area far away, far far East. With a 24" fridge you would have room for a 24" oven in the center built area. If you don't install all the electrical outlets per code, then far in the future you can declare to potential buyers that it is what it is and they can get used to it. Code is a lot of overkill, as far as electrical outlets are concerned. After all, how many small appliances are all plugged in and being operated at the same time? If the plugmold strip of outlets is glued to the wall not recessed, you could also glue a piece of frosted tempered glass 3" by (full-length)" on top. (gluing is shorthand to mean any method of affixing). In the countertop area to the RHS of the range and around the sink it may not be ideal, from a Building Code point of view, because of the requirement to have two (double) 20A circuits in one outlet box within 24" of any counter surface larger than a 12" piece. This means you need six 20A circuits, in three boxes. ((...don't quote me or use my words as a reference; double check this and provide a gentle correction if it can be written more accurately...)). Now, here is the rub: in a linear strip configuration it can be difficult or impossible to "know" which pairs or three's of the multiple outlets are connected to which of the six circuits. So, it is possible to blow a fuse, pop a breaker. hey, no big deal, go reset it and start again. Appliance garages are great in a couple of ways: they let you (per Code) put any electrical you wish, as you wish, to suit your fancy. Secondly, they let you hide the machines you want not to see in your normal everyday visual field. This kitchen is so "tight" that it forces you to live like a European or Asian, who must consciously choose what NOT to have in their house. Machines objects and thingies are all entities that need a dedicated space of their own to call home. Worse than pets. I threw away a wonderfully powerful (230V!!) microwave oven because it hogged countertop surface area. I backlit all my new kitchen (shelves, ledges, walls). I now have a large kitchen inside a small surface / footprint. YOUR space reminds me of mine in each of the paragraphs above, and in many more ways also! After entering the house and turning right to go towards the LR, you have a rectangle. An undefined cabinet. It blocks view and it forces people to walk towards the fireplace first before going farther into the LR space. Hmmm. It creates an apparent pinch point even though the space is nominally right-sized. I might make it smaller by half, or eliminate it. I might put something on the fireplace side, and make it openfaced, openbacked (so the fireplace is still visible), and of a footprint that is halfround or halfoval or even slenderer, so there are no sharp corners. Or two facing halfovals, one on each wall, framing the entrance to the LR. Since you have a remote pantry, it appears you have a lot of storage. Are these images provided by your architect? I'm sure I've missed a lot because I couldn't read much of the comments in the images. Hth Here is a link that might be useful: Two 24 in. fridges = more versatile

Any window that is 9" from the floor will pretty much require the same clearances as a door in terms of furnishings unless you want to look at the backs of the furniture from the sundeck. This would be particularly true in a bedroom where you have chests and such. It may make sense to have a higher sill in the bedroom so that that wall can carry some furniture and for furniture placement on the deck that you may not want to see the backs of. This type of thing can look great and open when unfurnished but it doesn't take into account furnishings. One sees these rooms with large windows, at least one of which seems to be blocked by a large TV or entertainment unit. One thing that builders often do not take into account as well, is space required laterally to the sides of large windows for window treatments. Since the bedroom will face a public space, you will need to treat those windows to provide various levels of privacy and darkening. Make sure there is space to the sides for the adequate mounting of window treatments particularly if you use curtains and drapery. So, I would really consider how the furniture is going to lay out *before* you made a final decision. There is a modernist apartment building on my block that has very low windows, and the furniture that is pushed almost against them in some units looks very "cluttery" from the outside.

Yes, virtually no architect of any experience and talent needs a consumer to bring a hand-made floor plan to show "what they are thinking". After all, that's what an architect is educated, trained and experienced to do far better than most any consumer. The best things a consumer can bring have long been itemized and discussed here: a list of needs and wants; a site plan; budget; and some photos if its helpful for the consumer. The architect is experienced in talking with consumers and getting the critical information needed for design. And while many architects will say that they don't mind consumers bringing in floor plans, the same architects will also tell (if asked) that it generally takes more time and money initially demonstrating the shortcomings of consumer floor plans, illustrating why and where they don't work, and getting to the point where one clears (and opens) their mind and starts fresh with important ideas and sound architectural solutions. A common consumer response to this is "I don't want to spend a ton of money on an architect, only to find that I don't like anything they do!". And that is certainly a rare possibility. But the alternative is for the consumer to be willing spend a considerable sum of money and take a considerable amount of time (whether they realize it or not) for the demonstration of the weak points of their own design, and the demonstration that it's often ultimately unworkable and a waste of time and money. Sorta like taking a Google medical diagnosis to your family doctor.