Hi Wellspring/Charlotte! Lots of good things to think about in your comments... While everyone's experience is going to be different, I generally find the input from someone who deals with the issues themselves everyday particularly useful in highlighting details to think about. It did finally occur to me on the weekend to search on the Accessible Gardening forum here but I didn't find much. 'Introducing' my friend to her garden by walking around it and giving her a running commentary on it is definitely something we'll need to do. She's probably still in the early stages of developing those mapping skills you have so it'll be good practice for her to get very familiar with the garden space. She's still in the process of 'mapping' the inside of the house. She does have the depth perception problem (as do I...) so we're both somewhat used to dealing with that - but have the bruises to show that one can never let down one's guard! My friend just about knocked herself out last week when she mis-judged where the bathroom door was in the middle of the night apparently! (She was still following her old 'map' from the condo when she was half asleep...) I do need to get a better sense of what a garden means for her. Other than scented things, I'm not really sure. I know my garden preferences are largely formed by the gardens I grew up with as a child. I have no idea what gardens in her original part of the world look like and what expectations she might have with respect to things like foliage shapes, flower colors etc. We'll have to explore all that. There may be some unrealistic expectations to deal with too - I remember a girl from Guyana in my university days being baffled by the fact that tomatoes had to be planted again each year! And there's lots of new language issues for us to work out together I'm sure. The garden that's at the house now largely follows the foundation and the fence line. The path to the front door has garden beds on both sides. The path itself worries me. It's narrow at the driveway end - made with ~2' paving stones - and there's a 4-6" drop to the driveway at the end. At the front door end, the path widens to a landing area made with 3-4' patio stones - which are not level! There are 2 steps to the front door and then a step up into the front hall. The steps to the door are also not level and there is no handrail to provide support. It strikes me as dangerous - but is it something that she will just learn to navigate easily/safely from habit or should they be making a new entrance a priority? Is a trench edge also a hazard - i.e. if you step into it, it's easy to fall. (That's one of the reasons I spent a good part of last summer and fall replacing all my trench edging with brick... I was thinking that would be a good idea for her for areas she's likely to be walking frequently...?) Overhead obstacles are, I think, a big future issue at my friend's house. In this TINY backyard, the previous owner planted 3 (!!) pine trees of some sort. At the moment they're still only about 4' tall but in a few years they will totally eat up the yard! I think they should get rid of them now before they become an issue, but I sense it's going to be hard to convince a pair of non-gardeners to cut down these seemingly small green things! The previous owners planted quite a few roses up against the house. I've been wondering if they're likely to be an issue at all. I've seen my friend reach out her hand to the house wall for support, fairly near the roses. How often do do entangle yourself in rose thorns?! Should the roses be moved to places where she is unlikely to accidentally reach into or fall against them? I like the idea of brightly colored pots at the end of a bench that is easily reached. We haven't actually ventured out to the backyard yet so I don't have a very good sense of the space out there yet. From indoors, it looks a bit sloped and uneven and greatly in need of a level place for sitting etc. We'll probably have to wait another 6 weeks or so to really check things out. Probably some people are thinking this discussion doesn't belong here. I don't know how to switch the discussion to e-mail... But, since designing for accessibility is an issue these days in many situations, I thought this discussion might provide some insights into practical aspects from a 'user' perspective :-) There are certainly lots of well-meaning 'accessible' alterations out there that drive me nuts - and I'm sure you find the same sort of thing. As much as possible, I want to avoid inadvertently causing problems for my friend so I value your perspective on all this. Woody/Susan

Thank you again, to each and every one of you. You have all given me much to think about as we've worked through this sticky kitchen plan. DH and I sat down last night and laid out what we are going to do. You might be suprised or maybe even a bit dissappointed at a few of our decisions, but as we sat in the space and thought through our movements and needs, we think that this is what works best. Hold onto your hats, because we are doing a variation of the plan that was referred to as disjointed. We are planning on taking out the 30" stove and replacing the top with butcherblock. Underneath will be larder style drawers for potatoes, onions, fruit, etc. A fridge will go in the fridge hole, with farm storage next to it. This will make an efficient work flow: garden or fridge to farm sink, chop at the butcherblock, have a 30" cupboard above it to hold the everyday basics, pasta and such, and fill casserole dishes, canning jars, or pans on the counter under the big window, and then on to the stove. We talked about why we installed the counter and large window the way we did originally, and neither one of us really want to change its functioning. It was set lower to make it easier for baking and pouring. Putting stoves in front of it would cut into the view, and we'd be giving up that wide swath of working and setting space. I haven't been all that pleased with the SS sink since we put it in. The large cupboard that hangs out in space over it, the one I didn't think would bother me when we planned it that way, turns out to aggravate me. (Am I claustrophobic or something?) I'm not very tall, yet it still feels like I ought to duck when I am using that sink. Soooooo we plan to remove that sink and the cupboard above and to the right of it and replace it with a larger stove, probably the Crown that I mentioned earlier, and put a narrower cupboard to the right of the sink for cooking oils and savory spices. Putting the stove in the SS sink spot puts it in a more protected zone than it was in our original plan, as several of you have recommended doing. Why the Crown? Well, it's repairable. It doesn't have anything electronic to go bad on it. So, even if something goes quirky with it, we can fix it ourselves. It's 40" wide, giving us 20" to put toward storage rather than 2 30" stoves that would chew up 60" of valuable space. Maybe some day, if we are unhappy with it, we can upgrade to a fancier NXR or Wolf type stove, but for right now, I think I can be a happy clam with it. Fully refurbished, these are listed on ebay for close to 5k, so I don't think it's going to be a bad stove. Let's continue on down the kitchen. To the right of the stove will be the baking area with a heat resistant counter. Where the DW was, there is room for a rolling grain bin, and we can fit some more bins, and a cart to hold my grain grinder, too, in front of and to the right of the heat run. We just put back our old island, which we conjured up from a salvaged butcherblock attached to an antique dresser. (Drawers under the island Rhome! Grin.) We had taken it out because the clearance was too tight when the DW was open, and it would slide into table space when the DR was in the front room. Since the DW will be moved, it won't be an issue anymore. Baking will happen at the island. along with using the sqeezo/victorio, and other group cooking tasks. Bigger butchering projects can happen here, too. So, the sink and the DW are going on a peninsula style counter coming out between the two windows at the side of the house. Amazingly enough, this does wonders for our lighting that's already in. The sink will line up right under the fixture that used to hang over the dining table (anyone want it? I like its looks, but, it's gotta go. It needs a taller ceiling to be happy). We've put a ceiling hugger in it's place. Ahhh, my head can breathe in that space again. The ceiling fan light hangs over the island. That one is high enough not to bother me, thank goodness. On the stairwell wall will go one more fridge placed in the corner. From the fridge out along the wall will be a 5' counter with drawers underneath, and wall cabs above. This spot will be for dishes, snacky stuff for DH's lunches, teas, and wraps and storage containers for after meal cleanups. The dishwashing peninsula lets us look out the front windows without being right up against them. It also lets us have a spot for folks to hang out at the front. We mocked it up with our trusty folding table and it feels spacious up there, amazingly enough. DW will be to right of sink. Sink will have the doors inset underneath for knee room. To the left of the sink, I'm planning to have DH build a base cab to hold our toaster oven on the top shelf, and the cookbooks below. On the side opposite the sink, I'd like to put shallow cabs that can hold extras: toys, books, extra kitchen needs, I'm sure it will change as our needs change. Because the sink cleanup area is such a short run, we're planning to do a 30" depth flat counter, no backsplash. This will give us more landing space for the dishes during cleanup. We're wanting to do this counter with solid surface, and put runnels in for draining large pots and pans. The middle room will have 2 workspots along the front wall, probably a laptop at each window. Drawers in between the windows. "Gutter shelves" to the right of the windows. The stairwell wall will have a large floor to ceiling cupboard, 12" deep, for homeschool and art, craft, office supplies for things that are done at the table (coloring, etc.) The large expanse of wall at the back of the room, where Rhome drew the computer area, will be a 15" deep x 9' 6" long pantry. The wall between the DR and Liv. Rm will be removed (Yahooooo! I can hardly wait!) We're thinking of arching the top of the doorway that has to stay there, and doing panels, similar to a paneled door, on the stub wall that has to stay there. I'd love to know how to make this not look "weird". Under the picture window will be a work counter, 26" high, that can hold 2 sewing machines. Under the counter will be a drawer unit on wheels for threads and other small sewing supplies. We're planning to make the counter have supports like a gate leg table. Normally, the lg. couch will divide the DR from the living room. But when guests are coming, we can drop the sewing counter down, put the machines away, and slide the lg. couch against the picture window. To the right of the window will be floor to ceiling cupboards for toys and sewing supplies. Along the back wall will be bookshelves above, enclosed fabric storage below. The loveseat can push against this and be pulled out when we need to get fabric. Our couches are lightweight, thankfully. I wasn't kidding when I said I move stuff around a lot. Two comfy chairs will sit a bit in front of the window, too. To complete the circular tour, behind the back door will be a cupboard where I can keep meds, herbs, and extra laundry soaps. I honestly can't tell you whether or not we will do the boot wash spot, DH and I didn't touch on that one last night. My dad called to tell me yesterday that he has a friend who offered to do us a custom SS base, if we want, but I forgot to tell DH this. I think that's the majors. You all have helped us think through so much. Thank you for giving of yourselves in this way. It's a sacrifice to pour so much of yourself into helping us wrestle with these plans; we appreciate it. I know this is long, but I didn't want to leave you hanging, wondering what we decided. If you'd like, I can hopefully post pics when we're done. I've loved seeing others pictures, and will try to return the favor. Hugs to you all, (hope that's not too personal. I just appreciate your help!) Laughable

I think you're right and he's wrong. White or cream. :) Will the gable itself get the green siding?

so the master bedroom location is there to essentially be as far away from the living area/ other bedrooms. We have 3 very young children and the husband works 3rd shift. We'll be in the country, and wanted to have the mudroom/powder room as close to the backyard access as possible.