Found this old thread after doing a search for Far Reaches. We hope to make a visit there this coming Friday. I'm sure I read this thread back in the day as it was shocking and sad that Heronswood seemed to be going away, nursery, gardens, plants, it's people and all. It's interesting looking back knowing how things have turned out lately with the s'klallam tribe having bought and taken over the property, it's gardens and that Dan is at least partially involved in a restoration and expansion of the gardens. At least that's what he said at a Bellevue Botanical Gardens lecture by John Anderson, the Keeper of the Gardens at Windsor Castle. It was a nice talk that was at times funny and others a bit dry, but still enjoyable for this plant nerd. But I must say seeing Dan and hearing that he was still involved in the Northwest plant scene was one of my fav moments. We have been planning a trip to Far Reaches for several years and it always gets postponed as it is quite a drive and really takes an entire day. We have the day off and the weather seems to be cooperating and I have my eye on some epimediums, some Podophyla and some dactylorhiza and I'm sure a few surprise plants will catch our eye and drain our pocketbooks, I've been aware of Kelly and Sue's work for many years and purchased a few plants from them when their nursery was called Reflections Gardens. It was a rather small affair with not much in the way of display gardens and when we first walked up to the selection of plants to buy it seemed uninspiring. But as we walked the few aisles of plants we first saw one cool plant and then another and pretty soon we had a car load heading home with us. They've been settled at Far Reaches for many years now and having perused their catalog I know there are many gems to find.

Chrisk327-I think the transoms are running about $145 each x 9 is $1305 vs. going with a taller window to make up the difference at ~$28.00 upcharge each x 9 = ~$252 for a savings of ~$1050. Not a huge amount, but that is another grand that could be invested elsewhere. Chisue-To your earlier post on the interior doors-were going with the MDF doors too. Bedroom, garage entry & attic access doors will all be solid core & the rest will be hollow core. On the exterior facade- My designer's plans that I posted are the almost final set--the finals have all kinds of measurements and specs that make it hard to see the "bones" of the house for this purpose-somehow I didn't get an unmarked up copy. We did change the front door to a 6' wide double door with an arched top to coordinate with the garage--Good catch! Thankfully, we caught it too! We have the jackarches over the front windows in a arch pattern to duplicate again--we meet with the window guy Monday and I'll be asking what it would cost to make those front windows arched as well. The french doors with the arched transoms cost a fortune--been there & priced that already. The windows are a compromise. As far as the mix of styles, you will see that the inspiration house has the same--a little Georgian, a little Federalist, a little Southern, a little Greek Revival, a little French,... That's the idea I'm running with--I want the house to be unique and not necessarily follow any one period to the 'T'. A little background--When we had to downsize and come up with plan B, we had a very hard time finding a house we liked & believe me we looked at probably every houseplan site, designer/architect site, houseplan books/magazines every night for hours on end (literally) for a year and a half. We ended up going to a designer with some ideas that we gathered while looking at homes online & in area neighborhoods. He was on the right track somewhat when he presented the rough drawings to us, but still a long way off. SummerfieldDesigns here on the forum is the one who actually came up with the facade and helped a great deal with the floorplan based on our needs & desires. Something must've clicked between us communication wise, because Summerfield hit it out of the park on the first try. I am forever in his/her debt--(Thank you so much, Summerfield!!!). We feel this design captures the essence & style of the inspiration house (and what drew us to it) but in a single story package. That was what was missing with our designer's facades. Here's Summerfield's color rendering which has the arched door:

It's not uncommon for them to be different sizes, and you have them delegated properly...the woman gets the larger vanity. That's a serious statement in terms of the larger vanity having the "proper" lighting, storage, etc, around it. They can be slightly different, the difference doesn't necessarily have to be substantial. If there is a slight difference, the essential design of drawers and doors can remain the same if you choose, and the proportions can simply be skewed. With the vanities being custom, I'll often times make the man's vanity taller. So yours can be shorter but wider. His can be taller but narrower. You both get similar storage, etc. I wouldn't go too small with the width of his vanity. 36" can be minimal depending on the setting. Example, if his vanity has solid walls on each side, is might appear to be shoehorned in and it can accentuate the smallness of his space. If there is free air on one or both sides it can have a more open feeling, or a glass wall on one side can open it up visually, etc. He needs to be happy with his space. You need to be happy with your space. Then use whatever space can be freed up for a larger shower if that makes both of you happy. With the shower, your shower right now has decent dimensions. So think about the additional shower space and why you want it, and if it will accomplish those objectives. Will the additional 6" of space in the shower get you to that comfortable two-person shower if that is your goal? Or will it be a cramped two-person shower? With a bench you'll be sort of cramped even as a single-user shower. Without a bench? Etc. Will you realistically be showering together regularly, or just occasionally? Or never? If the added space in the shower doesn't fully and completely achieve your shower goals, then it might be best to leave him with a larger vanity.

Thanks, Karen! You are right about the measurements. They add up to 9'11", correct? That means I have another foot of space to work with??? This drawing is direct from my GC! I'd better check with him. ETA: I just figured out what the deal is. There is a foot of shelf space not really marked on the drawing. The drawing's measurements are accurate as is. The tub I have picked out is 67". There is a 60" model available but was worried that that might be too small. Ducky - Thanks so much for taking the time to draw out another idea. You are right that I'm contemplating a single sink/vanity. To your other comment, I'm wondering if I'm giving up too much closet space. It's a smallish bedroom (about 14 x 16) to begin with and a closet that's not very big. But this design makes it even smaller. This post was edited by ck_squared on Tue, Sep 9, 14 at 13:09