@DE wrote, "riverrat1, now I want to know - why did it take 3 years for an architect to design a house. this grows more interesting by the minute" We used the services of the Architect to walk through the property to evaluate the lot. = 2 meetings to discover it is a buildable lot to build what we wanted in a house..that took an additional 4 weeks. Remember we were in no hurry and took our time. Another 6 months for her to come up with Schematic drawings of 5 different house drawings. We took our time reviewing those schematics of another 6 months to pick and choose parts from those schematics to come up with a plan that worked for us. Another year to tweak plans, engineering, lighting, design, picking finishes ( traveling to find antique cypress doors) and a few changes to the final drawing. At this point we brought on board a designer/ decorator and builder. Bringing on the designer/decorator and builder took another 5-6 months. Found changes, on plans, with the team, and took another 6 months to implement those changes. Attorney = 4-5 weeks. More engineering was involved at this point. Now we are up to about 2 years 8 months. and we will start soon n a few months. I'm so happy we took our time. Time well spent. Altogether about 3 years when we start. We have all finishes, windows, doors, countertops, moulding, cabinets, floors, lighting, roofing, appliances and a myriad of other things like house wrapping, insulation, drilled shafts, HVAC, etc. picked out already. It's been a wonderful project. I've had a lot of help and feel good about starting this build. When we decided to build I was going to make sure that all of our allowances had already been picked out and knew the cost of each item.

Thanks to all of you for your kind words. I have so enjoyed looking at everyone's ideas and homes that I was inspired to post my own. I have to say it was such fun taking the pictures and learning about photobucket. I do enjoy the collecting of Christmas stuff but like most of you here on the boards I am budget minded too. When I get some on these gorgeous items on sale after the holidays it makes it that much sweeter. To answer some of your questions: Kathleen li - I love the ironing board Santa in the hall display too. It isn't really an ironing board but a piece of plywood with fabric and paint done to look like Santa. I bought it years ago at a craft fair here in Birmingham, AL for less than $20. The santa portrait is new this year from Kirkland's Home. The have one every year and it is only $59. I got it last week at 25% off. Calicocat1967 - I like the Santa plates. I was fortunate enough to most of them from Fitz and Floyd last year on Christmas day. They put everything on sale and I get their emails telling when. I picked them up for less than $10 each. The covered dish in the kitchen corner cabinet came from Tuesday Morning after Christmas last year. It is a Christopher Radko but I only paid $15 for it on sale. luvstocraft - Thanks for thinking I "belong". I kind of felt like I did and it's nice to point out to hubby "There are others like me. I'm not the only one always picking up dishes or decorations everywhere I go" One of the things I have enjoyed about the board is the comradery. Every when I didn't post I felt apart of the community. I am glad that I came out of lurkdom. I got the angles in the pictures for 25 cents a print years ago and had them framed for less than $10 each. I stole the hanging on a ribbon and dowel idea from a magazine. Very eye catching and costs very little too. phyl345 - I'm glad you enjoyed it. sameboat - Thanks for looking and commenting. melvalena- I hope I didn't create new work for you for next year. I am enjoying changing up things a bit from year to year, so I love the ideas you guys come up with. Hope you have a wonderful holiday with your grandkids. bonniee- Thank you. I enjoyed your post about decorations too. mary ruth - Thanks, I love the Fitz and Floyd too. I got the large santas on top of the refridgerator last year on Christmas day. They are normally $350 each but on their clearance/outlet on their website they were only $89. I know that is still expensive, but I couldn't pass up the chance for something so large and beautiful for that price. I ordered my mom and her sister one for this year's Christmas present. I am so excited to give them to them. They are the chief decorators in the family so I came by it honestly. slinkey - What a nice welcome. Thanks for you praise and I feel like I will be a regular now that I've broken the ice. I do love my home. It is older and I actually came to these boards because we are considering building a new home on a lot we bought so I was researching building and come across this board on a search. But it didn't take me long to go from the Building a House forum to Decorating to Christmas/Holidays. purplemoon - I have loved all of your decorations and posts for the year. I thank you for your comments. The pair of large leaping reindeer are my "pride and joy". This is the first year I have displayed them, getting them last Christmas Day online. They came from Frontgate, which is not a store that I can normally afford. But after Christmas they put all their stuff on sale and mark it down a little more each week. On their website is a section called Outlet. I did not know of it and wanted a large reindeer for my fireplace hearth, so I searched and got a hit on them. The are regularly $199 each and but were on clearance for $59 each. Again a little more than I normally pay for a Christmas decoration, but a great deal on a heavy well made piece. I am pleased with the display. I would be honored to have some of my stuff in the Inspiration Album. Thanks for asking. Does that mean I have "arrived"? Ha-Ha. Feel free to look all you want. prosperity66 - Thanks for your kind words. I am glad others enjoyed it. Thanks again to all of you and I am off to scour the Internet for any clearance deals, but not ever sure where I could possibly put more if I find it. Merry Christmas!

Garages are a love-hate thing, in part because they block off natural light. By dividing your garage in this way, you're allowing this major drawback to occur on TWO sides of your house. I would consider making the boat's garage a detached unit. I share your idea of keeping the bedroom clutter-free by planning a large closet that can eliminate dressers in the bedroom, BUT this closet is oversized. I do not like the master bath. When you walk in (assuming the toilet closet door isn't open, blocking your way), you're going to have a view of . . . the closet door. The tub seems squished into a small spot, and the shower looks too narrow for comfort. Nothing about this bathroom looks inviting or comfortable. You have plenty of space between the bath and the closet, and you absolutely can lay out something better without changing the footprint. Your stairs look pretty much dead-on to me. The fold-back design is a space-hog, but it doesn't appear to be over-sized or under-sized. I like the idea of ditching the closet that backs up to the stairs and replacing it with a drop zone -- it'll be a nice size. However, I would want to harness the space under those stairs somehow. I think the kitchen is a good size -- not too big, not too small, good flow throughout -- but the pantry is too small. For this kitchen to work, you need more space, and the pantry is the best option. I'm tempted to say use the closet that backs up to the stairs as a second pantry . . . but then you don't have your drop space. I'm not in the camp of "My laundry room must be massive with all the bells and whistles", but this one is overly cramped. If a parent will eventually live in this bedroom, I don't think it's adequate. I mean, the room is fine, but the bathroom will be a problem if the parent needs a walker or wheelchair, and the sink is just plain too small regardless. I would consider a walk-in shower instead of a tub; it's easier for an elderly person to access, and you have space here to make it nice and big -- big enough for a shower chair. Also, the closet probably isn't enough for an adult. Overall, I think your functional spaces on the guest room /kitchen /casual entry area side are just too small. I think you need a couple more feet to make this all comfortable. Love the dining area and the arrangement of the kitchen and living room. Everything's connected in a comfortable way. The front porch is too narrow for real use, but it will be a nice look and will allow you to decorate for holidays (that's pretty important in my book). Concerns about this 2142 sq ft new plan that I can see, I really want to hear all the good and bad. : 1) Laundry room too small 2) No drop zone 3) Kitchen and kitchen pantry too small 4) Is the master closet too big? I have know idea how big it should be to hold all our clothes and things 5) Is the hole for the stairs too big 6) Worried we have simplified the foundation so much we will loose all character. Hoping to be able to add gables, interior ceiling features to boost up the character. 7) Master shower too little Here is the new plan offered to us from the architect:

I'm a big fan of folders in Google Drive. Then I can send links to our vendors/builder/realtor/etc for specific folders with images and information I wish to share. This has also worked out well for sharing my upgrade spreadsheet where the builder has signed off on prices and details of upgrades we've added. I love how accessible it is from any computer and google capable device. Plus you can set it to sync automatically on wifi so you aren't burning through your data plan. I love Pinterest as well, but I agree that it's not the easiest to share and manage. It's a good starting point for sorting ideas though. Best of luck!