Hi Homey, With a 24 inch constrain you may want to consider using a pedistal sink, there are designs that offer a more contemporary feel. Another idea would be one of thinner vanities that has 1/2 of the sink sticking out, they are usually not as wide as a standard vanity is. In regards to your question about rectangle tiles, yes, you can get almost any stone in that shape, but if you're going to have a modern feel in the room, you may want to consider glass. HTH - Good luck with your project - Lukki

we spend long time with someone who was not an architect but a residential designer--he basically wanted to just rework one of his existing plans for us--we went round and round trying to get some "personality" into his pretty basic designs...it was only when we really pressed him to think "outside the box" that he actually loosened up... we did not build the house because at that time we wanted a larger house than we could comfortable get on that particular lot... maybe your architect feels constrained because you have been really controlling the design with your vision--not a bad thing--but it could be difficult to 1)read your minds to certain extent and give you what you don't exactly know you want, 2) by giving you what you have asked for, other aspects have caused the "oddities" you mention... sometimes you can't have your cake and eat it too... did you take in photos from magazines of aspects in other homes that you found appealing and asked to have them integrated into your design? We also worked with a "real" architect on another house but the developer just kept pushing back the time that the lots were going to be ready to buy and start building... and prices kept going up in our area--it finally priced us out of building a home... the architect was so busy that keeping out house separate from all the others he was doing just seemed like too much effort... some of the best designed homes we have been in were done by local builder who basically did his own plans and took them to design firm to make blueprints and flesh them out with engineering specs... they had good use of space, natural light, storage, and some unique touches -- like the dog room with high walls tiled for first 4 ft, a concrete floor with drain, high slider windows on two walls to get cross breeze, and a built-in pet door to back yard...was not that large but was a really neat touch...people he built the house for were doctors who had 2 hunting dogs and wanted them to have way inside if bad weather came up when they were on duty... if you are just talking special touches-- would a pocket door be appropriate at some location and improve the function what about using a barn-sliding door for a media room or a play room space do your boys rooms have that make them magical? do you have any unique windows--round or square especially in a series or an irregular patter perhaps--what about an eyebrow window do you know what kind of trim you are using--are the designs showing that or just the basic floor plan? Have you checked for any line of sight issues---that might be something that bothers you without your realizing it... Are all your ceiling heights the same from room to room--that is boring--even if you want higher ceilings in most of the house--Sarah Susanka says that you need to vary the heights to give a cocoon effect in some spaces... maybe a dropped ceiling in the breakfast nook if the kitchen has high ones--- maybe a barrel ceiling or like a trapizoid one in a bath to give room dimension... don't know if any of those appeal to you or would make a difference.... it is possible for a house that large to be boring even if it is big...I know you are trying to avoid that...

No! Before we left town DH gave them most of the substantial completion payment, but there is still a chunk remaining. And then we have a much bigger chunk in hold back that they'll get 30 days after substantial completion. This is a fire restoration project with an insurance settlement and a mortgage company in the middle, so we don't even have all the money in hand.

We really struggled to design our banquette. In the end, we used poster board to mock up the shape /size (ours is angled which made it quiet tricky). I didn't do a slanted back, but if you are having it professionally upholstered, they can shape it with foam. In my area, professionally upholstering is very expensive, so we just DIYed the seat for the time being. I tried to use throw Pillows, but they always ended upon the floor. Now I'm thinking of velcroing them in place. Plywood top is the way to go. An overhang is common. Mine probably has a 3" overhang. I wouldn't go more than 5" personally because you may create a weak point that could break (if someone stands on bench).