wow! thank you so much everyone! I SO appreciate all of your input and suggestions. I have been looking at this for so long, my eyes are getting crossed and things that I think make sense, might not be the case. It's great to get other pairs of eyes looking at things. It looks like #1 might be the winner. I will focus on that one right now with some tweaks. pixie lou nailed it with the hall bath reasoning - I only have one bath upstairs for my 3 kiddos and I envision all kinds of fights over the bath, so at least if I keep a full one on the mail level I can tell someone to go use that one. master shower in both plans should be 4x4. We had that in a previous house and it was fine. I do like to take baths and plan on building some shelves to go on either side to hold towels, decorative items, etc.. Good call on the master closet windows, palimpsest. Do you think I should do some small square windows up high instead? I'm wondering how it will look on the exterior though since that's the front of the house... I will have basement stairs under the current stairs so can't use any of that space for storage... I think I would like to keep the washer & dryer on the current wall so I could use the space by the windows for a small office area... The stairs in the mudroom will go up to a bonus area (hopefully my future art studio!) RMS - thanks for catching that about the fridge! I'm not set on the closet sizes yet, but I can see how it would be stuck against that wall. Laundry closet - I made this extra deep for the kiddos to throw all their shoes in there. Shoes thrown everywhere are a nightmare right now. But I can see I need to rethink this... I do have the cubbies too so that might be adequate. pantry - I originally wanted this deep enough to house a homework/computer area also, but I'm rethinking this as well. I was going to put barn doors on the outside to close it off. I will give it more thought. any ideas or thoughts on exterior with the 1st layout? thanks again everyone!

Can I get in on this conversation with a question? I have something similar in my 22 year old house. It is three stories. We do not have city sewer. We sometimes have a sewer gas odor that comes up the vents in two bathrooms only. They are exactly on top of each other. We have had a plumber out to the house three separate times. At first he said make sure to keep traps wet. We did that, smell sometimes comes back. He came out again, same thing and checked everything. Last time he said that all fixtures go into one large vent pipe on roof. Husband got up there and sure enough only one for 4.5 baths, washer, etc. The smell is only in these two bath areas. There is one bath below these two exactly as well. He said tub downstairs is not used much and trap could be dry. He extended the vent pipe up several feet in the air. He said sometimes when weather system moves in, it can hold gases down. We have absolutely no idea what this could be. It only happens every couple of weeks, but when it does, it smells so bad. We have also smelled this outside once or twice and it was so bad, I was so embarrassed. We were gone one week and our friends walked by the house to make sure everything was okay. They said they thought something BIG had died there and they actually walked around the back of the house but could not find anything. Please any thoughts. Desperate in NC

justgottabme: Yes! excellent plan! The Tv needs to be in that corner next to the fireplace -- either mounted on the wall or sitting on a console or cabinet. Having a cabinet in that spot would anchor that whole corner. And more excellent ideas above too! Love the idea of bookshelves in each of the corners -- perhaps just try basic Ikea Billy shelving -- or other build-it-yourself shelves (try stores like Targer or Walmart)-- just to see if that plan will work for you? Or look for vintage shelving or bookcases on your local Craigs List! Swivel chairs can be found -- check your local Craigs List! But for now -- once you move the TV -- try placing one sofa facing the fireplace -- and another one facing the window -- forming the classic L-shape.

I wish I could change the name of this thread I started three weeks ago! I would call it "New countertop Loving it!" Its been ten days since I posted the first photos and revealed the identity of my stone. I got to enjoy it for only a few minutes on a gray day before the contractor enveloped it in butcher paper so work could continue around it. On Wednesday evening I prepared to celebrate Thanksgiving by unveiling the stone. Since then I have enjoyed many happy hours with it. NYC has been blessed with a sunny holiday, and the stone is even more beautiful in a kitchen drenched with sunlight. It also photographs better, though the green still looks washed out. Ive posted new photos, including some close-ups. Cloud_swift predicted I would be even happier with my stone after living with it a while. In fact, it grows on me by the hour. To walk into the kitchen now is literally thrilling. I never know what to expect, as it changes with the light, always surprising me with how blue it is, but sometimes more green, sometimes reminiscent of stainless steel, and as the light fades, quieting to a rich dark gray. Aunttomichael -- "soapstone lover" -- got it exactly right: the effect is both serene and intense (which I think is true of soapstone as well.) Before this experience I knew literally nothing about stone. Now I learn from Theresab1 that Im a member of the (very exclusive!) "Azul Macaubas Club" though I agree with Cloud_swift (she of the glorious azul do mar) who calls it the "Quartzite from Brazil Club." While my stone is indeed quartzite from Brazil, I, like Mindstorm, find it hard to believe it shares the same name as Theresab1s amazing stone, which Mindstorm describes as "almost onyx-like in its translucent whiteness with streaks of blue" As she notes, mine is nothing like that! Not at all white or even light-colored. Its predominantly blue with a lot of pale green. In a single slab, the blue ranges from a deep, rich blue to greenish-blue to pale blue to deep lavender a shade Cloud_swift noted in azul macaubas slabs she saw. The only photos Ive seen of anything similar were a variant called Azul Imperial. Theres a lot of interesting information at www.bluemacaubas.com. The most important thing Ive learned, though, is that you dont choose a stone by its name unless you are willing to settle for an arranged marriage!