You mentioned the laundry room being across the house from the bedroom. I realize this is not ideal but we honestly most likely won't stay here when we're super elderly. Personally, I could live with the laundry on the other side of the house ... but I could not live with it on the other side of the house AND a pathway that forced me to weave through the bathroom as well. MrsPete, that's interesting that you're also planning an empty nester house. We're actually empty nesters in transition because one child is a freshman in college and will be home on breaks and summers and our oldest will graduate from college this May and will be living at home for at least a year What a coincidence -- we're at exactly the same place in life. We too have a college freshman and a May graduate, and since our oldest is engaged to be married a year after graduation, she plans to come home for that year -- though she plans to start house hunting during that year. The morning room is the dining area. I think that the trend is away from formal dining areas. I can't think of the last time I went to someone's house and ate in their dining room:) I use my dining room now about 4 or 5 times a year. Now, we do want to incorporate a small sitting area into the morning room with two upholstered chairs at the back windows. Does it look like we have enough room to do this? I don't think your morning room is big enough to support an eating area AND two upholstered chairs AND the only door to the back yard. I agree that many people are ditching the dining room, but quite a few people do want their one dining area to be large -- and your morning room isn't large. That's why I think it might be wise to set up your den so that a future buyer could see it as a dining room -- if they wanted that. I can't find it now, but will try when I get back. One of the architects on this board explained how hiring an architect will actually save you money in the long run. I believe it was Virgil but can't quite remember how he explained it. I agree that it's worthwhile IF you end up with a house plan that you like and that you can afford to build. I really, really, really wouldn't want a northern exposure for the back of my house, particularity if you are doing a covered porch, particularly if your lot is wooded. I agree. Light is important. BaseballMom, I suggest you test this for yourself: Buy a cheap compass and start noting the light in homes and businesses you visit. Note the way the light looks, the warmth of the light, and envision how it'd translate to your own house.

Forget the brick or you will destroy the simple timeless elegance you are looking for. The photo is much simpler and nicer than the elevation drawing. The buildings that inspired this design are even simpler (no front facing gables, that's an English tradition) and unit masonry would only be seen where the stucco surface coating had been damaged and not repaired. It would never be used as a feature. Stick with the French inspiration and don't mess it up with modern builder/developer accents. Alternatively, study English Cotswold cottages if you like front facing gables.

yet you knew that the numbers I posted were not feasible? I live in one of the cheapest area of the country, and these numbers would be a stretch here ... they'd be a more difficult stretch pretty much anywhere else, particularly with the modern details you're planning. I'll just have to agree to disagree on this one. The kitchen I posted had 48" of clearance, which is plenty for movement. The picture I posted has GREAT, not good traffic flow. Here's your kitchen. You're focusing on a single item -- the width of the aisle, but that's only one item in a room full of details. The real problem is the traffic pattern /circulation -- you have only one entrance /one pathway -- here are a couple examples of how that can become problematic: - You've just come home with groceries and are putting them away. You're working at the end of the island /at the pantry /at the refrigerator. For the 15 minutes or so that you've cut off circulation between the kitchen and the rest of the house ... and if your family's like mine, they come running when new groceries are brought in. They want to see what kind of cookies I bought, and they want to help put them away. - You open the oven door, and you cut off circulation to the sink. So a child who wants to put a dirty dish into the sink cannot reach it ... the glass is left on the peninsula, and you wonder why no one will ever put things away in this house! - Your sink is the single most-used item in the whole kitchen ... and you've placed it at the far end, meaning you have to walk the length of the kitchen to reach it. Furthermore, you've placed it in the most narrow spot, assuring that only one person can use it at a time. Finally, you've arranged things so that you must place the dishwasher "around the corner" from the sink. - Glassware should be stored in a cabinet next to the refrigerator ... it just makes life easy. However, since your dishwasher is on the far end of the kitchen, you'll end up making multiple-multiple-multiple trips between the dishwasher and the refrigerator (or you'll be storing your glasses in an inconvenient spot). - You need your garbage can to be near the sink/dishwasher, but since it's placed on the far end of the too-narrow U, you have to carry the garbage farther than is necessary to take it out each day. Consider how you could keep the general concept of your kitchen ... but improve the traffic pattern /circulation -- how about a classic L+island ...- I personally like the range on the short-y arm, but it could be placed on the cabinet run with the refrigerator ... or the sink could be placed in that position, leaving the island an open work space. - Now while you're unloading groceries or accessing the refrigerator, people still have access to the stove area or can "walk around" to the sink from the other side. - Note that I added a small cabinet between the wall and the refrigerator. Why? Because a refrigerator up against the wall won't open all the way, making it difficult to remove shelves /clean. This small cabinet could be a tall-pantry cabinet for housing small appliances, or it could be an out-of-the-way spot for a coffee pot, a cake, or a bowl of fruit. Alternately, you could go with a simple galley kitchen with an island forming one side of the galley. It works for all the same reasons as the L+island. The traffic pattern /circulation is better than the too-narrow U, and you have a really big island.Last thought on kitchen: You say you're presenting us with a floor plan for the kitchen on the left, but the illustration will come out looking more like one of the others ... quite narrow. In spite of its width, it's a one-butt kitchen; it's about proportion. Gotta love houzzers who can't tell if a kitchen is good because there are no dimensions posted but they sure can tell it's terrible even without those dimensions. Dimensions are ONE MEASURE of whether a space works. Even without dimensions, it's easy to tell whether the appliances are arranged in a logical fashion and whether the traffic pattern /circulation works. Even without dimensions, it's easy to see whether the kitchen and dining room have a good connection to one another and whether you'll be able to see the kids in the living room while you're cooking. I dont mind walking past the closet to get into the master. matter of fact, I prefer it as it provides a little more privacy. I actually agree with this detail. If well positioned, the closet can provide acoustical privacy. The real problem here is the master bath ... entering it requires that you walk the length of the whole room to reach the door ... and then the layout makes no sense: blank space dead ahead of the door, water elements on two walls, when it would make sense to consolidate ALL the plumbing into one space: This version, though not significantly different from your original, provides several positives: - You can place the bathroom door several steps closer to the bedroom door. (Note: This wall can't be used for furniture anyway because it's the main walkway.) - Opening a door between the bathroom and the laundry allows for easy drop-off of dirty clothes /taking your jeans directly from the dryer. Again, this is improved traffic pattern /circulation. - This layout is so much more spacious! - You now have a shelf for towels at the end of the tub. - You have storage AT the toilet ... toilet paper and a plunger, if nothing else. If you grow old in this house, you may find that you have some at-the-toilet storage needs; my grandparents both did. - You have one nice long vanity, which you could configure in any number of ways ... could include a linen tower. - ALL these items, including the washer /dryer and sink fall onto ONE SINGLE WALL, meaning you only need to have water running through one wall. You keep saying you want efficient and inexpensive ... this is it. - We aren't talking about windows, but you can have a nice short/wide window above the tub, which will allow in light without sacrificing privacy. we have storage upstairs in the laundry room, next to the kids bathroom, in the play room, and will have some in the master bath. I've read that 10% of the house should be storage. I don't see that much in your house. Things to consider: - I don't think you're harnessing the large space under that switchback stair. Yeah, it's only half-height space, but you're paying for it. Don't box it in. - I think you have a linen closet outside the kids' upstairs bathroom ... but it isn't 'specially large. Consider kids' sleeping bags, extra pillows for guests, extra toiletries ... this space'll fill up fast. - Do you have space for hobby storage? toys? seldom used cooking items? seasonal items? gift wrap? Go through your house and make a list of the things that now have "no good home". Where are they going to go in this house? - Not really storage, but one of the things about which I'm most excited in my new house is a Cleaning Closet. It's going to be smack-dab in the middle of the house (for convenience). No more squishing the vacuum cleaner to the side of the coats, a place to stack cleaning items, a place to store bulk-purchased paper products. I can't wait to have this specialty closet! That's it ... I'm out of it.

Our kids have been grown and gone to their own homes for years now. My meal prep changed drastically after they left home and they would hardly recognize the dinner table anymore. I cook what I like to refer to as "bistro style". I keep it simple with an eye towards nutritional balance and I aim for quality over quantity. I serve dinner mostly plated, as opposed to serving bowls. I like to make an attractive presentation and we now use smaller salad plates as dinner plates. As time has gone on I have managed to simplify my kitchen and I can now prepare dinner and have the mess cleaned up before we even sit down to eat. It seems that I prepare enough dinner for three. We each have dinner and HE has lunch the next day. I didn't do this intentionally. It just seems to have grown organically into what I do. It took some time to tailor the meals down to just the two of us. I dont much like freezing too many things. I prefer the approach of making a larger quantity of something basic that can then be tweaked to become a different meal for more than one day. Most things, to me, are more enjoyable if left two days in the fridge rather than two weeks in the freezer. Some things lose a substantial appeal when they defrost, depending. Roasted meat is one thing that I find distasteful if it is frozen. Meat that is stewed and then frozen in it's broth keeps much better. It has been my experience that anything thickened with corn starch does not defrost well.