The problem of today's market is that sometimes you have to sacrifice something for another. A couple of reasons for the development of front loader washers is eco-friendliness and space-savings. Eco-friendly in the sense that the front loader uses less water and therefore less detergent. They are also a space-saver because of the ability to stack the dryer on top of the washer, install them in a closet space or even under a kitchen cabinet (like the ones that ASKO produces - http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/W6984FI.html?brand_store=1). But then again there are companies out there that are taking the "less water" concept into consideration when developing top load washers. Take for example, WA42T26GW1 from Fisher & Paykel (I found it here - http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/WA42T26GW1.html) which has an auto water level that senses the size of the load and selects the optimum water level automatically, eliminating water wastage and fabric damage caused by too little water. The only thing is that you can't stack it, but if that isn't a problem for you then it doesn't matter. I use to own a top load before converting to my Electrolux Wave Touch machines, and my machine use to emit a nasty smell (well, maybe not nasty but definitely not pleasant) after a couple of weeks of use and I use to hate cleaning the dispensers which use to get all greased up and nasty (I tend to use this word alot!). So smell there always will be whether you use a front load or a top load. And cleaning the tub is definitely not that difficult as my machine reminds me when I need to do it and all I have to do is run a cleaning cycle with bleach. Like PC vs Mac, there will always be arguments around which one is the best and it will always come down to which one YOU are most comfortable with.

Chisue, yes.. we actually are planning on not going with the vaulted ceilings. I'm torn.. like the cozy look of the lower ceilings, but also appreciate the vaulted. DH is firm.. don't know WHY he seems to be winning all the battles! LOL Our current bonus room's AC is zoned, so with zing and a door. we will not have to heat and cool when we are no longer using it. After studying and study this floor plan along with William Poole's original Eastern Shore Cottage, 2 other plans of his, (which have almost the same layout) and using a tape measure to measure my current breakfast nook.. I think I need to make that nook narrower! It's almost 15' wide!! I think I'll make it move the width of the kitchen, 11' should be more than enough, don't you think? creekside, good option for the colliding doors ( open shelves) or possible could have the door open from the hall..? We are definitely planning our having the William Poole team tweak the plan a bit for us, so I'm trying to get everything down that I want to discuss with them.

Thank you, Green Designs. Yes, the cross bracing would help, as well as added strength of metal brackets. Any suggestions whom to hire to do this? A carpenter I should think. I realize I forgot the helpful discussion I mentioned so here it is. Here is a link that might be useful: Link:

I love old houses - the quality, the history (I was THRILLED when I saw the names of the owners of our then under 5 year old house on the 1930 census), and the style. If I don't win the lottery, I will never live in another "new" build (80's and up) because the vast majority of non custom built homes are just not up to my standards. Of the 4 new builds I lived in in my life, only two were decent. The last decent one had been built by a guy who had previously done commercial building. It was built to last and I have no doubt that one would still stand after a tornado. Because of the commercial background, the finish "prettyness" wasn't there, but those details were added later, by us. The last new build was a nightmare. The "quality" semi custom build was so lacking that I can't even imagine how much worse some of the mass produced really poor quality houses will last. Within the first 5 years the deck was partially rotting (no flashing between the house and it), the roof leaked at the chimney, many of the windows wouldn't work well and/or leaked at the top, lots of the trim wood was rotting out and the floors of both 1st and 2nd floor creaked in almost every spot as did the entire staircase. And then of course you had the "minor" issues like one couldn't use a hairdryer in the master bath before resetting the outlet in the upstairs bath if someone had used a hairdryer in it before the master bath. And the defective shingles requiring a complete reroof at 3 years is hard to forget. My brother has a friend who last year moved into a house in one of those new mass built neighbourhoods in South Carolina. Brand new. 6 months after moving in, a water pipe junction burst (iirc, they thought it hadn't been correctly connected or something) in the attic while they were on vacation and ruined most of the house and their items. The builder denied responsibility and the insurance company was blaming it on the builder since the house was still under "warranty" and it was turning into a huge mess, to say the least. New does not equal free of work and I'd rather strip wallpaper than deal with finding out what corners were cut.