I think the case underscores the necessity of planning for the "worst case scenario" in our lives. The fact that Mrs. Schiavo was only 26 when she sustained the brain damage speaks volumes. Something equally tragic can (and does) happen to families across the world every minute of every day. Making the time to consider YOUR wishes and then making them LEGAL is the only way to assure they will be followed should the unspeakable occur. In a time of tremendous grief and pressure it gives the surviving members of the family clear guideposts to follow. Mum was 76 and facing cancer surgery before my brother and I INSISTED she sign a living will! My helpmeet and I have had one since we were married. Our wishes are very clearly spelled out. So were those of my late aunt. I was appalled by the legislative intervention, personally.

We bought our plan on line with CAD (so B) and then paid an architect (that came with our builder) to modify them. The floor plans were modified slightly. Most of the mods were 1) adding basement, 2) modifying the load bearing walls and floor trusses to handle basement and local code for loads, 3) changing the roof design to lower the cost. The only wasted money on the on-line plan purchase was the CAD drawing. The architect we used drew by hand which I would avoid if doing this over again (which I won't!). I would not purchase the CAD file until you needed it and make sure it is compatible with the software and version number that your architect or designer is using. If you can find a house plan on line that requires little to no modification, then you can get by with A or B. However, realize that the plans you buy may not conform to your local building code and may not be buildable within your budget. Our on-line plan had a very complicated roof design and a lot of ornate trim on the exterior. We modified the roof and the exterior look and drastically lowered the building cost. The original plan also had floor truss spans that were too long for our location. The house plan was designed for Texas code(no basement and no snow to speak of - so longer spans are permitted). We built our louse in VA - snow is an issue so the loads are different. Even if you wind up hiring an architect, you can save a lot of money by getting an on-line plan to start with that is close to what you think you want. The floor plan is key - exterior and roof can usually be changed to whatever type you like. 2 dimensional floor plans are very deceiving since it is very hard to get a good feel for the actual space size. Once we bought our on-line plan, we made scale paper cut outs of our furniture (use circle, rectangle or squares to mark outside dimensions of your things) and put them onto the plan. You may be shocked at how small rooms are. Carefully look at closets and garages - notorious for being too small. Make a paper cut out of your car/truck and put it on the plan - can you open the doors without hitting the walls? Depending on the design, you might want to hire a local architect to at least review them and/or modify them to your local code. During this update, having the builder providing input can also be a good idea to make sure you end up with a design that can be built to your budget. We also learned the hard way that having an HVAC duct and firplace chase plan is a good idea before you settle on the final plans. We lost a small closet and had to cut out areas from 2 other closets to get our hvac return ducts in - and we weren't happy with that. We also had a huge issue with installing a gas fireplace and finding room for the ducts. The original plan used a ductless fireplace which we did not realize at first and we wanted a ducted fireplace that could serve as a heating unit. Fitting the ducts into our house within the allowed number of bends was an engineering miracle, and we had to lower the ceiling and adjust a wall in our first floor powder room to get things to fit. Good luck with the house.

Hi bloomin, Alas, no progress. DH is going to make it out of wrought iron (hopefully complimenting the black of the range and counters.) We will have brackets on either side of the ss backsplash and the shelf will be removable off the brackets for cleaning. This and our light fixtures are the last things to be done...but it's the case of the cobbler's children. Since the kitchen is functioning well, DH is concentrating on the mudroom and laundry room, both of which have major issues. Thank you for remembering. I look forward to trying out our hood warming lights someday. hmmm....maybe I should start serving cold food. ...and eggshells in baked goods since one of the lights will go over the baking area.

We ordered a valance to connect the cabinets on either side of the window. The contractor and I agree that it's superfluous. It hides the nice light. We have a left over 12" cabinet and a 6" spice cabinet when plans changed. Hoping to use them elsewhere - maybe a workshop. There is a whopping re-stocking fee with KM, not to mention the energy of re-packaging and carting them to HD. We have an extra sink base for a farm sink but it was free with the order. We found we didn't like farm sinks so ordered another sink base that we had to pay for. KM was not interested in taking the other back and replacing it with a regular sink base. We bought a light that was 15" in diameter which was huge for the space. We were able to return that one though because they stocked it at the lighting store. Found an 11" diameter light at Lowes that I love. I have found that things like lights are very large and it is hard to judge by a picture even though they tell you the measurements. Everyone else has a mansion who could actually use them. Our other lights are Hinkley and Kitchler. They are big but look OK. We have an extra $5 light we bought on clearance for the lavette in the interim for when we found one we liked. Then we found one very soon after. It's really a mini chandelier that we took the chain off to 1 link. It's adorable with the glass crystals. The lavette is kind of victorian looking. We have an extra wall sconce that was for the hall way but it is really too big. We'll re-purpose that for the floor to ceiling chimney that already has an outlet for a sconce. We were going to rebrick but it looks good there. By and large we don't have much bought but not used stuff. We do have lots of extra boards and micellaneous stuff that the designer had us purchase but were unnecessary for the remodel. Where his mind was at I cannot tell you. We will wait for the end of install and take it all back to HD and INSIST that we get full price back for all the design errors. We have soft-close drawers and love them.