Gary - The kitchen will likely change dramatically to engulf the breakfast nook, so the dishwasher will have plenty of room then. I like the drawer dishwashers, we'll see if they play into the budget. I will likely have the whole house trussed. I'll use every nook I can in the attic as the main roof pitch from front to back is 11/12 and left and right are 12/12 along with garage pitch. Doors will face the left side and therefore the garage will be easier to make longer. I will widen the entire left side of the house an additional 2 feet as well for more garage space and thus more bonus room space and also more master bath and closet space where needed the most. Not in a high wind area, but I do like the hipped roof better than traditional gable end design done here so much. I do want to keep my gable dormers on the front and rear for personal appeal. I will mount our new flatscreen (I say new b/c we'll buy it to fit the space when we build) over the fireplace. We have a 51" Sony DLP right now on a small sleek stand but in a 15 x 15 living room I want as little "other" stuff on the floor as possible to allow for our loveseat, couch and coffee and end tables. I am trying to move the large Sony we have up to the "Man Space" and get me a Barcalounger all to myself in the main living room. Currently no room for that, so I sit on the couch that doesn't recline and I can't wait for my big leather chair!!! Thank you so very much for your comments. I really appreciate them and will definitely save them in my "Our House" folder in my email so that when I start I will remember to take your considerations into play. I particularly hadn't thought about the straight line for the plumbing running from front right to back left - that will likely be the least amount of pipe to run. Thanks for your help and if you think of anything else, please don't hesitate to email me or post here. info@athomewithchuck.com

Remember that the first thing you need to do is make a list of each type clothing, so as to know what sort of storage is needed. IMO, the must/should haves: clear-front drawers. I prefer the stackable, ready-made transparent sweater, boot and shoe boxes. Not for boots and shoes but because they are perfectly sized for sweatshirts, sweaters, jersey/knit items as well as stockings and underwear. Anything that must be folded instead of rolled goes into the sweater boxes, one item per box. No searching, I can see where what is and I don't dig through a pile to get it. I don't press jeans, but do fold and roll carefully (one pair per boot box); bootflares are hung using pantsclips. BTW, I no longer use bureaus or chests of drawers -- that sort of furniture is not really useful. Minimum 1½" rod-length for each hanger. Suits should have enough space to hang the skirt/pants beside the jacket. There should be enough rod that you never have to shove clothing aside to remove or put back an item. Nothing should be hung that can be put into a drawer. Double-rods so that skirts/slacks are hung below the blouses. The rod for dresses/long skirts is high, and a set of deep cedar drawers is on the floor beneath (storage for extremely bulky winter wear). I wish I had used transparent instead of cedar. Hanging shoe-pockets so each pair has its own place. You may be happy with shoe drawers or a spinning rack -- just be sure there is a place for each pair. Hooks for jeans & shirt to wear again, (If it didn't get dirty, I honestly don't see the point of washing something that was only worn a couple hours. YMMV) Hooks for shoulder-bags. Clutch purses should go into transparent drawers. Full-length mirror. A small basket for nylons to be washed. DH has pull-out racks, one for ties and one for belts. Test-drive before buying to be sure they slide smoothly and are sturdy. Neighbor's recent closet update used shelves instead of the drawers, but retained the idea of one seeable item per shelf. She did get adjustables (a heavy sweater needs more height than a light-weight). She also used the shelf area above her head for bulky storage, again one item per container.

Also there are a lot of books on closets and storage. You can browse in the bookstore if you don't want to purchase. In addition to listing all the types of clothing and accessories you want to store, so as to identify what size and shape and placement in the closet, take some time to think about how you get dressed and undressed and what you do with clothes, pj's, robes, shoes, etc. Put another way, where will your "dressing area" be--will it be the closet, or an area in the bath, or the bedroom? Do you like to stalk directly from the shower into your closet and pick out stuff to wear and actually get dressed in the closet, or do you drag items out to the bed, or what? Where's your full length mirror? Thinking through those time & motion issues can help you design something that works with you and not against you. Same for laundry hamper location. My DH and I are big on "hooks" for "gently worn" clothes. You might search for previous threads on hooks. So my dream closet and/or dressing area includes a way to get out of and hang up work suit, for example, and change into either spanking clean clothes or into yesterday's khaki's that I will wear again today. I keep partially-worn items on hooks. You may decide that that IS what the chair in the bedroom is for, or you may want to design it into the new system. Think also about unloading pockets or bag or briefcase--I unload cell phone, pager, other stuff into an area downstairs, and some folks use kitchen or mudroom, but in some closet designs, you might have a landing zone for this kind of stuff, including charger station. Regardless, it can be good to have some little area for unexpected stuff from pockets. Our brightest light and mirror set-up is in the bathroom, so I ended up using 2 of our bathroom counter drawers for jewelry and some accessories and purses. I don't really wear a lot or often, but when I do, it turns out to be most convenient and easiest to coordinate an outfit right there--final check to see that I am all zipped, put on lipstick and hmm, pearls ? gold? something wild? I have entered that need-brighter-light age range, so I tend to use and enjoy these items more if I can see them well! Someone else might instead have a nice antique dressing table and mirror in the bedroom, but I like WATTAGE. Also--put shoes up at eye level or a bit above. Not on floor. Plan enough shoe storage or whittle down your supply, or both!

Mine is the same size as Marti8a. I have a short rod inside the door (from the Container store, I think) that has holes for hangers. It is NOT an "over the door type rod" it does not hsow from the outside. I have a high rod for suits and pants, and a rod below it for blouses and jackets. Shoes are on the floor. Out of season clothes are upstairs and sweaters, etc. are under the bed.