home4all6, I had an idea that could be a middle ground between working within your home's footprint and a MBR suite/kitchen addition. It is spurred by my memory of your comment that the FR addition was either built to be or could be turned into a first floor MBR suite. This likely won't be appealing to you since your children are still quite young but it won't be that many years before the idea of having some space between their rooms and yours will be quite appealing. Also, I don't know if this holds true for your area but first floor MBR suites are popular here because it means that people can stay in their homes longer. On to my idea: Build an addition for a larger eat-in kitchen, addressing mudroom, side entry stairs and PR issues at the same time. It's possible that an addition may offer up other possibilities for a PR location that won't require losing your home's center hall entry. I know you don't use it and wouldn't miss it but losing the central hall entry could be a negative for future buyers. Then, at some point in the future (that will arrive sooner than you realize), convert your FR into a MBR suite and convert the 16x13 room you are currently using as a MBR into a bonus room/media room. Is the existing laundry room large enough to be a walk-in closet as well? If not, you'll need to relocate this when you convert the FR into a MBR suite. Or perhaps include room for W/D etc in your mudroom plans. I don't know your market so please ask local realtors which of the potential revisions will make your home most appealing to future buyers. I'm not saying that's what you need to choose but it's good information to consider as you decide how to proceed. btw, this thread is coming close to the 150 cut-off so it would be a good idea to start saving all the information and suggested plans now before they drop off the forum.

Stacy thank you for taking the time to update us. Continued prayers for a full and complete recovery. Take care of yourself also.

@tee8 We just got this fridge for the remodel and it’s working great. We wanted the in-door ice and this model has that without making the left hand door feel too bulky. We had a standard depth side-by-side from the 90’s before buying this one. It only stuck out a few more inches but I think it makes the kitchen feel totally different to have everything flush. In the tight U layout, every inch counts. Space-wise I much prefer the top/bottom fridge! I have no idea if we gained or lost cubic foot storage but it feels like everything fits so much better.

Just found this thread today when I went to go check out my window installation in my dream house construction. Purchased from Home Depot 38 windows - Andersen 400 Series Double Hung Tilt Wash with black exterior windows with some having white interior and some having black interior. Pull up to my house and immediately ask my wife what the hell is that huge white strip behind the black exterior frame? Stands out like a sore you-know-what! Immediately called Andersen this afternoon and spoke with a man in their spare parts department - he didn’t find anything about it and told me to call my dealer. Called Home Depot and went to the store to talk to the Mill Wright Supervisor. Go to meet with him and see the order and he shows me the two options - white and gray! I he says it was discussed with my wife and builder and that he selected white for the ones with white interior frame and gray for the black/black ones. I told him it looks like crap, black and black should be black at a bare minimum. He advised he was contacting his rep. I even showed him this thread from Houz and told him this has been encountered by Andersen before because it’s such an eye sore issue that is misleading to say the least. I’d love to hear what Andersen has discussed with others in this predicament to find a solution. I don’t know why they just don’t offer to do a special run using black vinyl to replace this. I’ll be glad to update this post once I hear back from Home Depot/Andersen.