I'd tell him he can do anything he wants, downstairs in his pub...if you can do whatever you want, upstairs in your kitchen :) Personally, I like lots of dark wood, dark green fabric, some brown leather and maybe a bit of plaid...with brass rails and accents, but I don't know if that would be accurate at all.

Chibimimi and Southern Canuck: The house will keep the timber frame, wall strip sheathing, flooring, rafters, strip sheathing on the roof above the rafters, the ceiling joists, and strip sheathing on the joists. The siding is ALL going to be donated (at least what doesn't need abatement (50%) - it is coated in many layers of lead paint that is cracking) and needs to be removed to place the exterior insulation. The gingerbread will stay. The returns will go. The trim will be similar. The porch trim will be similar. The windows will be as close to their current layout as possible, but the windows currently upstairs do not meet current egress requirements, so that is why I am enlarging the gable window. The plan that shows the door entering directly into the kitchen is the current house (as it sits now/before renovation). Not what it will be after - see the other layouts for clarification - hope you can actually read them now (I am new to this forum, and am trying to get you the info the best I can....) Yes foundation walls and floors, crawl spaces, and dirt basements really do or can account for up to 30-40% of heat loss. They are the largest window in your home. Especially if they are uninsulated, and air infiltration is not managed. Just because you highly insulate you ceilings doesn't mean you don't have heat loss through the ground. Yes heat rises, we ALL know that, but what many don't understand is how heat follows a cold gradient also. For instance when you lay directly on the ground you must insulate yourself from the earth nearly all year round or you will have either moisture problems or hypothermia problems. The earth absorbs your body heat, just like it absorbs the heat from your house. - check out Green Building Advisor or the Building Science Corporation for further documentation and in depth analysis of this phenomenon. If you get your hands on a thorough whole house wall/energy (BTU) calculator, you will see just how much energy is really lost through the foundation walls and floor. OR you will see just how much you will save, by insulating your basement walls and floors............you need to manage moisture, vapor and air though too or can create a massive petri dish inside your home. Those aren't architect drawings - they are mine..... Earthen or bermed homes use the earth as a consistant energy mass, that regulates temperature - the ground is an insulator, but also a heating or cooling mass - which is why geothermal heat/cooling works. It is true documented science that many are confused by. My hope is to keep the essence of the original home, maintain it's look, but tweak it just a bit to fit the needs of my family, while striking a fine balance between making equitable, sustainable, healthy design upgrades. I will have a Venmar ERV to do my air exchange (ERV because the geothermal provides cooling too, and the ERV can help with moisture too). The fireplace will also have outside air exchange.

Yes, they are beautiful but a lot of things can look beautiful but be poor quality. Unfortunately, I don't know enough about cabinets to know how to determine quality. Is anyone else familiar enough with the brand to comment on the quality of the cabinets? I need my cabinets to last a good, long time. Ideally the cabinets will outlive me :-) I will say of all the kitchen places I visited the owner here was incredibly helpful, spent an entire day working on my layout with me. I want to give them my business. If I order now it will take four months because of the August break but given the amount of work I'm doing that should get them here just in time for installation.

I don't want to decorate shelves or dust books or straighten items or look at a mess either, so I know where you are coming from. Been there done that. Oh yeah, doing it now :-) I have several pictures saved of built ins with fireplaces that I liked. Not necessarily all with stone fireplaces but just to give you ideas. The one I particularly loved..I can't find. :-( It belonged to one of our members that just finished building in the last yr or more. A darkish, grey two story with an angled front garage. Does anyone know who I am thinking of? She had a GREAT kitchen. Her built ins were beautiful. Love this one.