Constantinople, It is possible that some of my comments will be speculative but most of the comments in the forums are based in speculation since we do not have all the facts. I will only comment in what I think is not ok or just personal preferences. Hope this helps. The elevations have a few issues. The masterbedroom roof should be shown on the north elevation, also the little window in the bedroom hallway. Unit A -I find the Laundry room too small. You will not be happy with it as is (speculating here). It's always nice to have a countertop, even if it is not too big. A small mudroom bench at the garage entry, would be nice, too. Looks like your architect is not able to figure out a way for the garage door to swing inside the home instead to the garage. -The bedrooms are not nicely dimensioned. 10' wide? You have the space, just not proporcionated in the right way. -It's like you want the fireplace for a wow factor because its accross the entry but not sure if you will get that effect since the entry is kind of far from it. I prefer the fireplace to be centered to the living room or between 2 spaces. Now it is just centered to the "big" room. -Talking about the big room. Looks like this if the ultimate open floor concept. I consider important to give the different areas in the "big" space some sort of definition. You will not be able to do that with that ceiling. I wonder how you will place the light fixtures for the different areas (kitchen, dining, living and the empty space that you will have in front of the kitchen. Will you place a very big chandelier in the middle of everything (at the flat ceiling spot)? or you will place the different fixtures randomly? some will be where the celing folds and some where the ceiling slants. -The masterbedroom: Is there a reason for not wanting a view? the window sill is at 9'. A master with 2 exterior doors is a bit excessive. If you get rid of one door you will be able to place the bed in two different ways. Rigth now, it will be very hard to place night stands at each side of the bed. Unit B There are many issues here.

kgwlisa, that's exactly what I was worried about - all those cut edges. If Bill V were my tile guy, I wouldn't hesitate, but... Anyway, I think we could afford to use that tile as a field tile, but that's a LOT of green - not sure I want to use that much of such a vibrant color. As for the idea of going modern in the bath, I've thought about it, but the rest of the apartment is definitely pre-war looking and I have no plans to renovate it anytime soon, if ever. There's something I love about period-feeling baths anyway, so I think we're going to stick with that (even if BF doesn't like the English-telephone-looking tub filler/handheld, LOL!). BTW, does anyone know anything about Elements of Design fixtures? They have a ton of really beautiful period fixtures but I'm concerned about buying crap... Here's a snapshot of some tile that I taped to the bathroom wall to try to get an idea of what my original wood-look floor/white subways/glass accent might look like: I know it's a terrible picture, and unfortunately the colors aren't really true, but I really like the blue-green tiles on the right with the faux wood and white (they're much bluer in real life). They look great with chrome fixtures, too. I think I'm going to go ahead with this color combo - I just need to decide whether to use the glass tiles in mini-subway size or 1x1s. I'm also going to browse a bit more this weekend to see if I can find something similar in a ceramic tile. Wish me luck!

Oh goodness, that has to be one of the most positive and uplifting replies I've seen in awhile and it was to me! :) Thank you! I'm trying to read more threads here to get ideas. I do have a minor in art, so I do think the design classes I took help but I'm still not happy with the balance of most of what I've done. I'm even thinking of digging a 300-500 gallon koi pond this weekend but decided I should wait until next year once I've gotten these other projects completed. I just don't have too many friends around here so I don't have anyone to show thigns to and get honest answers--I like critiques! Like 'I think that rock would look better to the right' or 'those two platns on the side, have you thought about planting them at the front center?' Go Go Tangents Not sure if I already said this but the reason I really l ove rock-gardens is I want low-maintinance/low-water, since this is a drought area and I rather hate yards. This is inspired by my regular trips to San Diego. I also want to provide more vegetation and flowers for bees/butterflies (Would like to set up a monarch waystation in the backyard along side the path). I'm also trying to decide if I want to do a patio or a deck in the back as the yards uneven and I'd really like a flat solid area. I was considering investing and having a small sunroom/conservatory built onto the 4x12 patio that's already there but given ti's Texas--it'd probably be to hot to use in the summer and to cold in the winter. So my other plan is either a deck, or putting in retention walls to level out a half-circle infront of the current patio---should only need 2 feet high at the highest area, in theory. I have so many plans and ideas, but my biggest fear I think is that 1. The HOA is going to get mad at my landscaping decisions and 2. They're going to not look that great over-all and make it harder to sell our house (which is years away). Brick Path Progress - I'm wondering if I should do a slightly windy path straight back then curve to the patio (which is on the north-west side of the house, the gate is on the south-east side) or do a few circles (I might have to buy more bricks) with sand or little water features in the center. I'd like some kind of 'seperated' garden beds, because I kind of want to do a mini botanical garden / prenneial garden / Monarch waystation. Ideally with little plant name-plates of some sort, haha. Before - Did this about an hour ago. Was a square of rocks that had been painted orange by the neighbore. Told them when I moved in a year ago I was going to do something different with it and they said go ahead. So I removed all the rocks that were painted (the collar at the base of the mailbox, it was glossy and fake looking!) And here was what I had to work with. After - So I have my little rock garden! I had some pea-gravel and I turned rocks upside down that had been painted to have some larger rocks. I'm goign to clean up the outter edges so there is a cleaner line but I don't want it perfectly 'square'. I have a few more Chick n Hen succulents in the back I'm going to spot in there but I wanted the rocks to be the main feature. It's a little heavy on the right, I'm considering taking out the dark green Aloe (it won't survive the winter here anyways) and doing something more dense with chick n' hen succulents (which are my fav, and most will survive the winters here). Ideally I want those little succulents to grow over the sidewalk. I also have some pearl succulents I'm thinking of hanging in some kind of basket from the loops under the mailbox. Though again those won't live in the winter so I'd have to bring them in. Corner Garden - I need to put some more rocks on this one to give it more of a little rock-feel. Before - Yard, all grassy and what not. After - Inspired by some of the patterned succulent gardens I've seen online. Needs more rocks or a full ground-cover.

Could you build a family home and add manufacturer homes or guest cottages later? The original plan was definitely to build the main house now, and build guest houses as needed. I never really thought to deliberately do mixed stick/mobile. Hmmm. You're not the only family in this situation, so I think there'd be value in whatever you decide. It is *so hard* for me to think this way, lol, since I can't seem to find an existing property that would work for us. I really hope you're right. <3 Not meaning to push my idea but, a larger family home now, [....] No pushing felt. :-D I am absorbing and processing and considering everything presented here. I deeply respect many posters here on GardenWeb, including you. I'm thrilled to have so much participation in my thread so far. A lot of great ideas. A village in your area could it be sold to be a B&B or wedding venue? Yes. My current favorite lot/parcel can't support something like that (parking and interstate access issues), but other properties I'm considering can. What are the goals/reasons for having your parents and/or in-laws live on the same property as you? Is it to help you with your children or as a way to pool resources, etc.? Roughly 10 years ago, I started talking with my mom about my family village idea (in the context of my kids *only*, not extended family), and over the years, she decided that she wanted in on it, too, as a way to pool resources during my folks' retirement. I, however, am not expecting any assistance with the children (none has ever been offered in earnest, none has ever been requested), nor am I expecting an inheritance, from either set of parents. I simply want to have the option of more easily caring for them, if they choose me as their end-of-life caregiver. I would like to be able to accommodate the people who need me, without going absolutely bonkers due to lack of space and/or insufficient design/planning. Would living on the same property make YOU the sole care-giver for your children AND your parents and in-laws? Yes. My husband worries about this, a little bit, but I honestly cannot see a greater use of my life than serving loved ones. I have a bit of experience caring for the particular special need that my kids have (by virtue of having so many with the same problem; my oldest is mid-teens), and I also have personal, live-in experience caring for disabled elderly family for 10 years. Granted, I've never done both at the same time. But the kids are getting older, and are able to help with each other, so I have hope that where there's a will, there's a way. How close do you need your parents to be to you on a daily basis? Whatever their preference/needs would be, given their situations at the time; obviously this is likely to change as they age. Do their dwellings need to adjoin yours or could you have one main house and two separate mobile homes that could be moved later if needed? Both are options. I will tell you that the mobile homes are still quite livable even though they are now 25 or so years old. This is *very* good to know. Thank you! <3