Worthy, thank you. No pictures yet as we just have a concrete block bunker at the moment and I doubt I could figure out how to post a picture even if I had one. We are in central coastal Florida and the exterior will indeed be what the builder is calling "old world" stucco painted white. The general idea is that the original owner was a merchant who rose is the world to afford a bigger house and added on rather than building new. Thus we have the "old old" wing of the house with the kitchen, great room and 2 upstairs bedrooms connected by the foyer to the "merchant's addition" that now has the master bedroom and office. This has not been researched for historical accuracy but is sort of a take off on the idea of how the Pennsylvania farmhouse grew with the income and family size of the farmer. Also, when we decided to build I was determined not to plunk another Italianate villa on the landscape. I hope I'm not committing an atrocity against an island style home but this is what the architect came up with.

Thanks folks! All good input. I just emailed my brother, who's an architect, and his suggestion is: Keep the built-ins ONLY on the long wall. Don't wrap them around on the short wall flanking the wood stove. He would like to see bare wall there (with a firewood bin on the right and the chair/ottoman on the left of the woodstove.) What do you think about that? Regarding door hardware: I was thinking no hardware, actually... just those push-to-open thingies :) Color: my brother suggested stained or painted almost-black (playing off the slate woodstove wall). Palimpsest suggests wall color. I would have done white just cuz its my fall-back. I will have to think on that! Depth: The built-ins as drawn are about 11" deep. We don't have any A/V equipment deeper than that, so no need to bump any part out. I'm also not a huge fan of bumped-out cabinetry in a more modern setting. I know I said I wanted to keep it cottage-y, but it still has to work with my modern furniture :) I could probably be convinced if there was a really compelling argument, but my druthers is for simpler, usually :) Height: I considered varying the height (taller on short wall, etc) but I felt like going taller made the already small room feel a lot smaller. DIY- yes, we're building these ourselves :) .... although I think we may buy the doors from Scherr's. We have a really long project list to get through this year!

les917 - thank you so much! I appreciate any and all suggestions. I am always unsure about where to place furniture, etc. After the flooring is installed, I will post a pic with some various arrangements and hope you and others will give me some more advice on how I can move things around. I've always wanted a small desk in that area where you mentioned. I'll post a pic below of the part of the LR you were curious about- the wall area behind the couch towards the window area. After seeing this pic, you may have some more good ideas to inspire me. My concern is, if I move the couch, etc. as you suggested, that opens up a huge blank wall that goes all the way to the ceiling.. Good, bad? natesgramma - yes, I think area rugs will be helpful as well as always mentioning the step to new visitors. groomingal - that's a very creative solution. Other people have mentioned lighting. I should look into this "built in" lighting idea. bodica mentioned rope lighting, too. cliff_and_joann - sorry to hear your father broke his arm. This is exactly what I am trying to avoid. I can picture wrought iron that tied in with the same wrought iron on the fireplace as being a good solution. lukkiirish - your holiday is next..St. Patrick's Day! Maybe, you're a Notre Dame fan? We're on concrete. I do agree for asthetic reasons it's better to keep the wood all in the same direction. Why did the designer or builder of these homes in our area (So. Calif-1980's) ever think these one step sunken rooms were the way to go? Your idea is another creative one that is going on my list of options to consider. Dh does all the work and I get the hammer,saw horse, hold the tape measure,get the level, plug in the extension cord...etc. When you installed your flooring, did you glue down, float, nail or staple? Dh is still not fully decided between glue down or float. marybeth1 - Thank you for the link. I read through it and it confirms ideas about lighting, furniture & rug placement, possibly a railing or bookshelf install, and visual cues to warn people of the change in levels. Wall behind couch in LR Vier of LR from DR Beam on LR ceiling

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