i talked with the builder. we've got 16,000 off. he doesn't see how we can get another 14 off. we have to have a 2 car garage - required by the neighborhood. i personally prefer carports because they are easier to keep clean and you don't have to fool with a door, but the rules are the rules :( jennybc, that's a good idea about the surround sound. it is something that i'd really like to have in the future for music outside while entertaining. i asked about the ceilings and he said that they would end up having to build a separate knee wall or something (not sure i'm quoting him correctly) and that lumber comes in 12 feet anyway, so that it wouldn't be much of a savings. he didn't want to go down to 8 upstairs. we do have bunk beds, so I didn't fight him on that. all in all i think he wasn't comfortable with 10 downstairs because the standard in the neighborhood is 11. should i push him on this? what kind of savings are we talking about if i did 10 everywhere downstairs except the den. 3,000? 5,000? i think he's stuck on 11ft because he likes nice things - earlier in the process, he was trying to encourage me to use a big professional range when i'm just fine with a 32' KitchenAid architect series. a couple of months ago he was voted builder of the year from the local parade of homes, so he wants to keep his work impressive, i guess. i need to look at the plans to see about moving the garage. it might not be possible on our narrow lot. it's like a rubik's cube trying to fit everything. i know what i wanted to ask, and i forgot - air conditioning. in the house we live in now (built in 2006), we have only one AC little air vent thing in each room except for the den,kitchen, and master bedroom. those rooms each have 2 vents. i noticed on our plans for the new house that there are 2 vents in every room. even the super tiny kid's rooms. should we switch to one vent in those 3 rooms as well as the small formal dining room and small guest/study room? would that save money by eliminating the big octopus arms in the attic? these are the cabinets i have in my house now, and this is what i want in the new house, except with straight edge trim on top.

Yes, Penney's installed them and it's included in the price. There was only a choice of real wood or composite. Then you could pick your color (they had many colors including stained) You also pick your louver size. They are made my Norman Shutters. Scroll through their website and there are some beautiful pictures. I wonder if different Penney's use different brands???? I only did the front of my house but that included french doors and that sometimes raises the price a bit. So with my 40% off sale, my total for 14 windows and 2 french doors was $6100 and then I got another 10% off for doing the whole house with them. (wood blinds on the back) So that brought it down to $5490 The French doors have a cutout for the lever that I think looks pretty cool. Here is a link that might be useful: Norman Shutters

We have a Gambrel Colonial (similar to Dutch but more often found here in New England.) Our living room dimensions are similar to yours. What I have done is to cluster a sitting area around the fireplace. At one end of the room is a piano, and the other end has a drop leaf desk. Yes to the beams! We have them in our home in both the family room and in the living room. I can see some nicely boxed in beams to match the wood in your living room. Have fun decorating! I agree with getting rid of that wallpaper and there's just too much "stuff". Will you be painting any of the woodwork white? If so, consider white beams if you add them.

We have them for the first time in this house and I will never be without them again if I can help it. I was previously Mrs. Cheapskate when it came to windows, and had faux wood blinds and even metal blinds. Decided to "go for it" here. What a total difference!! They add architectural value to the house. We have the full length ones and honestly I would recommend that over split ones. Also the large louvres let in more light than small ones. What happened in our breakfast room is amazing. We didn't get the shutters put in as we were going to have the tile ripped up and hardwood extended. Long story but this project dragged out over time so that the shutter guy finally said we had to take delivery on our shutters, so we had them installed even though we weren't ready. The contrast between that room with and without the shutters was so stark I can't describe it. It was as though the room had gone from ho-hum to a designer room with the installation of four shutters. It looked so good with them and the tile as it was, that we decided to leave the tile. Previously I hadn't liked the moss green wall color (which went with the weathered tiles) but once the shutters went it, as I said, it looked great. Can't recommend shutters enough!