If you have lots of worms in your soil, it sounds like you already have some pretty good soil. Guess that doesn't help a whole lot if you need more to fill raised beds, though! Whenever you're putting a different soil on top of an already existing layer it's a really good idea to mix the two soils together fairly well where they meet. So I'd recommend putting 6-8" of the new soil where it's gonna go, then till or dig the new stuff into the old stuff, and then add the rest of the new on top of the mixed layer. That should prevent any sort of problems with water transfer between the new and the old. If your current soil really does have lots of organic matter and worms, it's possible you wouldn't even need to do that, but better safe than sorry! No fear on getting paranoid! Just check out the answers you get here and then pick the one or ones you like the best for yourself. The best way to garden is YOUR way! And the only way to figure that out is trial and error, which we all do---over and over and over....... ;-) Skybird P.S. If you get a chance, head on over to the Who's Here in 2014 thread and introduce yourself a little more. P.P.S. If you do get around to heading over to Timberline, you might want to take a zipper baggie of your current soil with you to see if you can get a general opinion on its quality.

Apologies...I guess I left out a few important details. My husband to be and I are looking for a piece of land between 5 and 10 acres to build on. One can't pick a plan and then just plop the house on the land. The land will partly dictate the needs of the house. For example, if the land is hilly, or the direction of the sun, etc. You're putting the cart before the house. Find the land FIRST. Preferably rolling pasture/partial wooded. We live in north Georgia. Down south we generally live by the motto “back door guests are best” and rarely use a front formal entrance. My house is designed so most everyone enters the "friends entry" which is the area from the driveway. In fact, my front entry still has no good way to get to the front door yet. However, that doesn't mean I don't have a front, more "formal" entry. I've even seen houses designed where the mudroom entry feeds into the more formal entry. Therefore a mud room/side entry off of the garage is mandatory. It appeared to have a good sized “locker” area off the garage hallway so that would be favorable for shoes and coats. I would definitely add a door on the garage side for easy entry. A well designed house would have this anyway. I liked the large pantry close to the garage as it would be an easy unload from grocery shopping. We tend to enter through this area down south anyway so that seems natural. Any well thought out plan would put the garage near the kitchen and pantry. It's just good design. We didn’t want a huge sq ft plan since our vision is to really focus on the back area for entertainment and add a pool, separate pool/game house, outdoor kitchen, fireplace, barn etc. Wouldn't you want then to have a house that would really open up to backyard entertaining? Not just with a single door but with either french doors or a large slider? Wouldn't you want a main living space that allowed for lots and lots of natural light from more than one wall of windows? As far as kids, we will have one off to college soon and the middle schooler is mainly just every other weekend or when not with Mom. So then the question becomes, why do you need 4 bedrooms? I liked the ranch style with 2 story appearance with additional bedrooms on the main floor for guests or if my parents need to eventually move in with us. So what you're saying is that if your parents eventually move in with you, they'd have to share their bathroom with the kids? And which of the three small bedrooms would your parents wind up with? Or would you give them the master and you take one of the 12' x 12' bedrooms? The dining room would be sufficient I think with the gracious size of the eating bar on the Island. How do you figure that? Are you saying your guests will eat at the island bar? How many guests do you entertain at a time? If it's more than 6 people, that dining room is too small. I love the master suite layout (envisioning barn doors into bathroom) Barn doors take up valuable wall space and don't shut out noise and light from the bathroom. Where do you envision putting the bed? If it's between the two windows, that means the person on the right has to walk fully around the bed in the middle of the night to get to the bathroom. If you're putting the bed on the wall to the right, that means when you walk into the room, the first thing you see is the side of the bed. and nice open layout of kitchen/great room. Too bad that every time you come in from the garage or go to/from the master, you're walking through one of the kitchen work zones. Thanks for any input and if there’s something that’s horribly wrong with this plan for the items I mentioned, please give alternative plans to view. Sorry but the best way to get exactly what you need is not to pick a generic plan off the internet, but to work with a person of design talent to create a house that works for you and your family. Get a house that works for you instead of you having to work around the flaws of the house.

Cute-as-a-bug dollhouse that doesn't need to be overhauled. Removal of shutters and hedges will be a major improvement. You might increase the depth of the portico for more shelter and a bit more impact at the entry. The bracket idea can be nice and will draw attention away from the "monotonous roof line." Lantern lights should be 1/4 to 1/3 of the door's height, if you don't switch to a hanging fixture. Put a favorite color on the door, hire a landscape architect to install pretty plantings that have interest year round and you're done.

You have a classic house. In general, you need a really talented architect to turn classic into "intercultural" and "unique"; you're unlikely to get that from Houzz. None of us know what you mean by "intercultural." How a bunch of strangers is going to personalize your home to your uniqueness is a mystery to me. Here's what I'd do: Work on the landscaping, it's an easy place for an upgrade. Maybe add some foo dogs to your porch step Talk to your spouse about what elements of their heritage they want reflected in their house, if any Paint the white trim around the door cream. Learn to love the house you bought. Otherwise, hire an architect and budget some big bucks. Here's what I wouldn't do: Add a "somewhat modern" awning to the porch of a very traditional house Waste money changing a roof, unless it's in bad shape Waste money changing siding, unless it's failing