LMRinc, For the first several years a baby / infant / toddler isn't going to majorly impact your fridge space. Whether you make or buy baby food - it's going to be small containers that you are cycling through constantly. If you are expressing, you likely will be freezing milk in small (I would say cabinet /pantry space is the first to be impacted. First with the bottles (which you will need even if you are breastfeeding), then with the small lidded snack containers and tiny kid plates. Also most young couples do not bulk buy goldfish and cheerios. The first major impact to your fridge will be an increased volume / throughput in fruit and dairy. This is particularly true when your toddler is in the full fat dairy stage but the adults consume low/no fat dairy. My children are 11 and 9 and *I* continue to be the reason my refrigerator is crazy. I also like to keep my baking supplies in fridge & freezer so that impacts my usable space. Particularly, I am a condiment nut and I cook a lot of asian / indian so I go beyond just the fancy mustard. What I did have to make room for was the "regular" condiments and food -- ketchup, yellow mustard, dill pickle slices, string cheese and, I hate to admit it, american cheese. My freezer space has been impacted at my children have grown. Their palate's have actually de-evolved as they have gotten older so I do keep a stock of "kid friendly" frozen food. Hope this helps! .

Looking at it from an objective view, I would probably have your 3-yr old and newborn share a room. I think you're right...it's not really fair to hold a whole room for someone that's only there a couple days a month. However, it seems that a 3-yr old and a 9-yr old are in much different places developmentally. A 3-yr old really doesn't care if they have their own room and whatever you do is probably going to be fine with them. I don't think that's so much the case with the 9-yr old. I was kind of in the same situation a couple years ago. My second son was born when my oldest was 2-yrs old. At that time he was sleeping in our small bedroom and the medium sized one was for my husband's two daughters when they came during the summer and at Christmas. I had the same conflict that it wasn't really fair to hold a whole room for people who are only in our home a couple weeks a year. But eventually decided on having my kids share for a couple reasons: 1) my son was only 2 yrs, while my husband's daughters were older. It mattered more to them to have some privacy (especially since this wasn't their home) than it did to my son, 2) and I thought they would actually like being together rather than being alone in their room, and 3) I didn't really think that my newborn would really need his own room, as he would probably be wherever I was. I did switch their rooms though, so my kids had the one that was a bit bigger. Only one daughter was coming at the time and it seemed to make more sense since she was only one person. I can see a few reasons why it would make sense to make sure they have their own room - such as if your oldest child is a poor sleeper and if having a baby in the room would cause her to wake more often during the night or not be able to nap. But if it's just the 'not-fair' issue, I'd personally let it go, as I just can't imagine that it would even enter into your young kid's minds that they're being treated unfairly. Then it just really becomes an issue of making sure your kids are being treated equally, and not really about what's best for your family (although I'm not saying that putting them in separate rooms is not what's best for your family). Just my opinion.

I am reading through a LOT of posts quickly, so hope I'm not stepping on toes...But I don't understand how this became about the island. I understand your frustration with the rabbit trail a bit, Breezy, as even though it's all well-intended, we all know that one change begets many more, and cabinets are already built and going in. It's not really an option, at least, mental health wise, to undo decisions that don't need to be, and weren't worrying you any more. If the chosen fridge won't fit in the hole, it seems the hole must change, or the fridge. If the hole can't change, it leaves the fridge. Believe me, I know what it's like to re-research and choose appliances you thought you'd decided on, but there are lots of choices out there. I like Bmore's suggestion of adding a smaller unit to the island if need be...Or maybe somewhere else. But I know that also starts the chain of changes after you've worked so hard on the storage layout. Mostly, glad to see Bmore back! :-) To the exact point of the OP...It seems the feedback you're getting about Monogram fridges is pretty positive and no reason I see to dismiss those options, even after my own frustration with Monogram. Sounds like they do better with fridges than ovens... Try not to let all of this get to you. The other issues listed in your life come out far ahead on the priority list, as you know, and this is a little blip. It piles on, but breathe and take a break, as necessary, as others have advised. It's a great blessing to have a new kitchen and to have choices. Not a lecture, but hoping you can hang in there. LOL, Kellie. We are all looking forward to seeing your kitchen, Breezy...as you know. :-)

I've seen that house -- and its similar first cousins. It looks like a simple, economical house. It's not a luxurious place, but it should function well. My thoughts: I agree that I'd lose one bath. In an 1800 sf house, two bathrooms are enough. I'd scootch things around a bit in the girls' bedroom wing like this: Two equal bedrooms ... a simple hall bath convenient to the bedrooms, but also accessible to guests ... and a long shared closet (be sure it's wide enough to support hanging clothes on one side, shelves on the other side -- the girls'd love their secret tunnel connection, and it'd be convenient for you to save hand-me-downs for the youngest in a shared closet). Be sure to insulate the wall between the great room and the front bedroom; otherwise, that child will be able to hear the TV after bedtime. I have had a greatroom with this very same layout. We always kept our sofa parallel to the fireplace, so it sort of formed an entry and worked well. If space by the front door allows, I'd do a full wall of bookshelves on the wall to the left of the front door -- it'd look great and would provide so much storage. With five acres, I would not worry about privacy or breastfeeding in the living room. The UPS man and Girl Scout troops don't come by houses on acreage all that often. Definitely go with a door that includes some glass -- it'll get you some light in what could become a dark corner. Your eating area is not spacious, and it's bisected by the only door to the back yard. I'd definitely go with a built-in banquette to save space. I'd investigate the possibility of a sliding glass door, which wouldn't require an inswing. I don't particularly like that you must walk through the screened porch, then turn to reach the back yard. I'd lean towards making the whole thing one big covered porch ... and forget the screen. This, of course, is highly dependent upon your landscape. Your laundry room is pretty generous. I think I'd move the garage door so that you'd funnel family traffic through that room. Bring the coat closet into this room so that it becomes a laundry /mudroom ... and that'll keep your "coming home mess" in that space instead of in the hallway. Bonus: This would eliminate the problem of the basement door and the garage door hitting one another. Bonus #2: With the garage door out of the hallway, you could move the basement door/stairs farther right, meaning your steps could be less steep -- not that I know they're too steep now, but it's a common issue. The garage is okay, but it'd be nicer with just a few more feet of width -- 20x24 would be great without making the garage look "too forward" -- and it wouldn't affect the overall roof. I don't have much love for the master suite. The bedroom is interrupted by three doors, all far apart, which will limit furniture placement. The closets are too narrow to allow clothing on both sides, and the overly-complicated bathroom doesn't look like it'll function well at all. I'd say simplify the master bath. Something like this: Completely different thought: If you could flip the bathroom and bedroom, you'd have windows on two sides of your bedroom.