Our family loves Maui. We have been to Hawaii a few times and will go back there again this year. We like to go in August. The weather is beautiful and the prices are lower at that time of year. We stayed on Oahu for a few days the first time so that we could visit Pearl Harbor (an awesome experience) and visit the Polynesian Cultural Center. The Center was interesting and told the history of Hawaii. We went to a Luau there and suggest that you not waste your money on that particular banquet. We then ventured on to Maui and found that we loved it there. The last time we went, we were on Oahu long enough to switch planes to go to Maui. We stayed at the Palms at Wailea on Maui. This condo was not on the water but the beach was about a 5 minute walk away. The condo cost us $1000 for a week for 6 of us. It had two bedrooms and the living room couches came out into beds. The kitchen was very modern and stocked with utensils, pans, etc. We bought groceries at the local groc store. There was a washer and dryer in the condo also. Everything was very clean. (I am a neat freak so this was a big plus) On Maui go see the moon rock scape or whatever they call it. It is lava a they claim it looks like the surface of the moon. It is kinda neat but eerie. You can watch the sunrise from the crater at the top of the island. Very nice. Of course you must take surfing lessons and go snorkeling. We flew to the Big Island to see the active volcanoes. That too is awesome. Lahaina has a luau that is wonderful and a must for a visit to Hawaii. We love it there and will be going again this August.. If you would like any more info please let me 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.

We have 3 under 5. We have a decent (but not luxury) leather sofa with leather ottomans in lieu of a coffee table in our living room. It is where we hang out and kids occasionally play in there but no food allowed. Adults are allowed to have wine in there. :-) The sofa has held up well. In our Tv room we have 2 IKEA couches with matching ottoman and one has a chaise. The cushions all come off and clean well using an at home dry cleaning kit (Dryel). This is where our kids watch Tv, build forts, practice gymnastics when we're not looking and they have held up well. Cleanable cushion covers is awesome!

While I'm not a fan of WIC in the bathroom, I realize many people like them. That's a personal decision. However like was explained many of the things in this house don't work because they are just not good design. Here's the changes I made to the first floor to give you better flow and to put the things needed where they will work the best. 1. Since you don't use a bath, get rid of it! If you want a bath on the first floor, put it in bedroom 2. 2. Your master closet is actually now larger. However I was able to pull in the wall so it now matches the wall of the dining room. 3. Now you have a straight shot from the master suite to the bathroom to the closet. And then as an added bonus if you don't want to wake your spouse in the morning, you can now leave through the laundry closet! 4. Instead of the powder room by the master suite, I moved your laundry room there. Think of how easy it will now be to do your laundry. 5. I pulled the closet across to meet the study. Even though it makes the house a bit larger, it will actually save money because you won't have the extra bump outs. 6. Your study is the same size but by moving it down, you now have an actual hallway that creates a "spine" for the house, so you're not making a jog through your great room to get to the master suite. 7. By moving the powder room to where the laundry was, it freed up space so you now have a good sized entry from the mudroom door and the garage. No more trying to shove one another out of the way. Plus there's now more room to store all those kids things. 8. The powder room is now near the side where the kids will enter and it's convenient still to guests. 9. I moved around your layout for your kitchen too. It didn't work. Lots of space but not well used. I moved your cleanup sink to under the window with the dishwasher next to it. Lots of storage space in drawers now to the left. I moved your fridge so it's now in the work "triangle". So now you take food out of the fridge, move it to the prep sink on the island to wash, then prep to the left of the prep sink, and then carry it to the cooktop to cook. 10. In the master bath, if you're planning on a glass shower enclosure, I would probably flip the toilet closet and the shower so the toilet isn't against the master bedroom wall.