camlan, good point about the huge MB and the tiny others. I know that we remodeled to add walk in closets, and now I keep all my clothes in there. I have an elfa drawer stack for undies and socks, and shelves for folded clothes that would have gone into drawers in another scenario. Yet I have an empty dresser and mirror in the room, since I need the surface for my jewelry box. And the room would look too empty without it. I do think that larger closets have changed what furniture is used for clothes storage. But I think bedrooms for adults have become more like student bedrooms with office/computer areas in them.

I think you may be over-thinking things. Pick a stain color you like in a store and ask to also see it in natural light. Then proceed from there. Make sure you bring a door sample when you shop for a counter. This isn't brain surgery and lights can make it look better or worse, but not by huge margins.

Hi Shannon, To get the desired look, for the look you are trying to achieve, I would recommend the following based on our twelve years as a Windsor distributor/installer: 1) Windsor Legend double-hung windows with exterior moulding factory applied. This will give you the set-back look you are desiring and still allows the Hardie planks to "dive in" to the side of the window trim. We completed numerous homes, that were a farmhouse architectural typology, in the South Carolina Low Country as well as Savannah, GA area with the Windsor Legend series . 2) Windsor Next Dimension classic series with nail fin and no brickmould attached. You will still need to have the window recessed so it is set back, then have PVC exterior trim applied so the Hardie plank "dives in" to the window trim. If you are using 2 x 4 exterior walls, the builder will have to fur-out the inside of the window wall so the drywall and interior window trim can be applied appropriately. Hope this helps! Patrick

My husband and I ran into a similar problem when we had our big addition/remodel. What my husband did was contacted both the bank and the appraisal company and showed them our building plans and asked that they base the appraisal on the prospective build out. The bank worked with us. The residential lending officers actually visited our home on three separate occasions to ensure that we were in fact upgrading the home to the level we proposed we would, understandably they needed to ensure their money was going where it should be. So about midway through the project they increased our construction loan by 25,000, and 3/4 into the project they gave us the final 40,000 they agreed to lend us. This was still about 25,000 shy of our desired amount. In addition to our discussion with the bank, we sat with the contractor and asked where we could cut some corners. He offered us the opportunity to do some “homework” throughout the project which included cleaning up the work site at the end of the day ourselves and preparing the area for the following day, drilling holes in the framing to save a ton of time that we would normally pay the electricians 125 per hour to do, and the biggest savings was painting the house ourselves. You may not have the time or desire to do this much hands on but I gotta day not only did we save enough to complete the project, but we came in under budget enough to furnish a few of the rooms. Best of Luck!