Gibby: The only application I might give pause to recommending a Solatube is where the dome is visible at the front elevation of the house. Our Solatubes can be seen along the sides, but with the angle of our hipped roof lines, you cannot see any vent stacks or either Solatube when you stand directly in front of the house. Now as you walk around the house, you see them (of course). We have a brown roof and they really have a low profile so they don't jump out at you. And since most bathrooms are towards the rear of the house, this shouldn't be a problem, but thought I'd mention it. I believe that the Solatube brand can only be installed by dealers or contractors, but that might be the case in Texas. Home Depot also sells a comparable product, but I don't know about the quality. We bought the 10" diameter tube with a plain opaque lens, and it gives off plenty of light. Any bigger and we'd have to wear sunglasses in our bathrooms! Here is a link that might be useful: Solatube

Thanks so much! This really helps loosen up my thinking. The door-to-master idea came from my contractor, and it's not something I'm particularly attached to. Omitting it would leave better wall space in the master, too, which would allow for a little sofa nook. So.... The common thread in the ideas above is to put the toilet in the upper right corner. I like the arrangement, but was worried about having a toilet right by a window. The toilet would be on a wall that's only 12" back from the edge of the window; the bottom edge of the glass on that window is only 30" off the floor. The glass is obscured, and I wouldn't have any problem with this personally, but do you think future owners/buyers would be having a "what were they thinking?" moment? (I'm not overly concerned with resale, but I don't expect to ever re-do this bathroom again, so I don't want to completely ignore resale.) weedyacres: I've got 40" in front of the shower for door-swing, but I do like the idea of French doors. I was thinking a fixed/sealed panel of glass would help contain the water better. Do you feel like your shower is more prone to water escaping when you have 2 swinging doors? annie: love your whole room, and the vanity arrangement is great. I can see how that would work really well in my space, so thanks a bunch for taking the time to post pictures. I was going to change our hallway door to swing out or be a pocket door in order to avoid the challenge you describe of the door hitting the person at the vanity. But maybe with a buffer zone I wouldn't have to. livewire: on moving the shower - that is where I had it originally, so I'm partial to that idea. Just wondering, how deep does a linen closet need to be? If I do a fairly shallow one (about 12" deep), I can preserve an extra foot of space in the adjacent bedroom, which would be lovely.

I seem to have a sixth sense about marble questions on this forum .... We've honed Calacatta as our perimeter countertops and backsplash -- that's how confident I was with them. We've had them nearly a year and they've been used literally every single day since then: the one holiday was just me taking our children -- my husband stayed homed and deep-fried his favorite (and one I find disgusting) dish. For whatever reason he absolutely refuses to clean up after himself, rather, he refuses to wipe down the counters / backsplash, which meant the grease splatters sat for days until I came home to wipe them up. Grr, but no stains! Seriously, not a single stain. As I learned from the marble gurus here who came before me (mnhockeymom and momto4kids) I sealed with Miracle 511 and so far, knock marble, so good! The only issue I've had was when a rusty strand of steel wool was caught in a sponge and I used it to wipe -- the countertop sucked that rust right up and looked as if I'd used really bad self-tanner. I used Iron Out and literally as I applied it the stain was removed. I resealed immediately after: the whole process, from stain to running out to purchase the Iron Out, coming home to use it, reseal, was maybe forty-five minutes. A splotch of tomato sauce sat overnight on the countertop next to the cooktop; after I scraped it up the next day there was a v. faint stain. I wasn't in the mood to use the poultice right then and knew I'd get to it later, like nap time. (as if) But when I did come back to it the spot was gone, all on its own. I'm sure we must have etch marks but for the life of me, bending this way and that in various lights I cannot see them, and I'm really looking. I think our marble, in particular the (slab) backsplash, is really the visual highlight of our kitchen (and our kitchen is a lovely thing). (oh, and I think a slab backsplash is heaven! such a breeze to clean one solid surface -- no grout lines) However, I still have reservations about it but only because it was so hideously expensive: it was more than twice what the fabricator and I had budgeted for marble countertop. Gulp. Others above are right: if you can live with it (and I couldn't), the Carrara is extremely affordable! I wish I weren't so particular that I had to have the no-gold / big grey swirls (as opposed to the road map Carrara), but for me, rather than settle I'd have had plywood if I couldn't have what I wanted. It would have really ticked me of to spend $X and get something (the Carrara) which reminded me on a daily basis I didn't see my vision through. But that's me and that was my priority. So instead I have a beautiful countertop / backsplash which reminds me on a daily basis that I spent way too much! Can't win. The marble was the last thing I found for our kitchen, and I found it as the cabinets were being installed. (My patient then-one year-old visited every stone yard with me for months, searching and searching for that marble needle in the slab hay stack.) If I knew then what I know now (I know, a stupid and dangerous thought to entertain), I would've done a much less expensive cabinet but still splurged on the marble. (I think our cabs were expensive, but maybe that's just my budget.) Someone else (whose id I've forgotten) wrote in a different post not too long ago that for many kitchens it is not the cabinets which are the star: it's the countertop / backsplash, sometimes hardware and sometimes showy appliances, but rarely the cabinets themselves. I think they're right, or at least when I think of my kitchen I think they're right. My cabinet door / drawer style is lovely -- the cabinetmaker and I spent a lot of time designing it together. But to be redundant, if I had to do it again I would've done a less expensive cabinet (like IKEA with custom doors) but still splurged on the marble. So that's my sole regret about the Calacatta, and it's a bit half-assed. I've a nearly three year-old and a four year-old: I am basically a short-order cook. I spend what feels like all day every day in the kitchen, using it. My husband loves to cook and cooks elaborately, and he does that frequently. (and frequently doesn't clean up ...) Our kitchen is used and the marble is the only material in our kitchen which is not the worse for wear. The only one. (The butcherblock, which we use as a butcherblock, not a decorative countertop, shows its wear; the painted cabinets show both dirt and some wear; the stainless sink is scratched [but I kinda like it!] and our lower wall oven is covered with my youngest's hand / face prints. I still wouldn't change a thing, however!) It's also been my experience the marble requires the least maintenance; the butcherblock I "butter" every month and the cabinets I (should) wipe every week, but the marble only requires sealing every six months or so and the occasional spot-check (like my rust). I just wanted to be completely honest about my experience, loves and regrets with our marble. Good luck!

Re: cooktop on the island: I know you are starting to move away from this concept, but I want to emphasize how important I think it is NOT to have the cooktop on the island. This is from my experience, and I know everyone is different, but there is no way I would have the cooktop on the island simply from a safety standpoint. When my kids were younger, they sat at the island to do homework. They would have never felt comfortable sitting there if I was cooking. My mother had her cooktop on the island for 37 years, and she loved it, but the island was essentially a gigantic cooktop. She didn't do her prep there, and no one sat at the island while she cooked. Think of the times you are cooking and your oil spits. All it takes is one time...and your kids will never sit at the island again. And I wouldn't want them sitting there. Do you want your precious sweeties injured? No. Re: prep sink in the island even though you are not far from you main sink. My cutting board is in the island, and even though it is a mere 3-4 ft. from the garbage disposal, I remember the first time I used it thinking,"How do I get this crap over to the sink without making a mess on the floor?" Our house is 27 years old, and prep sinks weren't the thing in our area at the time it was built. There are times when I wish I had it, but if I would redo the kitchen, I wouldn't put one in, and here's why: our island is the perfect party magnet. Guests and family just love to hang out at the island when someone is cooking or just to socialize. When we have a large party, we use the island as a buffet table. I think I would just view the prep sink as being in the way in a situation like that. But that's me. Because we don't have a prep sink, the floor between the island and the sink can get dirtier than the rest of the kitchen. I joke that it's amazing how dirty the kitchen can get when you use it! But isn't that what kitchens are for? My mother washed her kitchen floor almost daily. But she made everything from scratch, plus she canned and froze her own vegetables and fruit. So if I have to wash that section of the floor more frequently than the rest, so be it. Another thing I would consider is the clean-up triangle. One plan had the clean-up area include the sink, DW, and table. But the refrigerator is a huge part of clean-up. There's a lot of 'stuff" you have to put away. Also think about your landing area for putting leftovers into containers. We use our, yes, you guessed it, island for this. We keep out containers in a cabinet in the island. I'm glad you are keeping an open mind about your plan. There are so many good ideas here. No kitchen plan is perfect. You're doing the right think by being more aware of your habits this week, so you can determine what your needs are. Oh, and one more thing. There are many things in our gorgeous, upscale kitchen, that are wrong, mostly due to placement. But after living her for 22 years, we have gotten so accustomed to it, that we would never spend the money to "make it right". Now that we are retired, we would rather use that money for travel. Just food for thought, no pun intended.