LL - what a fun 70's plan! Love that utility room... yours was better with the sunroom off of it though. I have to weigh all the great ideas with square footage limitations, although I have "plan fatigue" at this point... and its only been 2 weeks! I will discuss the bathroom issues with my hubby... there are only so many things I can accommodate for handicap access before he goes crazy, if you know what I mean. But that bathroom needs those bars and a decent turnaround at the very least, because having her around is just such a wonderful treat for us. Mrs Pete: I know, I know... I do have a basic lesson plan saved online, but most of the nitty gritty stuff will change from week to week, and the extra stuff that we do I want to add in as we go... and its just easier to keep the paper copy out and make notes. My situation is a little different, since we are at home ( and under more scrutiny), so I want to be ready at a moments notice to show the work and the plans. Every state and college seems to have their own requirements and I want to try and meet as many of those as I can. And the student work, which is more important, is not readily "computerized." Although I do want to invest in those paper scanners and slowly start doing that. In case of fire: those files are the first "things" I would grab, even before photos! I have 17 binders of student work so far (that's just the stuff I keep), and 14 for lesson plans (broken down by subject)... so that's alot of scanning! I'm also thinking that real schools invest in decent white boards... all mine were terrible. Next time I won't chintz out on that. ;)

It took me forever to decide on the lights over my island. I originally bought some bell shaped pendants but decided they were too generic looking and I didn't want to deal with the bugs and dust inside. I have low ceilings so I finally decided on some semi-flush mounted fixtures from Restoration Hardware. They're 9 inches in diameter and there will be 3 of them over my 12 foot long island. Still need to find something for over my kitchen sink ... >.

kd: I am pretty positive that is a Chicago Faucet, because I have the same one in a wall mount version, and no one else (that I've seen) makes that double hinged spout. It also has the spoke style handles, instead of the lever handles. They have discontinued most of that vintage looking line (why, why, why?), but if you are interested, you can contact chicagofaucetshoppe.com and probably have them build it up for you. That line, in chrome, was not very expensive (few hundred bucks, depending on how fancy you get with the handles). They have great customer service. I couldn't find the faucet on their website, but they probably still have all the parts/pieces to make it. If you go that route, and you need a photo, I can send it to you. :-) francy

Have you considered putting your washer and dryer in the basement or is that not practical at your location? For privacy alone, I prefer the plan from Pill-Maharam Architects that someone else suggested better than your original; however if having three bedrooms and one bath all on one end of your home is essential because of a limit of one bath on that main upper level, at least reconsider your floor plan with regard to your entrances. If you will be accessing the basement from the main upstairs level via an interior stairwell anyway, consider putting that stairwell in a pair of enclosed entrance rooms, both on the breezeway side of the home but with one both upstairs and the other downstairs. Have the downstairs entry as your basement mud boot stomp room and use your breezeway as your mud stomp room upstairs. You could have your washer and dryer within in a closet beside another closet for dirty clothes hampers with shelving above for laundry and cleaning supplies either in the basement entry or the upstairs entry. From the downstairs entrance -- in addition to the closets beneath the stairwell for the washer and dryer and dirty clothes and cleaning supplies -- you could have two doors: one door leading to the upstairs entrance and the other door leading to a downstairs efficiency apartment to make your home a true multi -generational home. If you add a door in the dining area adjacent to the kitchen in the upper/main level to serve as your main level your "back" door, you could create a single entrance in the coldest front corner with two exterior doors: one to serve as both your front entrance and another to access the breezeway. You might consider placing the door to the master bedroom in a wall separating it from the dining room rather than entering the master bedroom from the hallway leading to the other two bedrooms and the one main/upstairs floor bath. If that one main upstairs floor bath is at the end of the hall with the two children's bedrooms on the other side of the house, you might could have two doors entering the bath -- one from the hall and one directly from the master bedroom. Make the front of the roof of your breezeway even with the front of your home and make it wide enough to enable you to have the option of enclosing it later to become a screened porch or even a "sun porch" -- a room that could double as an upper story main boot stomp room. If you tile your entry rooms and have each of them one step below the floor of the rest of that level of your home and include a covered drain in the floor and you could, literally, hose out any mud brought in. Remember that in the northern hemisphere, you'll usually want to put the rooms you want to have the most sun facing the south. Good luck on your new home. Let us know how it turns out.