Congrats, Midnight. Growing a clivia to blooming size from seed is a great accomplishment. I hope you'll start a separate thread with pics once the blooms are open. Great plants! Socks, Disneyland and I have a lot in common, heh heh, and no, not because I'm "goofy"! I like a lot of the plants they use, and how they create such cheerful/jarring combinations. I just planted a bare root 'Disneyland' rose, which, while not jarring, is certainly perky like the many they have planted there. I've been gardening since I was five years old and have reached the point where I just plant what I enjoy and what makes me smile, so "tastemakers" be damned, lol. The brighter, taller, and stinkier, the more I like my orange marigolds. I actually struggle to find non-dumpy dwarf types. Usually I get them from Select Seeds or Seeds of Change...what about you? Take care, Grant

deanie I did the exact same thing and had similar experiences. You have to put yourself in their shoes - how can they possibly give you an exact number without knowing the specifications for the house and what your quality requirements are for the finishing materials? I used the square footage ball parks for rough budgetary planning. The contract price won't be known until you have a plan (so they can do a take off) and you have made selections on the finishing materials. The end cost won't be known until the house is finished. Note that many posters on the GW have had a large (10 to 20%) difference between the contract price and the finished cost. I would use the ballpark numbers to get an idea of the range of house you might possibly afford. If you can barely afford a certain square footage now at the planning stage - then beware - becuase the house will likely cost much more than your ball park estimate. The residential builders have volume on their side to keep costs down. They do have higher overhead, but don't assume that custom means lower cost. Custom building is at least the same cost (but usually higher) than large residential builders for the equivalent square footage. But a custom builder customizes the product to your requiremments and should provide much better quality (assuming you pick a good builder). Residential is a production line, with a limited set of menu options,and quality that can range from crap to decent. The ball parks you have sound reasonable for Tenn. Just add 20% to the highest number you have received and that should be good enough to determine if what you want to build is possibly achievable. If you can't make the the budget close with this - then you might either pick a smaller house plan or think about trades on materials (like siding vs brick/stone). Also - keep in mind that there may be more costs that are not included with the builder square footage numbers. They may be quoting you costs for the structure only. Ask them if the ballpark figures include everything including site development (lot clearing, septic, driveways, etc). I found that most of the builders quoted me square footage numbers that did not include these items - and they can be significant depending on your lot and utility situation.

I like MamaGoose's plan! Moving the clean up sink down to the other end, really frees up your serving area. I would add a prep sink...and maybe an under counter fridge and ice maker. This should keep the drinks and guests out of your main work area. And maybe add some chips and snack on the other side, below the counter...to keep people out of your pantry/walking through your work area : ) As for the large foyer...I like it! But maybe add French doors between the foyer and entry hall. They could be frosted (with a design?) or add sheers, so you can shut them if someone comes to the door and you don't want them to see straight through your house. This is a nice feature if you have anyone showing that you don't know or you're home alone. I want to include something like that in our farmhouse if/when we remodel, so people can't see past the entry. But we do live out in the country...and have some "interesting" people showing up to ask about hunting or selling oranges, etc. LOL

I remember you ikat. I started in late 98 or early 99. I think I added a couple of letters to my online name but that's about it. Yes I was always living in fear of Spike and those teacups. Someone kindly paid for my membership. I thank them profusely as I was ready to throw in the towel at that time. I always feel that my contributions are very small and that I cannot equal the smarts here. I continue to come back because regardless of how I feel which is of my own doing I belong here if I think I belong here. At least that's what I convince myself of every time I want to turn tail and run. I don't do much better in real life so what the heck :-). Welcome back :-).