Calistoga, I know I wont get a full coverage in only a year I just want it to look less like an empty lot and more like a recently planted semi-cared-for area. Empty spaces will get filled in (mulched!) with fallen leaves. If I start seeds now (I actually do have some creeping thyme and rosemary), IÂll have 4-5 months to grow them out in flats. Isn't that enough time? Or are you saying I should be planting outside from flats right NOW? That would be difficult, because the "soil" stays pickaxe hard until it starts raining regularly. Cagary, I briefly looked into hydro-seeding, but it would be quite expensive. A homeowner a few miles up my road did it last year and I didnÂt really like the effect it looked vaguely industrial/unnatural somehow. Besides, I love to garden, so that would take all my fun away! (And believe me, until we get to interior decorating, this will be the ONLY fun part of this project for me.) SusanC, indeed, when I realized how overwhelming the eucs were, I started to do research on eucalyptus understory. (The Australian National Botanic Gardens website is incredible!) I found a lot of promising plants, but most of the seeds were really hard to find, and I donÂt know how successful they would really be. If we were going to stay in this house for longer, IÂd be more willing to experiment, but at this point I think it's safer to go for plants IÂve seen growing well in the area. BTW, thanks so much for the referral to the Winter Sowing forum! I didnÂt even know it existed. IÂve been gardening my whole life, but grew up in NYC, so IÂve never had the seasons (or the space) to try winter sowing before. I'm inspired! Thanks to for taking the time to reply you guys; I really appreciate it!

It would be very helpful if you could give us a rough drawing of the house on the lot, where the lake and road are, which way is south, where there are other good views in addition to the lake, and which direction would have access to the walkout. Depending on your answers to this, it would seem to me that it might make more sense to have the kitchen, dining and great room where the master bedroom suite and laundry are. Also, what kind of climate will this be in? Your English is very good, but I'm not understanding your use of the word "visitable" in referring to the lot, bathroom, and master. Could you explain that in some other way? Anne

Are those two plans anywhere close to the same square footage?!? Option 2 looks so much larger to me that if, in reality, they are nearly the same size, then without a doubt I'd go for option 2. Option 2 advantages: . Overall more spacious feel. . Larger master bedroom with more windows and patio doors leading to covered porch. . Master bath arrangement seems much more "gracious" with the corner tub and walk-in shower than option 1 which seems sort of bland. In fact, you could probably even make the shower 12 to 18 inches wider (plenty big for 2 people) without crowding that corner bathtub. . Dining room open to great room allows for better flow if/when you have parties. . Side-load garage allows for a nicer looking front facade.(I just personally hate looking at garage doors when I approach a house!) . Larger covered back porch - looks big enough to actually use! . Lots more kitchen countertop and cabinetry space! That wall of cabinetry next to the garage may pretty much preclude the need for a separate pantry though you might still want a small closet nearby for brooms/mops and stuff like that. . Wall of built-in cabinetry in the dining room (next to the garage wall). Love it! Great place for storing and showing off china and crytalware plus the cabinetry will help to provide a sound barrier against noises from the garage. . Bay window breakfast nook with hutch nearby for everyday dishes. I'm just a sucker for bay windows in the breakfast area - they give it such a "homey feel" as opposed to the square box, dead-end feel of the breakfast area in option 1. . Stairway to basement tucked out of sight but convenient for family. Sorry but I can't imagine INVITING guests to the basement anyway - well, except maybe if they were DS's or DD's teenage friends over and then they'd be happier being able to slip down the stairs to the basement without having to walk right past Mom in the kitchen anyway. LOL . Bigger laundry room with more windows - Natural light helps overcome the dreariness inherent in doing laundry and besides, I GOTTA have lots of light when sorting dark blue from black socks! Disadvantages to option 2: . No door from garage to backyard area. Children playing in backyard would have to come/go via great room which puts them a fair distance from a bathroom. Possible solution - rearrage secondary bathroom to add an exterior door which would allow children to come from outdoors directly into their bathroom. . Secondary bathroom appears to have a shower only. I would consider getting rid of the little hallway linen closet so as to have room for a bathtub/shower in that bathroom. In resale, potential buyers with younger children (especially preschoolers) will want a tub in the children's bathroom. I'd probably turn the sink 90 degrees and put it on the wall against the front bedroom closet; get rid of the hall closet; move the toilet so that it is against the wall beside the door; put a bathtub/shower unit in beside the toilet (using up the space where the hall closet had been); put a linen cupboard at the end of the bathtub (against the exterior wall); and add an exterior door beside the linen cupboard. -BTW-what is that little area directly across from the hall closet in option 1? A bookcase? If so, I'd make it part of the great room and center the fireplace between the bookcases. . Closets in secondary bedrooms appear a little smaller than in option 1 - but I'm not sure that walk-in closet in the front bedroom of option 1 is really deep enough to consider it a walk into anyway. . No window over the kitchen sink. I'd consider rearranging the kitchen somewhat to create an L that sticks out b/w kitchen and breakfast nook, shorten the island by about a couple of feet and move it forward (toward the front of the house) a little bit so as to allow room to pass between the island and the leg of the L. Then I'd put my sink in the leg of the L so that, while washing dishes, I'd be facing the breakfast nook bank of windows. Also, that way, when at the sink, your back would not be towards the great room - where one assumes the family would likely be gathered - so it would be easier to converse with them without having to turn clear around. Differences between the plans that wouldn't matter to me: . Whether master bedroom is on the same side of the house as other two bedrooms. In option 1, the master bedroom is separated from the other two bedrooms by the master bath and has its entry separated as well. So, I don't think privacy would be a problem in option 1. . Whether the master bedroom is near the kitchen. In option 2, while the door to the master is near the kitchen, the bedroom itself is distant from the kitchen area and is separated from it by the master closet so I can't imagine early morning noise from the kitchen being problematic unless someone is really banging on those pots and pans! (My DF - the only earlybird in a family of night owls - used to do that on Saturday mornings when I was a kid! We always swore he clattered and clanged on purpose though to roust us all out of bed so it wouldn't have helped if our bedrooms were a block away!) So, option 2 would definitely be the winner in my mind UNLESS it really is more square footage and significantly more costly to build.

I would do everything possible to avoid breaking the kitchen counter for the pantry door and get the range away from the passageway. Perhaps the pantry could go where the mudroom half bath is and that bath could move elsewhere. The Library needs the additional space as well. I would also try to reduce the distance between the kitchen counters to 42"min and 48" max perhaps by using a wide rectangular island. The stair winders are drawn backward and are not allowed by any national building code. I assume the stairs are mislabeled. The door to the study should open into the study and perhaps relate better to the entry hall maybe even be a pair of doors. The garage doors appear small. The furniture seems undersized and the dining table is short and wide. You should measure your furniture.