I agree on having our kids appreciate what they have. They really don't know how good we've had it! We have 1 incredibly small bathroom we are sharing (that right there has been a growing experience for me - not loving that nor the lack of water pressure - ack). It's an old home - as in no outlets or switches in one of the bedrooms upstairs. They were sharing a room but they've already rearranged. The room without any outlets also doesn't have a heat vent so I don't see my oldest staying in there come winter - but it is also the largest of the 2 rooms. :) We also have no dishwasher and no a/c. Those are basically the comforts that we had that we are now getting used to being without. I keep reminding myself that there is no perfect home and surely there will be things after living with it that we might think are too large, too small or a little off one way or another. Our pantry is pretty sizable - fits our chest freezer which I'm excited about but the doorway is off the kitchen, not IN the kitchen proper. That bugged me for a while but I think it's going to be okay. I was off a bit on my $250k number - dh informed me that it's more like $280k. :( Besides the roofing the other number that came in considerably higher than we thought was lumber. It recently took a jump so that was a bit disappointing. We are hoping to get all of our quotes by the end of the month so we can lock in our I/R before it also takes another jump. We will be doing all priming, painting, laying wood floor, tile, setting cabinets, some trim work, putting stone on fireplace (we have done that before and it's actually a very rewarding project but took way longer than we thought), hardware on doors and cabinets, lighting, ceiling fans. We too will be doing some of those very things you mentioned after the fact. Definitely closets and even the small office we have will be done after we are in. With work schedules and keeping timing on track it may come down to having to hire things out that we originally planned on DIY. We are not moving communities or school districts and are paying rent so time is money to a certain degree. For now though that is what we hope to do in sweat equity. I think you are wise to start working through house plans now. There are certainly many details to ponder. We were hoping to be about 2000 sq feet total for the main and upstairs but ended up at 2400. We don't feel the rooms are excessively large or that we have rarely used rooms so we went ahead with it. I had a few things that I really wanted configured a certain way and made sure they were laid out accordingly. After those boxes were checked I really didn't feel so picky about the rest. Hopefully they will live how I feel they will in my mind! :)

Weedyacres: selling a home isn't a problem, I'm looking to maximize value. Adell: this is in an especially hot market...I know those come and go, but this area of the country remained neutral during the crisis and took off like a rocket since then. In any case the remodeling we've done has been for ourselves, just so happened that we needed to move for career reasons. Kirkhall: last sold in 2012/bought in 2012...I haven't yet found a problem with appraisals on either side...we were also warned by a realtor who wanted to price our house 50K under that it would never appraise for what we wanted to sell...that realtor was wrong. We have sold/bought 4 homes..,its funny how the appraisal always comes out right at sale price..it looks to me as if appraisers are still playing with the banks around here. In anycase, the offers I've seen come in have been pretty strong with well qualified buyers bring a lot of equity, so even a bad appraisal wouldn't necessarily be a deal killer Luann...what you're saying is you agree with me that taste makes a difference (if yours differs from mine then your less likely to purchase home, no?). In anycase, people love our homes and the feedback we get both in sales and otherwise is pretty positive - better than the comps, which is my point.

Are the other windows on the building arch-headed or more rectangular like your new ones will be? Are the sash and muntins on the other windows in the house similarly thick as the arch-headed window you want to replace? The proposed new windows have much more delicate look (Shingle style) about them. They might look odd with other windows built with thicker sash and separations like the arch-headed window. Will you be lowering the sill height on all the indows in the room ( i.e. below the dado)? How does that look with other windows on the sides of the house? Don't forget to consider how the fenestration pattern looks from outside the building. We're in a period of (unfortunate, IMO) of window willy-nilly-ness where not as much thought about exterior looks compared to interior desires is being taken. I regularly see some pretty awkward-looking window placements (off-centerness, out-of-proportion combinations, odd combinations of vertical and horizontally-oriented windows, muntins and non-muntins mixed together, etc.) on renovations around here. In general, buildings look best when there is a distinct rhythm or pattern to their windows; if all the windows have the same general shape (vertically/horizontally); if the windows are centered over each other from story to story and if the windows on the lower floors are larger, rather than smaller, than those on the upper floors. Exceptions like dormers, oriels, accents, etc., aside, the windows should be a unifying design regulator to the overall mass of a building. Don't mess with that strong force casually just because you want an opening at a certain place on the inside. Of the technical issues, just make sure your contractor is a good flasher. Read up on the types of flashing and water shielding and where it should, and should not, be in order to have leak-free windows. Make sure you have a good drip kerf on the underside of your windowsill. Also, from personal experience, try to get windows made with few if any fingerjointed wooden pieces. I think it's worth extra money to get clear wood. Don't rely on paint to keep those joints covered and intact for the long haul. I live in a mid-19th century house, with orginal window sash and framing. My 165 year old windows, though in need of restoration - a long, tedious job that should occupy the rest of my life! - are still in slavageable condition because they were made from solid, clear, pine. Machines capable of finger-jointing scraps into serviceable lengths hadn't been invented in 1850, thank God. OTOH, neither had Grace Watershield been invented. HTH, L.

Holly-Kay, I was pretty sure I remembered a pretty tight limitation on pets/animals. I couldn't find the covenants or restrictions online, but someone posted a quote limiting animals to "customary household pets." There seems to be a presumption that dogs and cats fit the description but fish, snakes, lizards -- doesn't say where the line is drawn. And ten there is a clause "except as allowed by [the regulating authority]." Well there's a loophole they could run a chicken coup through - at least a small one. Maybe I'll make some inquiries and see if I can get them to allow a small number of chickens -- though I'm pretty sure roosters wont be allowed on what are mostly 1/4 acre lots. Not sure I'd want them either. But to stay on topic -- will definitely be another reason to wear my pinafore! :)