Yikes! You do well in describing the walls imposing stature, but the first Photo is the fatal stab in the heart. A very nice easy read that has enough unique twists to keep my attention through to the end. It could have easily gotten stuck in a "STOP THE WALL!" theme, but you avoided that nicely and probably kept the new lords appeased, which may have been wise in light of how easy it would have been to drop one of those boulders... Two and a half thumbs up! Poppa

I am planning to pick up the carpet in the living room and put new 20" X 20" tile throughout, with the exception of the bedroom where I will still keep carpeting. I plan to tile with the same tile and do the lanai as well, to extend my living space out there. I have no idea what is under the current cabinetry but I guess I'll soon find out! I suspect that once I start tearing stuff out, I'll be committed to replacing the flooring since it's doubtful there is tile under the cabinets. The tile I have in mind is a creamy tan and reminds me of marble with its swirls here and there of creamy white, so it does have color variations in it. It's neutral but with a subtle pattern to it instead of being just a total solid color--that would be very difficult to keep clean looking. Unfortunately, the galley space in the kitchen is so narrow. Even though some vacationers may not cook much, the fact is that I also use the condo and hope to retire there, so I am trying to find that balance that would make my vacationers happy and still be an efficient working kitchen for me. We do enjoy eating our meals on the lanai at the big table there and we are able to do this pretty much year round--even in the winter months. Yes, we do get rain and on those days we want to eat inside. I don't know how I would feel about eating at a peninsula since I don't currently have one. I probably wouldn't think that much about it since there is a table outside on the lanai. I will admit that there is something very appealing about that extra prep and storeage space that a peninsula could provide, just as there is something appealing about the open and uncrowded feel of the L shape kitchen in Design #1.

Thanks everyone! Although I am still recovering from selling the old house, buying new (vintage) house and moving, it is good to be back and I look forward to the future Babushka Cat 2.0 and all of your helpful insights! It was hard to leave my beautiful kitchen but the new location and house is much better - will be worth the hassle of the 2.0. Thanks for the kind words about Babushka Cat. He was a love.....His sister (from the same litter but so far her heart checks out OK) is doing great, in fact she does not appear to miss her brother at all! Pic below of her demonstrating she matches an off the shelf pillow exactly. I did donate the stove - it needed a major renovation but hopefully it went to a good home. I took the bistro set with me, hope to find a place for it in my new home. I did not have to remove the flue in kitchen but decided to, to improve the layout of cabinetry. Thanks again!

The home I am leaving has a garage under the house proper. The main problem with this is that the bedroom above the garage stays on the chilly side in winter. I don't park in the garage (one-car garage with my stained glass center, treadmill and all sorts of yard equipment), and I would rather walk around than take stairs. In snowy/icy weather I do take the stairs, and the two times I've been hobbling on crutches while living here, I've used the stairs instead of walking around and up, so this scenario is not remotely handicapped friendly. But then again a LOT of homes that don't have under-garage access AND/OR aren't inverted... aren't handicapped friendly, either. You're using an elevator, or at least placing one for future use is good. My brother just bought a home on the coast of Florida with the garage underside. In his case, this helped comply with hurricane code... surges can wash through below without impacting the house proper. (We just hope he moves his cars out in time!!!) He lucked out with Tampa Bay doing a "reverse surge."... with the recent hurricane. He does have an elevator. In your case... I didn't plan for either medical emergency (hey, let's break a leg TODAY!), so I'd recommend putting in an elevator now, rather than later. (I sat down on the stairs and moved up one step at a time, just to provide the visual. Easier on stairs than on a sloping lawn...)