Although not specifically addressed to your project: Most novices who desire some privacy automatically take a quantum leap to either a fence or a hedge. Although there may be times for the incorporation of these items, far too often these default choices are not the best choice. Typically, installation of these items overwhelms and unwittingly (and usually undesirably) becomes the most dominating feature of the landscape. This introduces a whole series of additional problems which now need to be addressed. If one gets to the root of the original problem, there are usually only select areas that need to be blocked in order to achieve the desired goal. Instead of a solid fence surrounding the entire perimeter, perhaps only a section or two installed in strategic locations - and that does NOT automatically mean on the property perimeter - would suffice. In addition, those sections could be also be staggered. Staggering will block the line-of-sight but yet allow physical passage. There will, of course, be times and conditions when a full fence is required. However, installing a visual "cattle stockade" need not be the automatic choice. Things to consider ... IronBelly -- enjoying another wondrous day.

I don't know how this would look, but what if you removed the soffit and the cabs on the sink wall? Switch the sink wall cabinet to the range wall--you have 23" between corner and window. That might provide more balance to that wall--there's something about it that looks off to me. I think it's all the height and bulk in the middle of the wall and the unevenly-spaced windows. Or could the stove and window be shifted down and that wall be made more symmetrical without the soffit? I'm not sure about keeping the single cabinet over the DW, but I think two shelves for mugs and coffee supplies could work. Then that corner becomes a coffee corner. How tall will the crown be on your cabinets? When I add 36" base cabs + 18" between counter and bottom of upper cabs + 48" upper cabinets, I get 102", the height of your ceilings. I think those 48" uppers aren't allowing for crown. I am concerned that all your wall cabinets will look very tall and skinny and not really hold much. I can't believe how many times I edited this post! I must need a nap! This post was edited by may_flowers on Tue, Feb 11, 14 at 20:35

We started getting bids from PBs, but have since decided on the OB route. This is due to crazy money we expect to save (and most likely transfer to upgrades and more features as Joe said). We OB our house several years ago and saved a good deal of money there - this should be a baby project in comparison. Just to be clear - we didn't actually do any of the work ourselves - subcontracted it. We will do the same for the pool. There are a few things to consider when doing OB. One, you need to be organized and detail oriented and make sure you are very clear about what you want. The fastest path to disappointment is unspoken expectations. Also, it helps to research a little and come into the bid process informed. The more informed you are, the more negotiating you can do. Kind of like buying a car and knowing the dealer invoice price. Another thing - expect that there will be bumps in the process. Not everything turns out exactly how you would like. For little problems you need to be able to process it, adjust expectations, and move on. Also, if you are considering the OB process it helps to hook up with a consultant. I think that Houseful and Swimming07?? are in Arizona and used a consultant. This is kind of like an insurance policy to have someone knowlegable in the industry on your side. If all this talk scares you - you may want to consider using a pool builder. $40k sounds pretty reasonable. I am assuming no spa? BTW - here is a picture of our finished house. Our lowest bid was $95 a sq ft - we built it for $68 per sq ft. This is with wood floors/granite/etc. Good luck.

I think your list for improvements is a good start but I'd still like to mention the following: I understand you have lots of family and entertain a lot but do you really need a great room, family room, and living room plus the loft upstairs? You say the views are to the west. How far to the west and I'm wondering if there's a way to rearrange the rooms to better get south light into the main rooms versus the master bedroom, the kid's TV/family room, pantry, garage and laundry room. Also I know from personal experience that once late afternoon arrives here, you will need to have good shades because of the light and heat from those west exposures. I know western exposure is not ideal but that’s the direction of the lake and also the land is much longer E/W than it is wide. We spent Thanksgiving at a friend's house last night and their living room exposure is due west. The sunset was spectacular but we couldn't watch it until the sun was right at the horizon line because of the glare into the room. They had to keep their shades drawn until then. And yes, th I’m hoping the covered balcony will offset the sun somewhat. And yes, my friends do have a covered balcony. The only linen closet I see is in bedroom 4. You need more. Lots of wasted corner space in the vanity in the master bath. For such a large house where I assume more than one person is cooking, I think you need to reconfigure your kitchen so you can have multiple people helping at the same time. As arranged it's a 1 person kitchen. Another thought about the kitchen is you might also want to consider it not being on the south side again because of heat. Hope that's not an open loft to below because noise does travel up. Seems there is lots of wasted space on hallways and pathways. The master closet upstairs will feel like a long dark hallway. It's barely wide enough at 5'4" considering clothing takes up 2' of space. Agree with MrsPete that you really don't need that many bathrooms. It's a bit of overkill. You want to cut down on space so why do you need bedroom 3? The dining room is far from the kitchen.