First, when someone does a study that basically says greenspaces are bad regarding global warming effects, I think it merits discussion on internet boards frequented by people who by and large have and enjoy lawns. Global warming is one of those topics that is almost entirely "political". So, here lawn talk and politics have to go hand in hand. Each poster can join in or stay out at their election. However, staying out of the political debate in this context may very well mean your lawn gets laws and regulations passed that affect it (and maybe even outlaw it) without your voice being heard. Second, I find it a bit pompous, frankly, for you to act like you have concrete answers (in the negative) to the very question I asked if perhaps we needed additional scientific studies to tie down pro or con. The study establishes that "greenspaces" i.e. as it relates to this forum, lawns have some impact on global warming. Similarly, knowledgeable folks here would likely agree organics, as practiced by some, can and usually does have significantly lower inputs of just the kind of ingredients the study author used to determine impact of greeenspaces on global warming. Fertilizer and irrigation. You site neither study nor theory/application to support your position. In short, all you seem to be adding to the discussion is self important unsupported opinion. So, I ask again, if the author of this study had studied the soil and practices involved in organic lawn maintenance, how likely is it that the greenspace would have been determined to be bad as opposed to good for global warming? Add what seems to me to be a key factor not accounted for in the study, cooling efffect of greenspace, especially in urban environments, and I hope and would somewhat expect (just applying background info) that the results might be just the opposite of those found in the study in question. And, fwiw, I think organic practices, including cultural practices, can very much affect the net effect on the carbon cycle, air gasses and air temps. By a lot, a little? I don't know. Some real scientific review and data would be nice before govt starts telling lawn owners what they have to do, no?

Interesting thread. As a rookie I'm not sure I have that much to offer, but some thoughts (I'm home with the flu today, so apologies if I'm less than coherent!) - in looking for original plans for your house, can you check neighbours with the same model (assuming there are multiple examples)? Wwe live in a pocket of about 20 of these little bungalows (there were 3 original designs, although they've been so altered over the years sometimes it's hard to realise!) and when we started working on plans for ours, I looked at as many of our neighbours' houses as I could, mostly to see how they had solved the problems this old house presented. I learned A LOT, and it really helped when we started considering what could/couldn't be done, and where the original bones were (since our house had already had some alterations made by previous owners). - from your post I get the feeling that you want to hand off a lot of the "hard work" stuff to professionals, but also that you want to have tight control on decisions. I will say that in reading here and elsewhere, the folks who seem UNhappiest with their remodeling experiences are those who've handed off to the professionals on the assumption it would all work out the way they wanted BECAUSE those people were professionals (bad English, but I hope that makes some kind of sense). For a project as substantial as you're considering, I do think you'd really REALLY help yourself by finding a design program you're comfortable using and drawing things - both for yourself, AND for the people you hire. My GC has repeatedly told me that part of the success of this project - and one of the reasons he could keep costs down - was because the drawings I gave him made it 100% clear what I wanted to do. Sure, it was his job to figure out HOW to do it structurally, but by working together - often with the design on the laptop so we could show each other what we were talking about - we avoided costly miscommunications. There are a lot of user-friendly programs out there more intuitive than the two you mentioned and, in your case, it might be a couple of hundred dollars and a few hours well spent. And it will give you WAY more control over the project, as your own understanding of what's happening will be greater. - I think whether or not you need an architect or structural engineer will depend on local requirements; what you're doing sounds like a really good GC could handle it UNLESS there are CA-specific requirements which insist that specialists handle specific areas. We did a fair bit of structural work, but our municipality is one that has a very easygoing attitude about permits - basically, if you don't change the footprint, they don't really care (we heard this from multiple GCs, builders and neighbours, so it wasn't just one person's opinion). We have managed wonderfully with a GC who handled everything (literally - no subs). It's worked well for us, but I suspect in CA the story may be different. Talk to neighbours who've done work and interview loads of folks across the range of price bands and see what you can glean in talking to them (I learned a LOT talking with the other 5 contactors - the ones we didnt' hire). You need to get a feel for the many different ways a project like yours could be approached. - "phase" the work. This is something our GC did that made it HUGELY easier. He broke it down, in order, so we could see where we were going and how it would all work (essentially it was: 1. create access to attic ie build the new stairs 2. reinforce and finish attic 3. holiday break 4. work on removing or framing wall between kitch/diner as appropriate 4. install kitchen). We were never in any doubt as to the PROCESSS so, even when we had to make adjustments or there were (minor) delays, we knew how it would all fit in. - while obviously you will need to forward plan so that initial work doesn't then have to be changed to accommodate subsequent work, be prepared to be FLEXIBLE. One of the reasons our project has run smoothly is because while we had a clear plan, both sides were willing to adjust as necessary during the process - it wasn't a case of clinging to ideas which simply wouldn't work in reality once we got inside walls to see what was there etc. That's another thing, too - beware ANYBODY who can "promise" that something will work before opening up a wall or seeing what's really there (think of all the threads in here where people have been disappoinited and had to make significant changes once a wall was opened and revealed something other than was supposed). There is ALWAYS a workaround, but, IMO rookie opinion, it's easier to find those when you don't cling to fervently to one single idea . This is also where being able to draw ideas for YOURSELF comes in handy, since you can play "what if" and come up with possible alternatives (I know I keep harping on about this despite the fact you said you DON'T want to do that, but I truly believe it will help enormously in so many ways). I had several "contingency" plans already thought of just in case we had issues with, for instance, taking down the wall. In the event it wasn't a problem, but I figured I'd better have more than one way of doing it just in case! Sorry for the rambling nature of this - I'm not sure I'm necessarily addressing your specific questions, but just some ideas fwiw. Start compiling lists of local requirements/experiences/contacts via neighbours and local friends and colleagues, consider buying a user-friendly home-design program so you can play "what if?" for yourself and also create drawings of your ideas which will be clearer than any description (and also avoid a "middle man" interpreting what you describe, sometimes leading to misunderstandings and disappointment), be willing to stay flexible as variants arise when the work begins and things aren't quite as anticipated, and most importantly... ENJOY the process! I confess that I have found it HUGELY enjoyable, much to my surprise. Yes, stressful - particularly at first before I "got used to" people coming in and cutting my house in half as a matter of course!! - but fascinating and very rewarding. Best of luck!

I don't get the light issue - if you make your curtains stack off the window, no light or view is ever blocked when they are open. That is the way I have all my curtains and rods made. I love fabric so wouldn't want to pass up that opportunity to add it as a layer somewhere. Curtains can be very simple and not cluttery looking. Also, unfortunately, there is the 'creep out' factor for me. We have a farmhouse (no longer our primary residence) embedded on 170 acres, long gated drive, mostly wooded, no neighbors and completely private. Just because you think it's private really anyone can position themselves to see in. Yes, perhaps a one in a million chance but still creeped me out too much to go without curtains or romans on every single window that could be drawn at night. I read that darn book "Red Dragon" (what they based those Manhunter movies on) way back when, and I wish I could erase it from my memory but can't!

We live on a busy (well, sorta busy) street on the corner of a residential street. The street is busiest during the commuting times. This is when all the people from the side roads take our road to the "main" road. During the off times and weekends our road is not very busy. We bought our house because it was a good price (because of being on a busier road) and it was EXACTLY what we were looking for and we were looking for an old (old!) house with a nice yard. Our lot is the largest in the area also and has trees surrounding the property and the backyard has a 6ft privacy fence. The back yard is like our oasis. We are big gardeners and we have plenty of land for that. We do get garbage on the front lawn but my sister also complains about that and she lives in a small neighborhood. When I complained about it one day she commented " it happens everywhere now". People seem to be stupid now and don't care where they throw there junk. The biggest thing I would like to change about my house is not the traffic but I would LOVE to have sidewalks. There are many walkers/runners and having sidewalks would be nice. I love the location of our house (close to everything that WE want to be close to). We used to live in the city and I loved it but my husband wanted to be out in the burbs. We almost have the best of both worlds (close to everything yet big lot and house ect.) If I could move my house to the city and had to deal with more traffic, I would. I like to be able to walk to stores. So, I know I would buy a house another house on a busy road if we knew it was a fit for us. Our friends purchased houses on quiet streets and they got less house, in a less nice area for the same money as us. It is a tradeoff and only you will know if it is a tradeoff you will be ok with. Also, I wouldn't mind if my street became busier if they put in deli's or little shops that I could walk too. I like the main street feel. We had little choice when we bought our house. The majority of old, historic houses are on main roads. If you are looking for a new house you will have more choices and the new house on a busy road may not sell easily. Once we find the right buyer (old house lover) I do not think they will have issues with the traffic. If we wanted a new build, we would NOT have purchased a house on a busy road. -renee