robotropolis, you should have good weather. It was gorgeous today! Where are you headed? I'm in the Tampa area. I grew up in Michigan though, so I've experienced plenty of freezing winters. :-) Hollysprings, that plant ledge is deleted in our plan. My thoughts were similar to yours. JenBL, I would not have been against lowering the ceiling if this could have been incorporated in the planning stages. Now, to lower the ceiling to 8 ft. means the ceiling is within 2 inches of the window, which seems to me like it would look low and weird. But maybe I'm wrong? And then how should the rest of the ceiling be framed? Still cathedral starting at 10 ft? Or cathedral but start it at 8 ft? It is really frustrating having this sprung on us last minute. Plus it is hard for me to visualize what it would look like.

Let me give it a shot, here hopefully is two long vines of KP in the middle of a jungle of carnosa and fungii. marco Okay, I tried 3 times using the "camera Photo" just below, thank the hoya gods for the edit option because that didn't accept the pic from my computer. I tries the same with the "Houzz Photo" option and tried it on there. When I chose the pic I wanted the box stayed blank for a few seconds but then my picture showed up. My smart phone confuses me, so I can't help with that.

chicagoans - Thanks for posting the pictures for me and the tip regarding the kitchen. I think we are going to turn the island the other way and not 100% sure about the placement of the appliances but I'll post to Kitchens and see what other things I can glean from them. Regarding the powder room off the family room, the main reason is because the back yard will have a pool, terrace and entertaining space, thus having the door to the outside. I have actually seen it more and more in similar styled townhouses recently. I'm not 100% sold on it but our business partner likes the location of them and have received positive feedback from recent home purchasers regarding the placement and ability to get to it from outside. Attached to the powder room outside is going to be a storage area. The area underneath the stairs will be used as a pantry/closet area. cpartist - Technically, it's called a living room but it's going to be more of an office/sitting area. It's a difficult space to utilize well because of the width and the need for a garage at the front. It will open all the way up to the 2nd floor. Thanks for pointing out the front door. Last set of plans had a single door. Not sure why it was changed to a double door on this set. Same on the master. I'm not really concerned about the necessity for another closet downstairs. We have lived in a similar sized townhouse for the past 5 years and haven't ever thought that we needed on there. I'll talk to the wife and see what she thinks. We talked about the lack of linen closet upstairs last night and will try to get one in there somehow. Our master bedroom and WIC are MUCH larger than we are used to or maybe even need so I think we can recover some space there.

Do you have any measurements for the space? If not, could you please obtain them? Without measurements, we can only make general comments which may or may not work in your space. You did say that you are OK with moving the Kitchen, so that is an option as well. One limitation to moving it is the location of the garage -- you don't want to have too long a hike b/w the garage and the pantry and Kitchen b/c that makes it a chore to bring in the groceries from the car and put them away. However, there may be a way around that. BTW...I understand why you don't like your island...it is an obstacle! (My husband feels the same way about islands -- he thinks they're just another obstacle to run around, regardless of the layout! For me, it's all about the layout and what works best in a space!) Regarding wall space, you can add walls, if needed. If they're placed with due consideration of how they affect the overall flow, design, and feel of the house they can help to give you a bit of delineation of rooms, a place for appliances, and a buffer for sound/activity. (Especially since you don't like others around when you're prepping/cooking.) Here's a sample of a measured layout. In your case, I would just take your existing floor plan, add the measurements to it, and then upload it. I don't know how much experience you have with computers in general, but if you copy the layout into Microsoft PowerPoint, Paint, or other image/picture editor, you can add the measurements, save it as a JPG file, and upload it here. How do I ask for Layout Help and what information should I include? http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2767033/how-do-i-ask-for-layout-help-and-what-information