We were leaning toward shingles on the front with the balance of the house in clapboards. We have changed the window on top to an eyebrow as we also thought the windows overwhelming -- windows are still being determined with our builder. We were trying to get as much light in as possible as it is the NW side of the house with little light. We are not starting the project until next month when the ground thaws. I used this image to show the bump-in only. The bump-in is in the new family room so we did not want to have a jog in the middle of that room. Maybe we can add a rain chain or plant a bush in front. We have tried everything with our town but, it is a small town and very restricted. We were happy, at least, when we found out we could build out the eaves so we did not have a jog in the upper floor. I have the inside layout but, it is pdf format -- looking for a jpeg of that (think it is in work) and I will upload -- that is if you think it will give you a better sense of the project. Thanks for all your ideas.

Sorry I hadn't responded in a day or so. My wife and I have been busy discussing changes to this kitchen! My wife is reluctant to give up that 6th bar stool, but we're both willing to make changes to our kitchen to make it right. buehl, Thank you very much for taking time to sketch out some options for us. Very helpful. I would love to get your thoughts on the picture below. It's basically a flipped version of your layout while maintaining the same size of the shell of the kitchen. I flipped your layout because we are trying to have an open feel for the kitchen and want to minimize the U shape. I think this new design maintains many of the advantages of the layouts you proposed, but now that we still need help arranging the different types/sizes of cabinets within our space. laughable and others, We will rethink the trough sink. I like the sink that laughable mentioned and will be looking for something like that. We would love to get some opinions on this design. Sorry for some of the chicken scratchings on the paper. My son got ahold of it and I wasn't able to erase everything. We appreciate all of your help thus far.

Wow the vitriol being spewed! LOL All over a fence! There's an old saying "Good fences make good neighbors." and I agree with that. For the most part, watchmelol said much of what I was thinking. And I believe there's more to this story than being told. I often wish we could get a hold of the other parties in some of these disputes when people want "opinions" of what we think and we get one side of the story. Then some start getting a rope, a horse and look for a tree. Probably on someone else's property! With the obvious hostility here I have to wonder: Is your intention, deep down, to get the free use of his property? You don't want the fence because it will be close to your driveway. Are you currently using his property for access to your car? Or shoveling snow? (Some localities prohibit moving your snow onto your neighbors' properties.) Or are you thinking of a potential Adverse Possession claim down the road on the property? I think the concern about snow is a legitimate one. However, you could ask for a chain link fence and maybe he'd be amenable to that rather than wood. Now that it's been dickered down to a two foot setback I know this much: If things got too hostile a neighbor could consider putting up a fence made from old pallets and whatever else they could find and plant the thorniest, ugliest, dirtiest bushes they could get so couldn't use their (effectively) landlocked property or attempt an AP claim on it. What are the rules on a berm? Brick planters? This is why I advise caution. Sometimes things can backfire. You still will have 3 feet of your land even if the fence is put on the line. How much do you need? Is that 2 feet really that valuable? I think I'd ponder that a bit. I'd also check into the law myself. Asking someone doesn't always get you factual info. Much like asking on an internet forum. When someone flings laws at me, I look for other laws. There's usually something else that can apply in some way. I suspect you're mad at yourself for not checking into the earlier construction. Whether you can do anything about it now is unknown. Much depends on the locale. You sound angry because the other side the fence is a line fence. Why would that make a difference? I don't understand. You also sound angry at yourself that you didn't do anything when they allegedly used your things for their parties. Why wouldn't you call the police if it bothered you so much? Many things don't add up here. And we can't even tune in Paul Harvey for "The rest of the story..." :) Here, you can't put up a 6' fence other than between the two houses. Otherwise it's either 3' or 4' height restriction. Apparently your area has some really oddball rules. I wonder what the rationale is for such. And as others have mentioned here you cannot put a fence up to the curb, there's a 15' setback for utilities, which makes sense. I'm confused about his alleged "pushing". He asks permission for most things, bold perhaps but hardly "pushing" AFAIC. I sense you're never going to get along with him and you're not going to do anything to improve the situation, and with some of the venomous comments here prodding you to escalate the tensions I'd just advise caution. You MIGHT make things a LOT worse for yourself. I'm not sure how social you are with the other neighbors, nor do I know how the "villain" gets along with others but if you become the outcast you would also have to be sure everything about you is compliant at all times or someone might start turning you in. The sad part is a bad neighbor happens now and then. Whether you're the "bad" neighbor or they're the "bad" one it doesn't make for good times. You might snicker a little thinking about stopping him from maintaining a fence you have to look at but you're chopping off your nose as they say when you do something like that. And getting snarky (as some like to say) with him about only part of a fence when you don't know what he's going to do on the other sides, well again, that could backfire. Before you get too smug about the "zoning permit" it probably means that he goes to the hall, pays $15 or $25 and pulls a permit. It's not complicated. No act of Congress is required for a permit for a compliant fence anywhere that I know of and actually it probably can't be denied as long as he writes the check. And having to go to a Board of Appeals? Someone must have been misinformed. You can't appeal something until action has been taken. I really encourage you to go do your homework so you know where you stand. Don't ask someone over the phone. You'll get all kinds of answers. Get the ordinances. It'll probably cost you for copies of it but some places have it on the internet. Whatever happens, good luck to all of you. I have a feeling this is not going to have a happy ending for anyone.

I love your mudroom area. I like how the cubbies are recessed just a bit, love the back door to the porch, the command center, the powder room location and the fact that you have a straight shot to get to the basement from the garage area. The mudroom is well designed -- maybe the best feature of the house -- but I have two comments: - You have a dog shower ... it looks a bit cramped to use in that corner crushed up against the door ... what if it were switched with the closet? You'd have some elbow-room. Also, where are you going to store dog-washing items (shampoo, towels)? A shelf above the dog wash? A shelf in the adjacent closet? Will your dogs obediently enter the mudroom and allow themselves to be placed in the tub ... or, like my dog, will they do anything and everything to avoid the most hated place in the house? If they're like my dog, I'd consider a "sliding gate" or half-door that could scoot out at the end of the closet /block off this small area /confine the dogs to the washing area until you're ready to allow them back in the whole house. - You have a "command center" desk in the mudroom ... and only steps away a pocket office with two desks. How do you plan to use these spaces? A person seated at the "command center" will block access to the house. With cubbies in the mudroom and an office only steps away, I think I'd do away with the "command center" ... and open a door between the pantry /mudroom. This would allow you to enter the pantry with groceries without going through the kitchen. Something like this: - Now you can enter the pantry from the mudroom, and you have more pantry space than you had ... the dotted line is a dog gate that could slide out when needed, creating a dog corral when needed. I switched the closet and the dog wash ... and I'd take the door off the closet ... after all, a mudroom IS a closet, so you really have a closet within a closet. The bathroom seems a bit cramped, like there just isn't quite enough room for all that is in there. I think the problem is that you have three doors crashing together at the entrance. The rest of the bathroom looks modest but workable. The angled shower is a hint that you don't have quite enough room in this bathroom. I'd push the bathroom forward to meet the edge of the closet, a plan that would give you 3-4 more feet, allowing you to move the linen closet in line with the vanity and giving you some "elbow room" in the whole bathroom. I like the W/D in the closet, might want them on the north wall for venting. Yes, definitely. Common sense suggestion. A dryer that can vent directly to the outside is cheaper and safer. Incidentally, I'd love to have a washer/dryer IN my closet, and I'd deal with any dust. The whole design looks disjointed. The arrangements of the rooms have little rhyme or reason to them and it appears the front elevation was determined without consideration for the second floor layout. Yeah, it does lack elegance. It looks a bit ... forced? If that makes sense. The sight lines aren't lovely; rather, while walking down too many halls, you'll see the corner of something. I feel any closet layout where the hanging clothes turn a corner is a poor layout. Illustrated below, if you were trying to get you favorite shirt it would be difficult to get at much less find. I agree that corners in closets don't make much sense ... but -- pointing out the obvious -- your favorite shirt would be in the front of the closet because it's worn /washed more often. What'd end up pushed to the back, invisible and unreachable would be that shirt that doesn't really suit you, yet you can't bear to get rid of it because it was expensive ... and the dress you wore on your first date with your husband, which you love but can't fit into any longer ... and a few other things that really should go to the GoodWill ... and if these things are pushed to the back, you don't see them and don't consider donating them. Kalenangel, we will have a mail center there, but we hope it will just be the day's mail. The mail should be moved into the den to be filed. A two-step process for one of the biggest clutter-creators in your house? I'd think this one through a bit more. It's hard enough to get family on board with mail and paper clutter without expecting today's mail to be in one place, then be moved to another place. The more simple your system, the more likely it is to be followed. toilet that could be like my inspiration picture attached (private, but not enclosed) I like this illustration very much. In fact, I have that very picture saved in my "inspiration for upstairs bathroom" file. I don't think mine'll look quite as nice as this one because I won't have windows on two sides. A craftsman house has exposed rafter tails. It does not have the roof eave returns like your draftsman shows. It's shape is low to the ground feeling. Your house is top heavy with that roof. A craftsman house would never be all roof and no house and the roof pitch would be lower. For example, my house which could be considered a craftsman with some prairie roots in it has a roof pitch of 5/12. Yeah, this house sports one small nod to Craftsman style, and that's the pillars by the front door. Being overwhelmed with the oversized, ungainly roofline, I missed them in my first look. Final thoughts: It might be possible to design a worse bathroom than that connected to Upstairs Bedroom #3, but I think you'd have to work pretty hard at it. The two doors are too close for comfort, and the walk-in closet forces the space into a tight little pigpath that will feel cramped. If you go with a reach-in, you have just as much closet space, and you have space for a simple bath layout. The door can open inward, which just works better. The shower looks more narrow, but it's actually the same width it was ... just longer. The vanity is a bit smaller, but you're able to put all the water in one wall, which is a money-saver. I'd be tempted to go with a pedestal sink to give visual space ... and include a nice, deep medicine cabinet and a glass shelf to hold all your sink-area needs. This is quite a luxurious space for one child alone. I don't care for the desk on the landing upstairs. First, the area isn't 'specially wide, so a person sitting in that desk will block anyone else from walking through the area. Second, as the mother of two young adults, I think it's vitally important that you're able to monitor young kids' computer usage ... and you won't have a clue what they're doing so far up above you. Finally, it'll have no acoustical privacy ... so a kid trying to do homework in this area will hear the TV from the great room and the conversation in the kitchen. I'd make this a great built-in area for the kids' stuff: Cabinets on the bottom, bookshelves up above.