Hi Caroline, Thanks I will check out the Pottery Barn shelves. I have emailed a few custom wood shops. I will report back just in case someone else needs this info. I did the 2nd coat of Waterlox last night and it still is pretty smelly : ( The drying conditions are not great though. I have 2 space heaters and the windows open a crack during a Nor'easter : ( I live in an old Boston single family brownstone and my neighbor rang my bell last night at 11pm to complain about the smell! (His house is attached to the right) Ugh. I have no idea what to do... I can't wait until May to finish the floors! Ughhhhh construction!

For a spec home, the builder/developer typically writes their own generic list of specs and allowances for the project to build a plan that they have selected. This helps ensure they are able to control the building costs and process through their chosen team with as little input from the client as possible. A spec house builder proposes what they think you will want in the home and will usually make simple change order adjustments up or down based on your selections during the project. As a custom builder, I can tell you that simple process doesn’t cut it for most custom home building projects. Custom homes begin with the vision of the client and architect as a collaborative effort. The architect usually provides an extremely detailed set of building plans and an accompanying set of building specifications for each project. It’s best for the Owner to have selected their Builder early in the design process so that we may review the evolution of the project and suggest ways to control the budget. We have had a number of clients over the years who called in a panic after the plans were complete and they began receiving their first bids on the project from other builders that far exceeded the budget. They were painted into a corner without knowing how much the project would cost. Good architects help eliminate that problem early. Anyway, our job as a custom builder is to review all the plans and specs and develop a list of any problems we see that need to be addressed as well as evaluate the allowance values that are sometimes established by the architect during the bid process. Our job is to evaluate someone’s vision and assemble all of the details to make it happen. After a series of lengthy planning meetings between Owner and Builder before the contract is signed, we hash out as many potential selections, upgrades, value savings deducts as possible and then use the architects specs as a guideline to create our own contract set of specs for the owner. This process of getting to know the client is what defines most custom builders. The more we know about the client, what inspires them, their trigger points which may affect the project, the better. And when it comes time to build the home, every detail has to be perfect and the client owns your schedule until the home is done. We charge more because custom homes take up way more time than spec homes. As for allowances, we provide allowances for things like tile, flooring, cabinetry, countertops, appliances, water wells, etc. The appliance allowance includes a quote from our preferred vendor with all model numbers. When the time comes for the client to pick out certain products, they know the budget, and they are welcome to shop as many vendors as they wish. My time is included to help with coordination if they chose my preferred vendor. I charge extra for additional coordination time to evaluate multiple vendors because that process requires much more time. I hope this helps. Every builder has their own method that works for them. This is just how we approach the process. Best of luck!

This is a great thread for those contemplating building a new home. Clients are often bringing me sketches of floor plans or plans they've found online. Such plans can be helpful as a point of departure but almost always require a complete redo. What helps me more is a detailed conversation about lifestyle, philosophy of art and design, and a deep understanding of the site.

He would never ever use a banquette. The banquette in the latest rendition is kind of a "half booth" in that it has a space-saving bench on one side /chairs on the other side. It's the best of both worlds, and I'd leave it "as is". Where is your dryer venting? If it is to the outside wall ... I'd place the machines against the exterior wall (as shown). This allows the shortest possible dryer vent. It's cheaper and more fire safe, and if you want to hear the story of the chipmunk who climbed up the ivy /died in my dryer vent, I'll be glad to share ... but here's the moral: we just about died of the smell and were very happy that we have the shortest possible dryer vent! Are those stairs going up to an attic or down to a basement? If they're going up, be sure to harness the space underneath for storage ... could be interior shelves for the laundry OR in-garage shelves, but you're paying for that space, so be sure it's The hallways are still long The moms' hallway looks better because you've opened a spot on both sides of the fireplace. Yes, it's still long, but having two entrances is an improvement. but now have some natural lighting. Eh, still not great. I do think this is a very big deal. The dining room is closer to the kitchen. Big improvement. Powder room moved to have a balance of toilets on both sides of the house. This is a good idea, and I like that you "tucked the half bath into" the office. I didn't like the half bath as a sight line upon entering the library. However, I'd flip-flop it and that small closet. Why? Moving the closet in the office won't matter, but placing the half bath on the exterior wall means you can have a small window over the toilet. These nose-to-toes narrow half baths aren't the best in terms of function, especially for elderly people. Could you afford 2' more from the office to have a more comfortable half bath? The last thought I have is on the closet in the office being split into two to make another linen closet accessible from the hallway A shallow linen closet isn't a bad idea -- my father-in-law has one, and it's plenty functional. Another idea: Put a door on BOTH sides of the closet so it's accessible from the hallway OR the office. As your storage needs change over the years, your closet will always be "at the ready". @Mrs Pete especially :) Thanks, I try! Some really like closet through bath and others find it very inconvenient. I am pretty ambivalent about closets-in-bathrooms, but I think they work best when the door to the closet is near the bedroom door /doesn't require traversing the length of the bathroom. Consider bringing the closet closer to the bedroom door as shown below. (This closet is identical in size to the one you had drawn. This means the bathroom can potentially have natural light from three sides -- how luxurious! I'd downsize to one sink; the vanity you had drawn has space to support two sinks ... but not enough to support two sinks AND any drawer storage. Drawer storage trumps repetitive sinks every time. I also added a narrow shelf at the end of the bathroom hallway to serve as a focal point in this hallway. This whole bedroom area could be reduced in size without losing any function at all. Here's a condensed bathroom. The closet is changed in dimension but is still about the same size. I prefer this moderate-sized, more usable bathroom. One more small thing: Look at the master bedroom door in the above-abaove pix. If you "back it up" into the hallway, you get a little entrance way to the master suite, and you don't have the door swing in the bedroom. Of course, it moves the linen closet into the master suite. I know I was a huge proponent of letting the J&J bath be but now there is so much space dedicated to it and so many sinks it easily could just be two quite nice sized individual bathrooms. In general, I'm the one saying, "Too many sinks!" Three sinks for two people? AND a half bath is steps away from their J&J? As it's drawn, each sink is needed, but I think you can do better. Considering your specific needs, try this on for size: each mom gets a good-sized vanity /plenty of storage by the sink and toilet ... and they share a large shower. Showers are only used minutes a day, so this is a good cost-and-space saver. Both moms' bathrooms are on the exterior of the house /can have good windows. i was thinking of a standing coat hanger thing in the foyer in lieu of a closet We have a coat rack by our main entry door, and it's okay. When all the kids were still at home, the coat rack was always over-full. I think hooks on the wall, which could stretch out further, might be a better solution. Regardless, we also use our coat closet (located so wisely way down the hall by the bedrooms) for out-of-season coat storage. You could fit a coat closet into the laundry room. regarding the island - I don’t like the idea of eating in the middle of the kitchen. i really want a nook type area, just seems more cozy. our current breakfast table is smaller than the new design so I’m hoping it’s large enough. thank you for the feedback on that. I’ll keep it in mind. With three women in the household, I like the idea of the nook. A cozy space for 1-2 people to sit while someone else is cooking. Nearby but out of the way. Having said that, yeah, a little larger table would be nice. i'm considering making the island L shape unless someone tells me its a horrible idea! I'm iffy on the L-shape. It's okay. If you go this direction, I'd say no seating at the island. Do you really need work space here AND also inside the pantry? I agree that the large empty space in the kitchen "needs something". How about this -- it's a big switch-up: - Change the L-shaped kitchen into a long cabinet run + large island. This gives you a LARGE window over the sink. The island is the exact same size as your original one. - Move the banquette to the blue spot. This keeps it near the kitchen but divides the big space into two moderate-sized spaces, making the walking space large-but-not-overly-large. - This bumps the hallway, son's bathroom and son's bedroom to the right. One other thing you may want to consider putting the laundry between your bedroom & your son's, just for privacy between bedrooms ;) Disagree. You have a closet between the bedrooms, which provides a barrier. I like that the laundry room is a few steps closer to the main living area. On the other hand, it would mean fewer steps between your own closet and laundry On the subject of the son's bathroom, I'd adjust things so you can bump the door to the left. This makes several good things happen: - He can enter the bedroom and be in the bathroom in fewer steps. A big deal? Maybe not, but when you have the choice, why not make it as ideal as possible? - The bathroom door is no longer squished up by the head of the bed. This means he won't have to finagle by the nightstand to enter the bathroom door. - Fast-forward 20-some odd years into the future: he will be married and will come home with a wife. You'll replace his small childhood bed with a queen-sized bed ... and you'll need the space on that wall for the wider bed and two nightstands. Note, too, that with a larger bed, the person sleeping on the far wide will be closer to the bathroom door /won't have to walk close to the other sleeper's head to enter the bathroom.