Thanks! Those stairs are whatever the builder used 25 years ago, but they blend nicely now. I'm actually thinking twice about painting them since they match better, and it would save me a ton of time I could put toward the next thing on the list, lol! We're keeping carpet on the stairs and in the upstairs hall mostly for cost reasons, but that will be replaced with new carpet when I'm ready to do the master bedroom.. The upper railing would have to be dismantled and reattached to a new wood floor, and converting stairs is $$$ (I foolishly thought I might DIY that, but read enough online to realize it's above my skill level).

Meau, that's a Nourison Nourmak rug (flat weave). I have a rug in the adjacent living room in the same brand, different design but same color palette. I got mine several years ago from Decora Rugs online, but I don't think the store exists any more. Arcy, you're right, I hadn't noticed that until you pointed it out.

I live in the Madison area. My husband and I have been to two of the six Parade neighborhoods so far. In one, the homes were around the $550k. In the other, I’d say they were around $300k-350k. I heard someone mention that the lesser priced houses were a welcome addition to the Parade of Homes this year; that in years past, it was only more expensive homes. We have a 1200sf ranch, and we are almost finished building our new screened in porch. The next big project is the kitchen… and finishing up our single bathroom remodel. We enjoy going to the Parade of Homes to get ideas. We each bring a tape measure, and we constantly measure aisle widths, island dimensions, countertops, etc. It’s a huge help while we work on our renovation plans. I tend to look at overall layout and function. Here are some of my comments: - 9 of 10 homes have a great room set up, with a kitchen/DR/LR open plan space. The living room is often super tall (2 or more stories), and frequently, the only place to put a TV is above the fireplace. I’m torn on the super tall ceiling in the LR – I’m not sure I like the scale, and it tends to make the rooms feel taller, rather than wide, which makes them feel smaller in footprint than they really are. Also, TV is important to me, but above the fireplace is just. Too. High. -Speaking of TV, there is often a second TV room in the basement, or on a landing on the second floor. It seems like there is no way to close off the ancillary TV spaces from the first floor great room, which may or may not have its own TV. (open stairways to the basement, open railings to the great room, etc.) Really??? Is that cool? -Several homes had the kitchen sink in plain sight of the front door. In new construction (i.e., when all of the options are available to you), I’m not sure I like that. - Lots of pocket doors. I Love them!!!! However, I don’t love the dinky little hardware you have to fiddle with to get the teensy little handle thingees to pop out. There has to be a better way! -We looked carefully at the detailing in the screened in porches. Ours is DIY, and nearly finished. I was generally not impressed with what I saw. In just one of the lesser priced houses, we quite liked the detailing and quality of the work. In most of the houses, the screened in porches and decks were generic, regardless of the style or price of the house. (I like ours best!) -All of the 10 homes I’ve seen have a master bedroom suite on the first floor. It’s not uncommon to be able to lay in bed, and look straight out into the kitchen. (even in the more expensive homes). This is something I’ve been thinking about, because this will most likely be the case in our ranch home after our kitchen remodel. -In the majority of MBR suites, the closet can ONLY be accessed through the master bathroom. I am not impressed. -First or second floor laundry is standard now, which is pretty cool. -Mud rooms were an area that were greatly expanded in more expensive houses. In the less expensive houses, they typically felt quite cramped. -Yards seem small to me, in ALL of the houses, and the houses are close together. Kitchen comments: -For me, a 42” aisle is perfect. (our house and kitchen are small, so this dimension is important to me.) -For me, 12” overhang for seating at a 36” high counter is plenty. One kitchen had a 9.75” overhang for seating, and it was bad. -some of the islands are just out of control – too big! Too deep, too many angles in the differing counter heights. The above pictures almost always cut off the high/bar height portions of the islands. -One house had a giant pantry/storage area between the mud room and the kitchen. It was AWESOME. -Only the pricier homes had kitchens with lower drawers instead of regular lower cabinets. -I MUST have a landing space for the fridge – either across an aisle, or to the right of the fridge as you look at it. I saw one fridge that was all by itself next to a pantry closet, with no landing space within 7 feet of it in all directions. -I only saw a few prep sinks, only in the pricier homes. I can’t say I’m sold. They seem like a bandaid for poorly designed kitchens, IMHO. I have a friend who has one; she never uses it. -one kitchen (in a pretty pricey home) had a 32” aisle in front of a French door fridge. It was too small. -I hate MW below the countertop. hate it. Hate it. Hate it. (I am a heavy MW user). -Undermount sinks tend to be deeper than I like. -Several of the more pricy kitchens had GLASS pantry doors at a 45 degree angle in the corner of the kitchen, with the word “pantry” etched in. Really? Does anyone really want to display their pantry contents??? -Many homes don’t seem to have a formal dining room at all. If they do, it often seemed small (to me), and were typically near the front door, around the corner from the kitchen, with double doors that faced the great room. They seemed better suited for offices. But, I’m not a fan of an office that opens up in to the main social space of the house. And if it’s a dining room, I’d like better access to the kitchen.

You will love Clear Fork River Valley--I got it at Wade and Gatton a few years ago--the Clear Fork River runs by the edge of their property. I have some of the others too. What a great collection of different types, colors, etc. I love hosta shopping.