Well, although I am single. I do have a little boy to help take up some space and I entertain friends a bunch. The house is measured at around 6,500 sqft in the plans but I feel it's a sneaky 6,500. I currently live in NYC in a large loft and really like my space (indoors that is). As for the 5 acres, living in NYC may due that to you after awhile. Plus I have some plans for the land and it requires some room. I have looked into a bunch of sub-divisions but I'm not to big on having a bunch of rules and what you can or cannot due. Plus, the land is very cheap to begin with! I did find one sub-division I really liked but the list of rules they sent me was crazy for building. Plus I had to use their builder and it seemed like they had more say than I would for the house design colors, placement etc.... I wanted to ask if they were going to pay for some of it? Could I put it on 2 or 3 acre lot, yeah! But I will have to give up my plans for the outside due to lack of space. If you can have everything I want and not compromise and still cost the same why not? I will have the home for awhile since my son is very young and he is not going anywhere in the next 18 years or so. I guess plan for the future!!!

very interesting points brought up again :) There are various forms of Feng Shui. Some that are more literal then others. Kate, I agree with you, coming in and knocking down homes as they have...I personally do not agree with that. Feng Shui is about respecting the land, not disturbing it, as it seems they have. Many of the changes that would be suggested to those who hire a "expert Feng Shui consultant" will come from that consultants perspective. So, if they see extreme changes need to happen, that is what they will suggest. If your consultant says we can work around this situation...then that is how they will approach the issue. The red envelope, that has a lot to do with your intention of why your addressing it. Traditionally it is to increase wealth. To help increase your finances means you have to act on your intention as well. Many times people think I just have to place this object over here and that will solve everything :) Remember, Feng Shui is 80% intention, why you are making changes and what it is your looking to achieve from those changes. 20% is taking action to make those changes happen. The red envelope cure says to place 3 like coins inside and put the envelope in your "wealth" section according to the Bagua Theory of Feng Shui. The location will be in the furthest back left hand corner of your entire home from your front entrance, looking inward into your home. As you place it there, think to yourself, why do I want to increase my wealth, is it to simply have enough money to pay my bills, maybe go on a trip...it can be anything. xc60, I like the way you think :) yes having a four is not recommended by the Chinese culture, but utilizing your numerology skills and seeing that everything adds up to 8, very lucky, as well as 9 :) Feng Shui is based on your own personal belief, if you feel it does not work for you, that is fine :) If it is not Feng Shui, perhaps you have another cultural belief system you choose to follow. It is recommended to find something that you belief in and that helps keep you grounded and happy :) Here is a link that might be useful: Feng Shui Manhattan New York

hi motherof3, i wandered over from the pool forum. we just put in a pool instead of remodeling our house! do you want to know why----because of all the issues that you are dealing with! we live in a 1950's ranch and we need more room. we will not move because we love our neighborhood and we have almost an acre in the middle of our city. we had our house feng shuied a few years ago. we then built a garage with an apartment next to our house. our plans are to enclose the garage attached to our house and remodel, while living in the building next to it. you can have a feng shui expert look at your house plans before you remodel. my feng shui lady told me that we had a great house, but the energy was starting to fade because it needed updating. she looked at our new plans and made a few minor suggestions. the architect we chose did not have a handle on costs, so we had to go back to the drawing board. at the same time, our gc made it clear that we did not need an architect. after we finished the garage with apartment, we thought that we would easily move on to the house remdodel. we loved our gc, but looked at other contractors because he was so slow!! he did great work, but it took him a looong time! all the bids were to high, so we had the architect redraw the plans. we are getting closer, but decided to wait it out a few months longer until the economy settles down. for a major remodel, i would still consult with an architect, but for a minor remodel (not a lot of adding on or wall moving), i would find a good gc or even a gc who can design to. in the meantime we float around in the pool and dream of the day we can get our house remodel done! good luck and sorry if i rambled to much!

IMO I would first solve the function issues you have outlined and then address the style issues you have requested. As with every design problem there may be compromises to get most of what you've listed, but function shouldn't be one of them. I've attached a layout and some examples of furnishings & unique equipment that may accommodate many of your requests. Please carefully think about keeping a frankly huge armoire, that you still have to spend time and money to refinish, to hold a printer that could reasonably fit on a small shelf. The printers seem to get smaller everyday as do the computers/laptops. How many of us got stuck with armoires to hold huge TVs? The local Goodwill where I live won't even take armoires anymore because no one wants them in their homes. That item in particular, from my perspective as a designer, is like fitting a square peg in a round hole. I often look to the RV industry to provide me with clever equipment that does double duty, like hidden work surfaces that can pull out of standard cabinets when needed, and slide away when not in use. I think you can assemble a workable room, with the special style you're looking for & even that special settee, but I would build in files and storage which is always needed, find a clever way to close away your DH clutter so you don't have to nag, & look for high tech items to help you reach you goals. Built in wall units are not inexpensive, but everything doesn't need to be custom. Cabinets from any modular kitchen cabinet manufacturer, even IKEA, could be used to assemble your workstations. Good Luck