Lynn, I apologize for not replying sooner to your above post, but I knew that Owbist and RavenÂs answers were much better than mine would have been. If you would have seen me working on the pictures and text for the above post, you would have laughed and shaken your head at my floundering efforts! :) After reading through the Irfanview Tutorial that Bob gave, I think IÂm going to download it and give it a go. The tutorial indicated that screen capture (IrfanviewÂs name for print screen) does a much cleaner job than the Print Screen key on our computers. This is what I did: Opened All Programs, moved mouse up to Accessories, and selected Paint from the drop-down dialog. I found the place in the Computer Forum thread that I wanted to capture and hit my Print Screen key. I returned to Paint and did a Control V to paste the shot. Next I did a right click on my Taskbar and took a Print Screen of the Taskbar dialog box. I added that to screen shot of the Forum thread. My first attempts at adding text were terrible. Finally I did this: (I started saving the Paint image in My Pictures.) In order not to lose the Computer Forum thread in which I was posting, I opened a new internet window so that I could go to the VIDEO site that Raven posted. (I wanted to take a Print Screen to help the reader spot the Video play button.) I pasted the shot in Paint below the earlier pic. In the space between the two pics I typed some things for the reader to consider. Next I basically followed the steps outlined above and added text to the Video shot. Then I joined Photobucket (free). After you join you will see this window: CHOOSE FILES to upload. Photobucket says when the image has uploaded. Next click the HTML Code. Paste in Forum. (You could practice in Test Forum.) I've tried to make this brief--hope it's clear! :) Here is a link that might be useful: Test Forum

I use Baldwin knobs. The half dummy is a small 1/2 inch bore hole similar to a cabinet knob with a small matching plate on the back of the door. This would be used for a closet door where you don't see the back of the door. The knobs come with a template for the hole. You just use a 1/2 inch regular drill bit, takes 30 seconds. My Baldwin full dummy is a spindle through the 1/2 inch hole with a fixed knob on either side. It looks like a regular door knob but doesn't turn so it is used on doors that you see both sides. I would definitely get a full dummy set for your doors since it is a passageway. Just make sure your guy doesn't drill regular bore holes in the door. I ordered closet doors prebored and am stuck using a regular functioning knob set since the holes are too big for a dummy set. I guess some dummy knobs must just get screwed on from the front? Maybe that is what you were looking at? I thought they all worked like Balwins.

To be honest Sunny, while I could recommend further on specifics, for better or worse, it sounds like we're down to the "where do I put the towel rack?" stage, you already know pretty much what you want and any more "big idea" discussion would be pointless. And that's entirely ok. More often than not when I do these "pen to paper" exercises I do them for the lurkers rather than the OP anyway. And for the lurkers, at least one of my three points above has been addressed, that of house area. For a house with basically 4 bedrooms and the support spaces here, 2100SF is plenty. That number might represent a challenge to achieve but that's what a good residential designer does. The other two points, that of maximizing views and circulation remain largely untouched. Two bedrooms are looking elsewhere (one onto what I think will be a largely unused covered patio) and parts of the circulation paths look like the white squares in a crossword puzzle. In concluding, let me get back to Sunny....I guess in a larger sense what I was trying to illustrate is your house has no soul. Sure it has all the pieces (place for piano CHECK......screened porch.....CHECK.......pantry.....CHECK......place for hutch.....CHECK.......walk in closet.....CHECK....etc.) but add all those pieces up and the sum does not make for an inspiring whole. And inspiring wholes do not cost a dime more to build than uninspiring wholes. Designing a skyscraper, where there's a lobby floor with 50 identical floors above is in many ways an easier task than coming up with a well designed small house. Let me reference some threads you might find helpful before you spend a healthy six figures of your hard earned money in an endeavor with no "do-overs" (and again, I'm keeping lurkers in mind here). Read up on what makes good design. First here's a great list of book suggestions: http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3281434/book-suggestions?n=10 Second, here's a bunch of great suggestions from others here on what makes good design: http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3285825/what-makes-a-house-have-good-design?n=39 (And Sunny, if you thought some of my comments above might have been a tough read, note #31 in my post here). And third, get someone local of talent to sit down with you for a highly interactive "brainstorming session" on the design of your house. And this doesn't have to be expensive or time consuming. Just look at the idea I drew above.......which took an hour. I do these all the time and call them "design charrettes". And don't think I have a horse in your race as I only do these locally, face to face, and I'm plenty busy with the locals anyway (some I even reference here!). In lieu of doing another big retype here's a coupla threads that explain those: Not my first post here but the photo heavy one further down. In the charrette photo that's me pen in hand with the builder flanked by the owners (and from the photo you can see I'm a piano player too). http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3178541/question-for-architectrunnerguy-or-others?n=24 And a colleague of mine wrote the process up in his blog http://www.lifeofanarchitect.com/design-in-a-day/ And again Sunny, the best of luck with your build.

Also remember one important thing. Humans are very adaptable. It's how we've survived so long. However one thing that adaptability managed to do is make us believe that we have something that works well, when in reality we can do better. For example, your island is a barrier. How much better would it be if you didn't have to walk around that small island every single time to get from your fridge to your sink? Right now you don't think it's a problem because you've adapted. Those who have MW's over the cooktop think it's ok because they've adapted. I have one in both rental's right now. I have to reach up every time to grab hot bowls out of the MW (and I'm vertically challenged). I have adapted though so really don't think about it. However, I know that in reality for me a drawer MW works better because I'm not reaching up. In my rental kitchen here in FL my corner butterfly sink is literally right next to the stove. There is no space between them. And to the left of the sink, is not enough space to prep. The only space to prep is to the right of the stove on the peninsula. However, I've adapted. I wash my stuff, and then carry it past the stove to the peninsula. I grab utensils and bowls from all over the kitchen since there is no place close to put most of the stuff I need. However I've adapted and now that I've been cooking in this space for several months, I tell people it's not as bad as I thought it would be. But the reality is, that if I had a well laid out kitchen, DH and I wouldn't be constantly bumping into one another (especially at the sink) and all movements would flow better. I wouldn't be dripping water and who knows what on the floor each time I cooked. I wouldn't have to keep running back and forth between the sink and the only prep space. So really think about whether you've adapted or if your kitchen really is the best laid out it could be and the most efficient.