I have two large rooms and a hallway between that I want to floor with bamboo. I'm going to be using prefinished, solid bamboo tongue and groove flooring with a floor nailer. I have some experience with flooring single rooms but this is a bit more complicated for me and I thought I'd get some advice from you all. see picture: I'm not sure whether it makes sense to floor this as 3 separate areas or try to do it in one continuous fashion. If I start flooring in the front room (at the bottom of the picture where it says start) with the boards in the direction of the lines, eventually I get to where the hallway is and I can extend the boards the length of the house. The question is, if I get this super-long row in, how do I floor the bottom part of the back room (with the ?) to get it to match up. Do I reverse the direction of the tongue and groove and work back down towards that bottom wall? Do I floor from that wall up and hope that it matches up with that super-long row? Should I do each section separately and not worry about getting long continuous rows that span the entire house? Also if I make one super-long row I guess i'd have to face nail the sections in the hallway and in the back room before there are any other rows in place to support it. Anyway, I'd appreciate any advice from anyone with some flooring experience. thanks!

You can pick out that filler depending on what they used - I tried it just to make sure in case we wanted to use something else/tile in the future as I used a lot of screws. I didn't want the kitchen higher than the living room. It would be a nightmare to do, but you can do it. The luan is what is causing the problem - that needs to be pulled up and replaced with plywood not luan. Standard practice is luan and no one we talked to was willing to use nicer plywood even at our insistance. Luan is the smooth surface - the didn't need to use something different. We made the choice to use better plywood as we choose DIY/better materials with the money we saved on labor (so, we probably aren't saving any money and its a lot of work, but we are getting some better stuff). Even if you put the vinyl under the cabinets, vinyl is easy to cut, but it also depends if they used the glue down method vs. tape. We taped ours down just in case I wanted to change my mind in the future or we ruined it redoing the hardwood floors or something else given we are redoing the rest of the house. We glued our one seam under the fridge and we probably didn't need vinyl under there but we have the ice maker and I know what's under there (I also put it under the oven but not dishwasher except where I could reach). The real questions are how did the put it down and they probably are trying to do what is easiest for them. I would want the 1/4 inch luan removed and replaced with 1/4 plywood, screw down (not nail) with deck screws so they will not rust and are solid and they need to be counter-sinked, it filled (let it set for a few days), sanded smooth, then use the tape method for the vinyl, cover with molding. (I did everything but lifting the plywood and the molding myself (husband did that), so it is an easy thing to do, so don't let them tell you how hard it is and I am not a big woman). Putting down vinyl is one of the easiest things we've done (and windows surprisingly). Debi, were you the one who they put the wrong color in? If you were, I'm not so sure given this is the second mistake, I'd want them fixing it.

I’ve lived with both. I absolutely love a two story great room. Our current new build has 10’ ceilings because there was no real way to design a two story along with all the other elements in the design with the constraints we had on our lot. Even though we have just under 7 acres, we have a creek on one side of the building pad, and slope on the other. So we could not stretch out our house the way I would have liked to. But, if there was any possible way, I would have done a two story for sure (or at least 15-16 foot ceilings). Very high ceilings completely change the feel of the room and gives you the opportunity to have HUGE windows (which I love....I’m all about the windows!). And with a two story you can really have some ceiling drama with beams etc. We have not moved in yet, but already the ceiling feels low and makes the room seem much smaller. And even though we have two full walls of floor to ceiling windows, it still feels closed in to me. It’s a completely different feel (not one that I like). I do think though that a 15 - 16 foot ceiling can give you a similar feel and is also enough room for ceiling drama. I would have gone for that as well (if possible). With rugs, furniture and fabrics, you should be able to control the echo. I never noticed a problem with that. We’re in a rental now and the great room and breakfast area are two story...there is zero echo. I think a good design of the space makes a difference (which is where a talented architect comes in).

I recently remodeled and changed the double sinks for one sink plus a nice area where I can sit down for my ablutions. I wanted the increased counter space as well as the increased storage space. I don't spend that much time over a sink anyway so I don't see what the big deal is to have one sink. I especially think it is ridiculous when I see two sinks crammed into a small vanity with a tiny bit of counter space - so big deal you have a dysfunctional bathroom space but you have two sinks. I remodeled for my needs and my aesthetic vision. I am not planning to move and if someone doesn't like it, they can fairly easily just reconnect the plumbing and add the second sink. In terms of mirror treatment, I did a ceiling to counter wall to wall mirror but then put two different mirror treatments above the sink and the "grooming area". The wall to wall mirrors lightens and enlarges my rather small space and the two different mirror treatments differentiate it as well. I also have two Art Deco style sconces above the sink and a version a makeup lighting above the grooming sit down area.