Custom -- unique -- those can be euphemisms for weird and bad. While this house contains some nice features, it also contains some bad ideas that will not live comfortably -- things no one's going to like in real life. And it is expensive in ways that don't help the looks or efficiency of the house. - The entryway has a barrel vault that leads into an arch . . . and beyond that is a coffered ceiling . . . and then you have another arch off to the left. These are all expensive, showy ceiling features -- but having all of them within arms' length means they will "compete" with one another. One feature of good design is that it contains "enough" . . . without going overboard. Note that your inspiration plan contains multiple coffered ceilings, but it doesn't mix and match ceiling features. Repetition in design creates a sense of harmony. - On the subject of arches -- I love them and wonder why people aren't building them anymore. But they're an expensive feature, and I would never spend the money to build one between the kitchen and the mudroom, especially since it's tucked behind the kitchen cabinets and would literally only be seen as people come /go from the house. Unless your budget is genuinely unlimited, put your resources in spots where they're going to show. - I agree with the poster who mentioned the difficult turns necessary to enter either of the secondary bedrooms. If the aforementioned elderly relative needs a walker or a wheelchair, this will be difficult. It would be easy to move the door to the smaller bedroom to an easier-to-access spot. Will this relative live with you all the time? If so, he or she will probably need more than an 11x11 room with a small closet -- could you happily move all your personal effects into this room permanently? I ask because this was a MAJOR FIGHT with my easy-going grandmother only a few years ago, and she NEVER got over having to get rid of so much stuff. I agree with the poster who suggested making the larger office room a bedroom for the elderly relative. - An ADA bath in a 9x9 space. Is that possible? Okay, it's possible, but I mean, is it possible to do it well? - The master bath is large but contains SIX DOORS. Stop and visualize six doors in this space. The master bath is also laid out poorly: When you walk in, your sightline is the corner of the shower. And the toilet closet is tiny and cramped -- backing into a 6' deep closet and scootching over to the side so you can close the door (plunging yourself into darkness) won't be comfortable. Why plan two sinks in such a small vanity? It means you'll have no drawer space. What is the dry area in the shower? What is keeping it dry? Note that when you walk into the bathroom, you'll have to close those double doors and reach behind them to turn on the light switch. With all this space allotted to the master bath, you can absolutely have something better than this. - The great room is a positive ray of sunshine in an otherwise chaotic plan. Ditto for the foyer. - The odd extra hallway (containing a butler's pantry?) near the dining area is wasted space. Why would anyone walk through this hallway when the foyer is literally two steps farther away? - The kitchen doesn't work on any level. It's huge, but everything is so far apart! Your "major players" -- the sink and the stove and your prep space -- are all disconnected from one another. Why would you want your ovens in the dining room? Look at the floor plan and imagine yourself going through the motions of preparing one of your favorite meals. Likely it's going to include too many "walk across the kitchen" trips. I think you're falling for the oh-so-common idea that a BIG kitchen = a GOOD kitchen, and that is axiomatically false. An EFFICIENT kitchen = a GOOD kitchen. - What you're calling the Hearth Room could be an incredible dining room, and it's completely wasted as a sitting area. Because it is connected to the great room, it has no privacy and serves no purpose as a separate room. - The table, in its current position, is blocking access to the kitchen and the Hearth Room. Imagine squeezing by either end once chairs are in place. - If you move the sink in the mudroom to the same wall as the washer/dryer, you will save significant money. Why? Because you'll limit your water needs to one wall. That means only one wall needs to be thick enough to run water, and the plumber only has to work on one wall. I don't love the island in the middle of this room. This is a storage room / a pass-through room. The island actually creates a barrier. - I personally dislike the "friends' entrance" concept. I'm making the front door nice. I'm arranging guest parking to encourage people to see /enter through the front door. I'm setting up a table for purses/keys, etc. I don't want people traipsing in through the back door where I'm storing plastic bags, recycling, and dog food. And if this is a "friends' entrance", for whom is the front door? Enemies? I don't invite them over. - I agree with the posters who say most rooms are over-sized. You could easily reduce most rooms by 25% and still have comfortable spaces. The exceptions are the two secondary bedrooms, which don't seem to fit in with the rest of the sizing. - The hallways could be vastly reduced, and that could make up the price difference you mentioned -- you need the foyer hall and the two small halls to reach the bedrooms, but the giant freeway running through the middle is just expensive wasted space. I do like the inspiration plan's connection between the mud room and the hallway -- it promotes good flow in two directions, without being over-sized. Were you the poster from a couple months ago who loved hallways because of a wall treatment you saw in a model home's hallways? - A garage sticking out on the front doesn't make for a very attractive exterior. - You're going with a basement AND a bonus room over the garage? I'd pick one or the other, which would eliminate one staircase -- do not underestimate the cost of a staircase. Actually, staircases cost in both money and square footage. Either a basement OR a bonus room will give you a secondary living space. Again, this house has some redeeming features, but they are so buried under the oddities and mistakes that it's hard to find them. I vote for a fresh start. This post was edited by MrsPete on Thu, Sep 11, 14 at 18:21

Thanks everyone! I'm still loving this color and think Rockport is definitely my favorite of the grays I've done thus far. rmkitchen, I guess the Rockport looks lighter on the exterior? Chardie, I would love to see your stairs! caminnc, can't wait to see your dining room! Mush, that's the color combo I am going for. Cream sofa, tan drapes. I want to add a bit more turquoise and a splash of orange with pillows and accessories. Maybe next month! catkin, I'll try to post some tomorrow. We've been out of town and I'm on the wrong computer. In the meantime, you can probably find photos by searching my name and the colors I've used. Here is a link that might be useful: Here's my foyer

My SD's mom has been saying she's gonna take DH to court for two years. The best way to nip it in the bud... say "go ahead!" and then say NOTHING. IF he had custody, then it is VERY difficult to change custody without proving the custodial parent is not acting in the child's best interest. You don't need a lawyer until you have been served with court papers. Then, you can ask for attorney's fees from her if she has no basis for making you seek legal counsel. If her mom forked over money for a "good lawyer" in the past and she still does not have custody, then unless you are doing something WRONG, chances are she won't have a leg to stand on... right now, all she is doing is making threats and the best thing to do is ignore her. We have gotten threats to go to court. BM actually responded to child support papers by alleging abuse of her child and asking for custody. Her abuse accusations were: 1. We make SD take at least 15 minute showers. 2. If she doesn't take a 15 minute shower, we MAKE her eat Oatmeal or chicken noodle soup while we eat the 'regular' family meal and we make her go to bed early. 3. SD doesn't have as much FUN at our house as she and her mother thinks she should. THE TRUTH: She needs to take a good enough shower and 2-3 minutes of just getting her hair wet & getting out does not cut it... we make her go back and use soap. She has been given chicken noodle soup and goes to bed when she is getting sick, even if we are having her favorite enchiladas. If we took BM's accusations seriously and got defensive or tried to justify why we do what we do, then it would only encourage BM to keep making these RIDICULOUS claims. DH asked her, 'do you really think the court is going to change custody because the custodial parent is making sure the child has good hygiene, eats healthy, gets lots of rest?' So, SD started failing in school on purpose because her mom told her if she fails in school, the court will let her live with her mom so her mom can help her in school. She was finally told that she will repeat the grade again if she doesn't start doing her work... that if he mom isn't involved in school here, the court will not 'assume' she will do better over there and that we can prove we are trying to get her help she needs to do well in school but her mom hasn't come to one conference... just sits there telling us how we are doing everything wrong while she does NOTHING. Besides, she does not know everything that happens in our house and she relies on a 10 year old's slanted information because SD is upset she has to have a bedtime, do her homework, take a decent shower, do her own laundry, and keep her room clean. It only makes BM look foolish to guess at the truth and put it in writing in court papers. The last time she threatened to take him to court was a few weeks ago and he said go ahead... we will also talk about the back child support and just how involved she is in SD's schooling. BM has not yet filed anything and the truth is, she probably won't because she does not want to discuss EVERYTHING.. just the BS that she wants to b*tch about. When you open the door, you can't pick and choose what may get brought up. The point is, you can let yourself get all worked up over what BM is doing and let your life and mind get cluttered with it when she is probably blowing smoke and laughing at the reaction she gets. From your past threads, it appears that you really don't like her and apparently have told her so. If she is as manipulative and dramatic as you say, then the best way to deal with her is to take the wind out of her sail... by NOT reacting and not giving her any attention for her antics. Let your DH deal with her. Remove yourself from it altogether as much as you can. If he gives her information regarding the children, do it in writing. When she starts a scene, calmly stay seated & ignore her.... watch the show, smile and act as if she isn't there. An 'argument' takes two. If she makes a scene, she will be the one looking foolish. Any reaction from your side of it only hurts the kids when they are there to have a nice holiday performance and end up worrying that mom and dad are going to fight... what a way to ruin the holidays for the kids. NICE!!! (and I thought it was sad yesterday when I went to my Stepdaughter's play... there was a little boy asking his teacher if he can call his stepdad really fast to see if he can come. He had nobody there from his family and all kids want is for someone to care and be there) It may not be the situation with the kid yesterday, but it is so disgusting when a parent gets angry that a stepparent has the nerve to be involved in their child's life.... and it happens all the time.

Love the pictures and envy the beautiful snow, an opportunity to luxuriate in one's home that we're missing here in central Florida. Temps are up and down here also. As low as in the 20s just long enough to damage winter bloom and delicate foliages but mostly swinging from the high 30s-40s-50s up to 70s-80s. At 4 this morning it was in the high 60s thanks to cloud cover and I was sitting on the patio listening to the night life out in the marsh. Yesterday 40s and we were surrounded by heavy mist lit by what moonlight made it through. "Blizzard" cooking? The best chicken salad I've made so far pre-dresses baked white chicken with very flavorful pan juices, so I'm going to try that again. Grapes, greens, wine, patio. Nice, but cooking up a storm in a blizzard sounds wonderful. Enjoy!