what i did pay attention to, while exploring my two thousand or so pics..when they use marble the kitchen is more traditional, very elegant, right? so they will leave one element out, like Coco Chanel:) They'll either skip two toned but do contrasting island. Or they'll do shelves instead of uppers, or uppers with large amount of glass. They'll make the look softer-by using maybe wood, or soapstone sometimes, on the island, or introducing maybe some warm metal finishes. But they'll try to keep something out, to still keep the kitchen being this lady who leaves one accessory at home. Now when the style is modern, or very contemporary-color blocks look great, and even more than two..I didn't include them here but you can really go wild there with colors-because the doors themselves are so sleek, and handles are usually are very non-obtrusive or not there at all. So kitchens 3 and 4 they're example of very sleek kitchens like that,,and yes, on fourth they matched the long cabinet to the island-yet it works because the inner sense of that kitchen is very geometrical so to say..and not a lot of other elements are taking your attention, it concentrates on this color blocking. The kitchens that I love the most that are either very colorful or keep one color of the cabinets but introduce lots of other surfaces or say have a bit unfitted look-they tend to be more casual..maybe a bit rustic or cottage, or a bit bohemian, or maybe pretty classic like these great English kitchens..I can't pinpoint the style since they're definitely not done in one style-but they have this more relaxed look, like "I just threw it on, and I don't care". So they can have marble, yes. But they still, at least seemingly, won't care. And they will introduce maybe one element more-like a wooden table instead of an island, or bold lights, or..insert your own. I'm not sure I'm making much sense since I'm writing as I'm trying to analyze it myself..but that's what I see when looking at two toned cabinets. So when I wanted to go with it my inspiration was definitely closer to this thrown together(can you say that?) style..and it fitted the character of the house. You know your future house character, and your own style..so it will be your call where you want to add and where you feel like you need to leave something out. There's no set rule. You have your space..in blueprints yet, but the space as you imagine it, within the context of your future house..what do you want it to say? What feeling you want it to give to you? What character it will have? General concept gives ideas about smaller details I think. Hence my unclear post:)

For those asking for pictures, here's one from the street: I totally understand Virgil's (and others) concerns -- rest assured we have already spoken with a few local professionals and we're very close to hiring an experienced residential designer. Reading over several threads the past few days (special thanks to ArchitectRunnerGuy) has helped me to understand the design process better. It has also allowed me an opportunity to see things from an architect's point of view -- I get how it could be frustrating to always have clients bringing in their suggested floor plans... what was the phrase I saw on here somewhere? It was like "bringing a fast food burger to a gourmet buffet" :-) I think for us, attempting to draw up our own ideas was just an exercise to force us to consider all the details and the push/pull of different needs and wants... and we figured they would be a good jumping off point for discussion with whomever we hired. As I was searching for different perspectives, I stumbled upon this site and saw some amazing threads where people were collaborating and building off each other. That's what inspired me to post our "armchair architect" layouts. Even if we hire the best architect we can find, some creative and wonderful idea may come out the collective wisdom on this site that could have otherwise been missed... One thing ARG's other threads have helped me to understand is that even having a few sketches of ideas still doesn't effectively communicate all the reasons why to an architect. You can't just hand over those ideas and say "here, start with this, but make it 10 times better". The design charrette process he described is really the key to getting everyone on the same page. I've definitely learned better questions to ask when evaluating potential architects and designers ("Tell me about your process"). Getting back to question answering: Rockybird - this is in Georgia. There would be windows in the master, and the spare bedroom near the studio (although in Take 2, there's barely any exterior wall space left for one -- I caught that, but was out of ideas on how to make it better). The shared bath would technically be the only interior access to the Studio -- the whole idea is for my wife to be able to have clients in the studio without them having to come into our house. The shared bath is really just for cost savings... BTW, the current house faces north. As I've read more about the importance of south facing windows and light penetration, I see that both our ideas haven't been considerate of that and we would have some dark areas... Quinn - Wow is all I can think of to say right now! Thank you so much for your thoughtful and creative ideas. We had not considered layouts with the studio in the front of the house - that could definitely work, and yes the studio could be an L shape. One of the only reasons we were thinking it would be new construction was also due to cost savings -- other than a few more windows and HVAC, the studio space could pretty much be the same fit and finish as a garage -- bare concrete floors, etc. So we were hoping the cost per square foot to build that could be cheaper... I like your placement for the garage and "bumping in" the L shaped addition to be more respectful of the original house. And I love that the squirrelly hallway bothered you so much you had to come back the next day and make it better. I'd love to know what software you're using... seeing exterior renders really helps me visualize what the completed addition could look like. We are in complete agreement about hallways - we tried our best to eliminate them too. As for keeping things on one level -- for the studio it's pretty important. We have a two story house now and some of my wife's equipment is upstairs. She has tons of gear (lights, backdrops, etc.) and sometimes travels to clients. She is quite tired of the multiple trips up and down the stairs... Depending on the cost savings, we would be willing to consider putting the game room and/or a 3rd bedroom and bath upstairs. I think that's all for now. Thanks again to everyone for contributing, and I'll be sure to update this as things progress.

Its a very cute house. Congratulations on your new home. I dont blame you though, I would be wanting to paint too. That blue doesnt go with one darn thing. i do really like your brick, and it looks like it belongs on your house, please dont paint it. I would look really close at the brick, and the color of the mortar and pick a color of either the mortar or a color in the brick itself ad repaint that blue really fast. I would paint the window trim white, which is probably the way it was when the house was built. I cant tell exactly what color that foundation is, except that it is way too light. It makes the house look like its sitting on a big box on a green yard. Try and pick a color really close to the brick, or a darker gray or brown (I cant tell the color of your roof for sure) so that it looks grounded.

https://www.rejuvenation.com/catalog/categories/hardware/interior-door-hardware they also have craftsman looking. if you want original, vintage, try searching Etsy for antique door knobs.