dmwbcc - there are several manufacturers of VCT -we got Armstrong Excelon installed at a flooring store. But there is also Congoleum and Azrock all in a staggering amount of colors (make sure you ask about other colors if you go to one of the box stores. They might not be showing you everything that is available). I saw the Excelon at Lowes for 69 cents sq/ft uninstalled. The one complaint I have is that I wish that we have put a new subfloor down because it would not have cost much and would have laid smoother. Our floor is pretty uneven & wavey - its a Victorian - and you can see where we expanded some doorways because it really conforms to the surface. If I had been able to find the Marmoleum for the price panchodog did, I would have totally gone for it. There are a couple of differences between the two. Marmoleum/linoleum is a green product, VCT is vinyl. Marmoleum has cork on the back and is a floating floor. VCT is glued right over the existing floor or subfloor. I don't think Marmoleum requires sealing. VCT does. I was also interested in having a high gloss shine on mine, like you see in supermarkets, and that means putting several layers of polish (not hard to to apply - you just mop it on) and then buffing it. You could get away with just one or two coats of polish, no buffing though. VCT without polish is chalky looking. Don't know if you can get a high gloss whine on Marmoleum.

@tatts I came here for informal design help as I lay out my house. I think some people understand that and others do not seem to understand that. I understand that details about the house location and whether it is sewer or septic are lacking to some folks. I appreciate that me just moving things around in a house in a photo editor doesn't make any sense in the real world. Just because I post an idea or edited floor plan of something does not mean that is is going to be built that way or built at all. I have a site engineer, my GC, and a design & structural engineering firm. @roccouple Thanks for all of your thoughts! I really appreciate it! I'll think about axing the fireplace as it definitely eats some space. We like having a fireplace but we don't plan on using it often. We consider it our secondary heating source in case we lose power but maybe we could do something different. The garage is a little out of proportion of the house..We tried to find a balance. :-) you guessed correctly we have a couple of cars, 3 motorcycles, and will most likely end up with a couple of snowmobiles in a year or two. I have a decent amount of tools to go with the toys and we also have lots of outdoor gear. The garage is actually going to be pretty tight space-wise! @mnmamax3 Thanks! We were thinking about trying to put the W/D inside of cabinets or something similar so we could potentially close a cabinet or closet door. I'm also thinking we could add a door at the entry of the mudroom (from living room) just how @mama goose_gw zn6OH did in her most recent post.

@Sam A We've never had a problem with noise in the master bedroom (which we use as our office) because there are only 2 of us living here and when we have guests we're both chatting with them anyway. We never hear any noise from the kitchen in the master bedroom/office. Our TV is right outside the master bedroom/office, but if only one of us is watching then we'll use bluetooth earpods / headphones. My husband also set up bluetooth headphones for his parents to their TV and they used them frequently when only one person wanted to watch TV. I'd highly recommend this set up, especially if one person is hard of hearing like my FIL. My MIL hated the TV always being incredibly loud when she was trying to read or craft, so the headphones were a great compromise for them! ha If noise is a concern for that room I'm sure you could add some extra insulation / sound proofing on the adjoining wall and a thick door.

Wow I am so grateful for all the advice. Well yes there is a lot going on lol! I’m laughing at the what in the world remarks! These are such great suggestions . I think the rectangular one that grounds the space may work even though I didn’t think so.. agree the different lives need to go! Th horticultural corner contained a bevy of plants and that’s what it is for .. hey I didn’t build the house .. when we lived in it was tiled with small two inch squares and had a step down.. we took the tile out and raised it to be level with the floor and chose a print tile as we couldn’t get the matching marble tile and it was 30k to rip out the marble and replace (because it’s small town Oregon) they would have to build a subfloor under after ripping the tile out) So that’s why it continues to be a atrium. And yes it messes with the entire space! I’ll post the pics when I get this space finished! I can’t thank you all enough!!