Imccarly---thank you so much for that information. You know I actually looked online for something about them..reviews, etc and found nothing. So that is valuable information. Snuggie--we have wooded propert closer to town and wanted to live there while we finish raising our kids. We set parameters for the size of our house plan with the architect but ended up going way over. It was more our fault than his. I finally realized that I don't want to build a huge house and brought dh around...so it's all for the best. We will probably stay where we are and maybe go ahead and raze our old lake house. Do you live in the Caymans full time? Must be a fun place to think about building. I just don't have it in me to try to custom design another home. I understand your frustration. Back to these beautiful homes! I did not see that the kitchen was that small! Here's a screen shot of the PDF for Reidsville which is basically the same as the Shenandoah. Even though it doesn't have the kitchen measurements, I thought it must be 14 wide. The dining room is 12 wide and it looks like that is from the columns of the DR to the wall. The cabinets on the left side of the kitchen would have to be 2 ft. That's where I came up with 14. I think it's too narrow for an island even if it is 14. On Houzz they used a peninsula in 55 Reidsville. I asked Suzanne if it could be built with a basement and she said yes. So I would think ICF might work.

don't forget to flush all toilets, check the pipes and fitting and also check all faucets for leaks etc.Basement floors etc. Run the water hard.Start a running list of any repairs mentioned while walking with the inspector. They will usually write down little things but mainly catch any major items. Look for any possible live wires, also check furnace and water heater connections. Check all tile work, grouting and floors for any loose or water areas. Also look at all ceilings for any water damage,condensation or spots that could have been painted over. Check gutters to see if they were maintained and cleaned.Look at property grounds, water accumulation runoff, Get up on that roof and look at the fireplace chimney with the inspector if necessary.(make sure he checks this) Check out roof close up too while you are up there.Chimney flues and roofs can be costly.Check out your neighbors if possible too!!!!! Are there lawns maintained, noise levels, loud dogs, privacy, things you will have to live with!!!!

I'm so glad to help, farmhousegirl. Oh, I wish I had to the talent to draw my plan from scratch! My plan is the work of Justeen Oess. She did alot of houses at the Ford Plantation, and we just fell in love with her work. The plan is very custom. Our lot was difficult at best, and we had some very specific needs (like an infirmary to store insulin and pump supplies for our 3 diabetic sons and a band room for our established and budding musicians). The floors are one of my favorite things. They came from the trees that stood where the house now stands. I stood firm in my belief that we could use the stand of beautiful white oaks and searched until I found someone who could take our trees and bring them back home as floors. I'll put the link to that blog posting below. They were finished on site with tung oil. Regarding the bathroom vanities, I got some from Craigslist already made. The powder room, the little heart pine vanity and the basement bath were ready to go. I did get a better sink and faucet for the powder room, though. The one that was in it didn't suit. The white huntboard in my daughter's bathroom was retrofitted. My builder's guys did it for me. The huntboard and the granite top were both Craigslist finds. Generally speaking, you have to either remove the drawers and make fixed fake fronts or cut the drawers around the plumbing pipes and remake them. Hope that helps! Let me know how else I can help. Here is a link that might be useful: trees to floors

Part of me wonders if it would be less expensive to buy an extremely old house and redo it from top to bottom instead of finding craftsman and paying a premium to make a new house look old. My knee jerk is "probably not, and only if you were to find an old house that was excellently taken care of and didn't require a lot of fussing with to become workable for modern lifestyles." That said, there is a whole "new old house" movement. There is a "magazine" (published once a year, but with an annual kitchen and bath issue, and a source guide) called New Old House, a number of online articles on the topic, and some excellent books by Russel Versacci, among others. (I'm particularly fond of "Roots of Home," but I haven't seen his newest one yet). Now, I, personally, don't have the budget to really to it up right and use all authentic natural materials, etc. But it is possible to gain some helpful tips and develop you "eye" for what makes a house look more authentically "old."