Alison0704 - I agree, the top right window doesn't look right. if it's deleted will the space look like its missing something? Nini804 - I want it to look more symmetrical as well Renovator 8 - I appreciate your comments and am sorry that my postings seem so disorganize. I was posting as I got new drawings and can't seem to get more than one picture at a time in a posting. Will get rid of the brick ledge and use just one siding element. Am hoping the next drawing will open up the front a bit. Annie Deighnaugh -I think the overhang is a detail over the garage doors. Circuspeanut- I hope that the rooflines will not be staggered! I am assuming it looks like this now because it is just a sketch . An update - I spoke with the architect today. I suggested we pull the garage more to the right and have just a corner of it attach to the house. He agreed that that might help to place windows in a more symmetrical fashion. He was going to try to have something back to me today, but I didn't get anything yet. Thanks for all your helpful comments!

I do love the glass look-through of your newer inspiration picture, especially with your incredible view out the back. It seems it would do wonders to make a long low house look less like a daunting solid stone barrier. Plus it really makes the front entry a gorgeous focal point as opposed to being squished back into the house, as it is in your initial rendition. You could take it in a Spanishy, Japanesey, or mid-modern direction depending on taste. (It is slightly remniscent of the Eichler designs of the SF Bay Area; might check those for some similar ideas.) Do you want windows on that back right room? Looks slightly blind on the original rendering. I'm taking it there's no snow at your elevation; up here in Maine, your design would require a bit of finagling to make sure that heavy slide-off from the metal roof doesn't fall right onto your front porch and walkways.

We have had 2 brick homes with structural problems. 1905 and 1919. Our current home has a flat roof addition. So, yes, an open area 12 ft above the ground. I live old homes. I would consult a structural engineer - not a mason yet, not a contractor. We learned our options from him. Knowledge is power. My advice today is pretty much what it was when you posted before. Your balconies and lower porches are part of the same structure...one that looks like it is sloping downhill on the left, just like 2012's picture. And, yes, I know what structural work costs. But in my experience, it's the best alternative. Here is a link that might be useful: Snagd's 2012 post This post was edited by jmc01 on Thu, Jul 17, 14 at 20:00

Just chiming in - sorry for the lack of updates! It's been 2 years since our (very stressful!) kitchen renovation, but we're super pleased with how everything turned out. (I know you were asking about laundry-bathroom but just gonna write a general review in case others are interested.) We love our Sektion cabinets; the drawer-in-drawer came in super handy for storing things like medication, manuals/warranties, afternoon tea supplies, and lightbulbs/tools/odds&ends. On our stove side we use that drawer-in-drawer for lesser used or back-up cooking utensils (ice cream scoop, tongs, can opener, tea infuser, etc.). I did map out all of our storage when considering what size drawers/cabinets to get, and most everything fit pretty much as planned. For doors, we went with the Ringhult White. It was the most expensive at the time and made me super nervous, but we bought it during the kitchen sale and all the IKEA showroom staff said this was the top seller and best quality door they had. It also satisfied my need for a 'white-white' door, and provided a reflective surface that would help brighten up our lower level flat. No regrets. Easy to clean, no problems with scratching, steam, moisture, etc. I actually found some doors and drawers in the As-Is section at IKEA, so ended up saving $ by returning the brand new boxes for as-is items that were in perfect condition. (Hint: Even though the blue protective plastic on the doors might be scratched, when peeled off, the foil finish was still perfect / unharmed underneath.) We did have one problem with a faulty faucet leaking into the sink cabinet right after we installed it, unfortunately. This did create a little bit of bubbling in the particleboard but since no one is ever looking into the back of our sink cabinet except for future plumbers, and functionally the cabinet has held up just fine, I don't fault IKEA for this - I think any cabinet would have had some cosmetic damage if someone was pouring a cup of water onto it every night for two weeks. Also, we built all the cabinets and drawers ourselves, and screwed in all the handles as well. Though tedious, after the first few, you get the hang of it. There are a few details to watch out for (like how to position and nail in that plastic 'fat L' piece on the back) but overall this was inconsequential to the final result. Our contractor just helped us hang the cabinets on the wall (since I kept freaking out about how they could possibly stay up under all that weight)! Here are some After photos of our kitchen (a few are focused on the floor since I was writing a (very favorable) review on the wood-look tile we used). Pardon the mess... I wish we could live a Pinterest-worthy minimalist life, but alas... :P. Hope this helps and happy to answer any other questions! _____ P.S. One thing we forgot to get (that the IKEA kitchen staff forgot to tell us about) was the metal countertop support piece: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70274628/?query=Countertop+support+fixture Most contractors are able to improvise if you forget about this -- we still ended up adding a sheet of plywood under the quartz -- but I think this helps 'lift' the countertop for sink installation and allows the drawers and doors to close properly. We ended up having to drive back to IKEA multiple times just to get enough of this $2.99 FIXA thing :(. My advice is to buy more and return the ones you don't use. Also, some of the hinges were annoying to install (mainly for the sink cabinet because our large sink got in the way) as were the soft-close dampers, but I had my local IKEA Kitchen department on speed dial, and also referenced many many YouTube videos. Good luck!