thank you guys for even reading my wordy post! and for responding with great/helpful ideas ;) i fixed the google sketchup drawings with correct wall height. alx and lzgdns - i'm not married to an accent wall, but dd wanted bright pink walls and all 4 walls = approx 713 sq feet of azalea pink! good info though, that focal wall has to be focal for a reason. i was trying to do a satisfying dose of pink for her, without losing the light reflectivity of the other walls, and trying to make the dingiest north wall/ceiling area look crisp white by contrast. the ivory on upper half of room now looks greyish-ivory "BM faded orphan dress" thank you for the paint color suggestions, especially on dealing with the northerly light (and website) purply-pinks clash with the carpet for sure. the color dd keeps coming back to is behr's springtime bloom - lol - fun job to name paint colors - BM peptobismol SW benydryl tablet pink FPE chalky calamine lotion would you really paint the ceiling pink too? there is no flat ceiling, it's all on a slope. that's exactly why we want the loft for her - cozy book nook, place where she and her friends will want to be as they get a little older - we wanted the area underneath it to have maybe a desk, storage, bookshelves too - something that i really worry about is that since the light is northerly, putting a loft on the far wall would actually pretty much lower the ceiling over both windows. this has to reduce the amount of light that gets reflected into the rest of the room, making it feel even darker. i Love beadboard, but i have been feeling that it's too out of character with the house to look right. my mil has the similar contemporary 1970s style home, and she has spent years gradually colonializing it - colonial wallpapers, paint colors, furniture. the overall effect is ODD. cottagy finishes in a room with an 15'high x 19'long wall -is it possible? crash&suero, you've both gotten me thinking, corner loft! a triangle wastes a lot of floor space, but a square works maybe? instead of across the room - because the shortest part is useless anyway - the one i drew is directly under the skylight, and has lowest ceiling height of around 4'5" like a staircase but that would take up a lot of space/$, for now i think ladder is best option? i also like that it breaks up the enormous expanse of wall. no kidding if i had a ds instead of dd, i'd do a mural of niagara falls, put fake boulders at the bottom, hang some barrels halfway on hte wall for bookshelves, decorate his bed in lifejacket orange and be done ;) Did another sketch! Loft is around 5' by 8'. Wasn't sure what size it should be but this doesn't block window, and is a golden mean ratio ;) added ladder. hope it makes sense visually. Any thoughts? the wall is pink for fun, will try other paint suggestions too ;) pink does not match actual paint choices. thank you so much! (sorry my messages are so long) my paint color name is: SW chatty blur Here is a link that might be useful: new sketch with corner loft

I wanted to let you know what I have found with my upstairs front loader over the past several years. I had major issues with vibration too from my 3 year old Kenmore front loader (dishes would fall off my shelves on the first floor). It died 3 weeks out of the extended warranty (isn't that always the case?). I had my husband bring my older model Kenmore front loader from our rental property. It was an older model one and it was really heavy (I would guess 400 pounds). The repairman told me the older ones actually had a rim of cement in them for added weight to dampen the vibrations. Ironically, the old heavy machine doesn't vibrate at all. The extra weight more than dampens the spin cycle vibrations and we don't have any more issues. I would choose the heaviest one I can find next time I buy one. Maybe you can trying weighting it down with a few hundred pounds to see if it improves??? My washer just sits on hardwood. I only do laundry when I am home so I don't worry about a leak. Maybe the key to fixing your machines may be to add weight to it.

1. Your builder may have an interior designer on staff that will help with all of the interior decisions. This, of course, comes with a pricetag (maybe not a line item, but it would be included). If your builder doesn't have one on staff, your best bet would be to hire someone. When we got bids on our house, we spec'd out generals: windows, floor type, cabinet type, shower material, counter material, etc. We didn't pick the EXACT material - those were included in an allowance. When it actually came to picking WHAT floor or cabinet style, we would have used the interior designer. 2. Your stairs are narrow. 3'0" is code minimum, but that is not comfortable, especially for stairs that will be used all the time. Ours are 40" and widen to 44". You'll be going up and down them a lot so you may want something a bit roomier. 3. I agree with others about all the 2 level rooms. I would close that up in an instant. 4. You walk into your master straight into a wall. Or a closet. Consider if that's the look you want. Plus I am not a fan of double doors. One will never get used. Where is your light switch? 5. You don't have room for a freestanding tub in your master bath. Toilet room is too small for an inswing door. 10' is a HUGE vanity. 6. You'll be hauling 3 kids' laundry upstairs to do it. Consider either adding a 2nd laundry space on the main level - and teaching your kids how to share laundry machines - and/or putting in an elevator. You will not have an entirely private level unless you plan on doing all of your kids' laundry forever. 7. Having the powder room right off the kitchen may make that bath really uncomfortable for guests to use. 8. Get rid of the pocket door into the shared bath and flip that bath around so the toilet is up against the closet. That bathroom is just about the worst of a jack and jill. Consider adding a tub/shower combo in that room for resale (anyone with kids under 5 or planned kids won't want to buy your house because they'll have to have their kids bathe in the master bath and truck up and down stairs with all that goes with that). 9. Any deck that you want to use for anything other than a couple chairs needs to be at least 10'. For dining, you need at least that width for a dining table. For comfortable living room type seating, 12'-14'. 10. Do you plan to watch TV in your living room? If so, consider flipping the living and dining room, and put the TV on the bar wall. And insulate that wall. 11. Kid in the middle bedroom gets screwed. Smallest room, no direct bathroom access, and toilets on both shared walls. 12. Reconsider pantry window. Typically food should be stored in a dark place. 13. Consider having seating on the edges of your island as well - this will make for easier conversation if you actually plan on eating there. 14. 3'-6" is pretty tight between a fridge and island. This probably doesn't include fridge handles or counter overhang, either. We have 4' between ours, and it only works because it's a french door fridge.

Hello Jenna, I sure wish we could talk one on one. Back after a long day and saw your message. To answer your question regarding the two closets/cabinets; if you ever decide to turn that into a full-time office you could build a desk between the two cabinets. That would give you a really nice desk area to work on as well as allow you to put a pull out sofa bed in the room so that you could still use it as a spare guestroom. Also the two cabinets will provide wonderful storage for office supplies and so forth. You could either have these cabinets built to fit or look for some from one of the stores such as IKEA or Home Depot. The cabinets could be secured into the wall and therefore make it possible for you to move or remove them at another time. If you have a big family then having the two rooms open is really not an issue. It allows for wonderful overflow from one room to another. I have found that installing barn doors in different settings can become a problem. They are heavy, hard to open and close and often come off the rail. But it is personal preference so if you would like it, I say, it’s your house and you should do it your way. Good for you for moving the double Dutch oven next to the range. It looks like it is going to be a really beautiful kitchen when you are done. I will be back tomorrow. I want to send you some pictures of our island so you can see what I am talking about when I say I put my stove in the island so that I can face out toward the living space when I am cooking. That way I am a part of the discussion and all that is going on when family is visiting instead of having my back to everyone. But again that works well for me and my family. Just a thought and suggestion for your consideration. I’ll be back tomorrow. Talk to you then. Hope you have a great day. I’m sure someone will have something to say about all that I have said to you. :-)