Your ideas sound great. I would love to hear feedback on those because I have the same situation in my basement. Walkout with a fireplace and plumbed for a downstairs bathroom. Husband thought he could do the job but he has quickly lost interest and the materials are just sitting there (he only bought enough to get started)- Most of the walls in our basement are cement with a little framed and insulated. I was trying to figure out how to do the electricity down the cement walls if we didn't do drywall.

I have a small house. Small baths. You don't like housecleaning nor wiping down after kids. One thing I did was I got rid of the ceramic tile tub surround and had white swanstone panels installed. I never want to clean mildewed grout again. I love tile and put it above the panels. Yes, I prefer, way prefer the look of tile but not at the cost of cleaning it. The swanstone looks pretty good. Sorry no pics. I have two Americast tubs and I think they are acrylic..I love them. Had cast iron before. They are shiny, sparkly, fresh and white. I think my cleaners use a spray to clean them. I am glad you are thinking this thru before you do extreme drastic measures. 1000s f is not going to be better with the addition of windows. Editing, building up, and up going storage will help, not windows. Natural light is overrated. Look at small space solutions and not at glam or cliched luxury sites. We built closets onto our bedroom walls instead of new dressers. Up to the ceiling. Think California closets. With drawers and cabinets. Not pretty but functional. We have ikea Brimnes headboards with under bed storage drawers in our new house. I am an ikea slave. Your family is always going to take a lot of time and energy and that's just the way it is. A 1000sf house will not be easy but it's home. And I love love your kitchen. Think about the life you live for now. Think first before acting.

I have a washing machine in my kitchen area and HATE IT! I see in your option 3 you have the stacked washer and dryer in your eating nook. In my household there are always laundry baskets that have to be stored somewhere (which takes up space in an already small kitchen). Just something to think about. Also, is there a reason you need a bathtub on the main floor? If you could get rid of it you'd have alot more space because you wouldn't need such a huge bathroom.

klem1 - The basement staircase is open - there's no way to seal it off. Since we replaced the vent duct with insulated - the ceiling never gets wet. It stays in the duct and fan/light. I think you might be right about the damper. We are going to try replacing the one on the outside of the house with something better. Mike - we ordered a dehumidifier earlier this week. It arrived yesterday and we started using it right away! I don't know what the final number was that it climbed to, but it was 65% within a couple of minutes. So even if that doesn't solve the condensation problem it still needed done! Angel - when we bought the house it was just a plain metal one with no insulation. We did replace it with an insulated one and a part of our problem was solved because the drywall no longer gets wet. Unfortunately, the condensation still collects and comes through the fan/light. Kitchen Abode - yes the one on the outside of the house is super cheap. We are going to try installing a good one there. If that seems to work, we'll replace the fan/light. I will tell my husband about your recommendation! Patricia - yes, it does run all the way to the outside. It's in the basement - so thank goodness it doesn't go to the attic! lol Thank you all for your help. This thing has been such a nuisance. My husband is responsible for keeping 7 fire stations in shape. You all have no idea how nice it is to help him figure out this problem.