I'll make a comment on the size of the bins. When deciding on the size of each bin, one might consider the materials you will be composting. For example, if one expected to use a mix of sawdust and leaves as the 'browns', one might make the dimensions 3' by 3'. If one expected leaves to be the main 'browns', one might select 4' by 4' for bin size. If wood chips were expected to be the main 'brown' (without small filler stuff like sawdust), maybe a 5' by 5' size would be a good choice. My mesh bins are 5' by 8' by 2' high, and can reach 150F or more if the mix is optimal. The reason for the different sizes is due to air movement. Movement thru wood chips is easier than thru sawdust or very finely shredded leaves. The third number, height, can be less than the other two if the compost pile is sitting on the ground, which can also store heat. Since it is easier to turn a low pile, my compost piles have never been more than 2.5 feet high in recent years.

Oh wow! Thanks for posting your mudroom design with the 3/4 bath and office. I want the same thing but couldn't find anything to compare what was in my head to something I could find online to put in my notes. EVERY single plan I see is the office is connected to the bathroom and it's usually a half bath and the exterior door is so far from the mudroom that I couldn't see why there was a mudroom to begin with. I also want a door in between the living areas and the mudroom area so it can be closed off. I know how my 3 older boys are. I also have a 4th boy who is still a baby, so it will get it's fair use. I would also rework the door to open to the freezer rather than toward the drop zone. In our house we want the garage, mudroom and office at the back of the house since I like a plan that features a symmetrical front elevation. Of course, I like balance in everything. LOL

Houseful-thanks for all the detailed pictures! So cool how you have transformed that space! This house is in Arcadia, we are currently in the East Valley. So...one thing we are playing with is the idea of keeping the original flooring. That requires moving as few walls as possible to keep repairs/replacements to a minimum. So that is informing the following ideas: I am currently toying with the idea of having a doorway from the library to the kitchen that lines up with the doorway to the dining room. With both the kitchen/library and kitchen/dining walls being half walls opened up above the lower cabs, if that makes sense. So I could see out the dining room windows at a sink and the library window at a cooktop possibly. Lining up the doorways would direct traffic through the kitchen but maybe that would be okay since my work area would be all on one side of the doorways? If we did this you would be able to see the backyard from the library and view out the front from the dining room... Rosie-the garden room was not built according to the plans and is just a room with a huge skylight...I was thinking of keeping it, but with half walls so when you enter the house you can see through it to the back windows...I was thinking of making it a small play room with a couch under the skylight. (Skylight is quite long and narrow along the wall opposite the door). A friend of mine has a reading couch under a skylight and it is magical to stretch out and read there during rainstorms... I like the idea of the kitchen in the middle, I think...Now, it is desirable to do less for the flooring reason, but I want to think big and I would love ideas that grab space from anywhere, really. We are mere days into months of planning so my initial thoughts may change dramatically. I would love to tear out as little as possible but I am open to considering it nonetheless!

KH, If you want help you need to post a layout drafted to scale, or a sketch with dimensions to work from. Joe Brandao Kitchen Design Company