Hi! A couple of things my hubby worked into the plans for our big remodel that now I love: - Speakers in the ceiling of virtually every room. His plan is to eventually hook them up to a wireless Sonos music system. We can't afford to do all that now but the ceiling speakers aren't actually that expensive (they aren't particular to any system,) and it's A LOT easier to put them in when a ceiling is open or house is being worked on than later! In the few rooms where they are hooked up, I LOVE it - my favorite is the music in the master bath when I'm getting ready! Hubby listens to sports and news podcasts. - TASK electric strips under our cabinets instead of wall outlets. It's easy to install and then outlets run along under the cabinet like an angled power strip. It means the tile looks nice and there is no cutting or ugly outlets in your tile pattern. We also put it along the whole side of our island under the granite overhang. My iphone battery is dead but let me know if you want photos (b/c the ones on the web don't match very well, in my opinion!) We got cocoa (dark brown) for dark wood cabinets and then a white (called "snow") for under our cream pained cabinets/granite. Match like a dream! - USB outlets in our power outlets in our Master BR - I put the link below b/c it's a little hard to explain. But in addition to regular outlets, you have two USB outlets that pull off the same power supply. That means I can plug in to charge my iphone or iPad without taking up a plug, so alarm clock or bedside light still has plugs available (without a yucky power strip.) Honestly, there are a few more places I wish I had that, including one outlet in the kitchen and family room. Electrician hadn't installed them before but didn't find it to be a problem. - NuHeat tile floor heaters in bathrooms - it's just heavenly to have a warm tile underfoot. It is electric and then hooks up to a timer/thermostat on your wall. One word of warning, we did only part of the floor in our guest bath thinking it would radiate and warm the rest of the tile near it (just like 2 rows.) It does not. Half the tile is ice cold and half is warm - bizarre. We did every part of our floor in our new master bath. Much better. - This one is fairly everywhere but we did "bonus" outlets under every bathroom sink and we did them inside the tall cabinets next to the sinks in our master bath. Hubby plugs in his razor and I plug in my Clarisonic face brush INSIDE the cabinet instead of it having to sit out on the counter - I don't like anything on the bath counter if I can help it! That's super easy to do but has to be planned for when they are pulling the lines. - Moen MotionSense faucet. That little guy is really convenient and works so well! You can put your hands under and it runs for 30 seconds (or longer if you leave hands there) or swipe over and it stays on until you move your hand over it again. We actually put it in our laundry room b/c I'm always getting detergent on my hands or other mess so then I don't have to touch the faucet to clean my hands. - If you have walls open, my hubby put in these little recessed boxes that have the power and lines for a flat screen tv, then the cable, HDMI or internet runs down in the wall. You don't have to see a single cord which I especially appreciate in our family room over a fireplace mantel and in our master bedroom (where I resisted a tv in the first place but at least didn't want a bunch of dangling cords!) - Dimmers on EVERY light switch. So easy to do, so much nicer for lighting your life. OK, that's all I can think of for now - let me know if you want pics or more info on anything! Good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: FastMac USB Outlets

Thanks for the suggestions. I guess we've lived here since April so we have a pretty good idea of what does and doesn't work with the house. And we've lived in the subdivision for several years, leaving a perfectly maintained and updated (and newly kitchened) slightly smaller version of this house behind. We moved 3 blocks into a fixer upper knowing it needed these things and planning to do them so we've already budgeted for them (the old house didn't have a large enough yard for a sensible addition). We did replace the roof ASAP--that seemed sort of important. :) We'll definitely treat the bathrooms as separate projects if we can. They are usable and I would actually like to keep them. I just have a feeling there may be some issues. What's not to love? Seriously now, I have no problem with this and hope the floor under the toilet isn't rotted out...it should be a DIY facelift (but I'll have to hire someone to redo the grout. Too hard.) The master bath alas should be gutted. We won't need to move windows and doors except where the addition goes on--it's basically a good house. The current kitchen and living areas were merged (badly) in the 80s to create a sort of open concept thing and that needs to be undone. So, if I posted some floorplans is this a place to get some feedback? I do plan on getting an architect but I've noticed professionals do a better job when I can tell them exactly what I want. :P Does this forum do that sort of thing? (I know the kitchen forum would never let me down.)

Thanks for posting these pics for me. Get some samples of the faucet finish that will help a lot. I have a wall mounted faucet and planned it to be accessible from the back if ever it was needed. The accessible area is inside a closet in the room on the other side of the sink. I had a new cabinet made for my soapstone sink and tall backsplash. My faucet rough-in is installed through the wall and the thick backsplash. I actually could disassemble the faucet and sink from the front too, and lift the vanity away from the wall if I needed to. I have a large access hole behind the backsplash. But to change out the rough-in I think going through the wall, behind would be preferable, because there is more room to cut a hole to access plumbing. Note that the faucet comes out of the backsplash and drips straight into the sink. There is no counter below the faucets and spout. I mention this because, most pictures I see with a wall mounted faucet have a counter below the handles. I love the way mine is set up because all wet droppings from the hands wind up in the sink and not onto the counter. This sink is a breeze to use and clean. It is 18" square outside and around 10" deep outside. This is my guest bathroom/mudroom/ on our working farm. On occasion I might be mixing calf milk replacer in the sink, or washing a dog in the bathtub. The sink can be used to wash fairly large items too. It was a real treat to plan all of this and see it come alive. You will have so much fun with your beautiful dresser.

I'm no expert I just know a lot of people are doing cement board around me. I am not sure if they glue then screw and caulk to prevent hiding spaces. Best to check with an expert. However. It can all have the same look with a smooth stucco or other surface and scoring. Here is one with a slight two tone chimney. Not to much but enough to diminish the height a bit .