wow....a lot of reading for the mind and soul during insomnia. So many ideas and so many things to think of..... This post just reiterates more that we are all products of our "families" and our experiences. The bad comes with the good and we grow and we hope to make the best of it and for some....I suppose the main goal is to not repeat some things that have damaged us the most. Brings us to the OP and the reason for custom homes. We all have a dream of the way we want to live and how we want our dream home to be a part of that life. I understand that most downsize to below a 2000 sq ft ranch. That doesn't mean it has to be done that way. I'm not trying to sound ridiculous or anything, but is it more a modern thing for people to down size or is it regional? It seems I know very few who have done this. My Grandparents just closed off their cellar and upstairs and lived in the main-level. They made adjustments when needed to the bathroom. I suppose it must be more modern as farmers used to stay in there homes and their family would move in and care for them. Nowadays I know a lot of farmers who give the "home place" to their youngest and then build a new "retirement" place for themselves. Just wondering?!?! Anyway....I'm from rural, farm country and where most have large families and super extended families. Most of my friends and family were raised in ranch homes or simple 2 story homes. Average sq ft being 1800-2100, often with a semi-finished rec room in the basement. The trend with my parents, their friends and our family is that they usually stay in the home until they pass away or a few go into a nursing home. I can honestly say that all 10 Aunts/Uncles and many family friends have added onto their homes in their 50's or early 60's. Actually 1 moved instead:). They all wanted a larger "gathering" room and built on for that reason. Many (prior to building on) used the lower-level rec room for this and then just for reason of stairs, location to kitchen and bathrooms, aesthetic, etc had added on to accommodate. So, they were all adding onto their homes, when I suppose many would think they were getting closer to downsizing. They all now approaching mid 70's and some into their 80's and are still in their added on homes. We have just found over the years that when a hall or other place is rented out for a holiday, etc....our family loses it's closeness. All the cousins arrive, eat and leave. We have found it more inviting, relaxing, etc to have it in the home where we can hang, relax and gather for hours. So, if you don't want people for hours, rent a place with tables and folded chairs or go to a restaurant :-) My parents actually were the ones who built a new place 2 years ago. They had owned acreage/wooded for years. They originally built a cabin on it and found themselves spending so much time there, they decided to build. Oh, we were so against the idea, everyone was! Too far out, too far from hospitals, too much land, too much too much. My dad said everyone thinks we are crazy, but it is what WE WANT, do you think we really haven't thought about all these things.....we will sell and move again if and when it becomes too much. So, they did what they wanted and they are thrilled. It is a smallish ranch with an open floor plan and a guest bedroom for occasional grand kids sleep overs. However, they have a large family room that is very cozy most of the time. They have the furniture placed in a groupings with large walk-ways all around. For Christmas it takes 2 people to move their one couch to open the room up and make room for all. And there solution to host really large parties was a "finished garage." They finished the walls with drywall and had breadboard added all around below the chair rail. They added cabinets and a counter top with electrical (crockpots etc) and a refrigerator. They have ceiling fans, highly insulated, and a nice epoxy (???) floor. They have a half bath directly inside the house from the garage. It is party ready just by backing the cars out. Of course they have an out building for all the junk that most people would have in their garage. What they didn't know is that it is the younger grandchildrens favorite place. It works out lovey when the young ones are out there....we pull out some old cars and trucks and they go crazy and then the adults can converse and hear each other. So, just to mention a few ways that many others have actually added to their homes in order to manage growing families. Personally, in our new build....we added on a huge dining room with surrounding wrap around covered porch and hope to be able to entertain large numbers in this space for many years. OP...I do wish you the best with your new home and your family is lucky to have you and a wonderful place to spend with you!

Oh Robin, I just read your original post and your recent post. First I am sending a hug. You might need to send one right back to me as we just bought a fixer-upper ourselves out in Scotts Valley. As I read your original post I kept thinking, yep, that's us. Yep, that too. (Except your listing photos are gorgeous and ours, well, they are not.) I do think you make a great point that people need to think about how they will use a house. We will likely lose one bedroom with moving some walls around (not load bearing, thank goodness) and I have people telling me how horrible that is for resale but this is our forever home and we need to do what is right for us. I don't have much to offer in the way of ideas but will send a barrel of emotional support up the peninsula to you. Good luck!

We took another look at things and measured the room (to confirm against plans). We actually have a full 12' (vs 11'10" per plan). We've also thought more about closing off the toilet. While it's not ideal (no window), if we rotate the toilet and move the stack slightly, we can create a 3'x5'8" space with pocket door as a toilet closet. We've also fit in a 6' tub. The loss of the closet seems OK, as we gain additional cabinets, and if we vary the height, I think we can make up for the space. Here's a quick sketch of our thinking. Would love thoughts / experiences on partitioned toilets, 6ft tubs and overall space.

You have: WARM travertine tile on the first floor. You have DARK warm wood cabinets. You have WARM countertops. The LAST thing you want sitting next to that BEAUTIFUL WARM coloured stone is gray. No gray. Nothing in your home says "I need gray to make it perfect". Nothing. Your furniture will change. Your area rugs will change. Your wall colours will change. They will all change inside of 15 years. But your PERMANENT stone or tile floors will STAY. If you must use a tile next to stone, I suggest working in the same tones. You can go darker or you can go lighter but stay inside the SAME TONES as the travertine. If you REALLY MUST HAVE GRAY - then rip out the travertine and start again. Gray and peach stone/tile do not like to play nicely together. It screams out, "I didn't want to pay to do it properly." I would recommend finding MORE travertine in a different sized tile and add it in at an angle (diagonal install). You can find a stone that is either a little darker or a little lighter. You can then add a decorative boarder to the rooms where you are installing it so that it looks like you did it on purpose. This is a great way to add more of the high-end stone to a space that already has high-end stone. But please do not add gray in with peach. They just don't like each other. Flooring snobs, like myself can see it right away. We KNOW when something has been done piece meal. We also know when someone did the piece meal NICELY vs. someone who did it without a thought to the overall look of the floor. Compliment the stone you are keeping. Let your area rugs turn the space gray. That trend is quickly dying. It makes sense to throw out a rug in 3 years. It doesn't make sense to rip out a tile floor in 3 years.