PICS!!! We want PICS!!! Very few people could afford to buy everything in their house at once, except the really rich, and they had decorators scouring Europe for antiques or went 100% current style. The all-Craftsman houses tend to be the big, name-designer houses (Greene and Greene?) that were furnished to match the house, with furniture selected by or designed by the architects. So the typical 1915 Craftsman house would have furnishings from previous homes, and acquire some from later periods as things wore out or finances allowed.

For those asking for pictures, here's one from the street: I totally understand Virgil's (and others) concerns -- rest assured we have already spoken with a few local professionals and we're very close to hiring an experienced residential designer. Reading over several threads the past few days (special thanks to ArchitectRunnerGuy) has helped me to understand the design process better. It has also allowed me an opportunity to see things from an architect's point of view -- I get how it could be frustrating to always have clients bringing in their suggested floor plans... what was the phrase I saw on here somewhere? It was like "bringing a fast food burger to a gourmet buffet" :-) I think for us, attempting to draw up our own ideas was just an exercise to force us to consider all the details and the push/pull of different needs and wants... and we figured they would be a good jumping off point for discussion with whomever we hired. As I was searching for different perspectives, I stumbled upon this site and saw some amazing threads where people were collaborating and building off each other. That's what inspired me to post our "armchair architect" layouts. Even if we hire the best architect we can find, some creative and wonderful idea may come out the collective wisdom on this site that could have otherwise been missed... One thing ARG's other threads have helped me to understand is that even having a few sketches of ideas still doesn't effectively communicate all the reasons why to an architect. You can't just hand over those ideas and say "here, start with this, but make it 10 times better". The design charrette process he described is really the key to getting everyone on the same page. I've definitely learned better questions to ask when evaluating potential architects and designers ("Tell me about your process"). Getting back to question answering: Rockybird - this is in Georgia. There would be windows in the master, and the spare bedroom near the studio (although in Take 2, there's barely any exterior wall space left for one -- I caught that, but was out of ideas on how to make it better). The shared bath would technically be the only interior access to the Studio -- the whole idea is for my wife to be able to have clients in the studio without them having to come into our house. The shared bath is really just for cost savings... BTW, the current house faces north. As I've read more about the importance of south facing windows and light penetration, I see that both our ideas haven't been considerate of that and we would have some dark areas... Quinn - Wow is all I can think of to say right now! Thank you so much for your thoughtful and creative ideas. We had not considered layouts with the studio in the front of the house - that could definitely work, and yes the studio could be an L shape. One of the only reasons we were thinking it would be new construction was also due to cost savings -- other than a few more windows and HVAC, the studio space could pretty much be the same fit and finish as a garage -- bare concrete floors, etc. So we were hoping the cost per square foot to build that could be cheaper... I like your placement for the garage and "bumping in" the L shaped addition to be more respectful of the original house. And I love that the squirrelly hallway bothered you so much you had to come back the next day and make it better. I'd love to know what software you're using... seeing exterior renders really helps me visualize what the completed addition could look like. We are in complete agreement about hallways - we tried our best to eliminate them too. As for keeping things on one level -- for the studio it's pretty important. We have a two story house now and some of my wife's equipment is upstairs. She has tons of gear (lights, backdrops, etc.) and sometimes travels to clients. She is quite tired of the multiple trips up and down the stairs... Depending on the cost savings, we would be willing to consider putting the game room and/or a 3rd bedroom and bath upstairs. I think that's all for now. Thanks again to everyone for contributing, and I'll be sure to update this as things progress.

well, I would suggest whatever sofa you get to lay down a throw if she is going to sit bare skin on it. White is difficult to keep clean unless you keep some sort of throw on the cushions. If you got a slip covered type, you could wash them as needed. any gray sofa would also work. light gray, dark, if you could swing a velvet material, that always looks good. Or a nice material, tweed-type, like this one: If you bring in a large area rug, you can cover most of the tile floor, only letting a bit of it peed through. do a large sisal and then layer another rug on top of it for some added color or pattern you could do white or pale walls, and a dark gray sofa. this will still go w/your tile. bring in wood elements or natural fiber elements. and plants. and since it's Fla, you can get away w/bold colors. keep the wall white, a large sisal type of rug, white sofa, and bring in colors w/plants, pots and accessories like they've done here I like these paint colors....Pale Oak for walls,, White Dove or any other bright white for ceilings and trimthis is BM Lacey Pearl. I like this grayish white tone. if you bring in a slip cover sofa like this, have her lay on a throw. do neutral pillows, wood/metal coffee table, poufs, fiddle leaf fig trees, a neutral rug like this will cover the tile. you're only showing a tiny piece of your tile so it's hard to visualize what will work in this room. best way is to clear out everything, paint and go from there.

I am moving into an 1860s New England farmhouse that was remodeled to an open floor concept about 15 yrs ago. The downstairs is one big room and a little bland and all windows were trimmed with what I think is called Colonial casing (sort of like a picture frame). The room has high ceilings and just a single board 5" baseboard. The kitchen, however, is partially done in a craftsmen style with the batten board look on all the cabinetry, island and counter bases (windows still have that colonial trim) My question: Is it compatible with the house to replace the window casing with the simple craftsman/mission type window trim as well as batten and board wainscoting on the walls and up the stairs? I like the look and think it will make the room a bit more interesting. And I would like to get closer to having just one style throughout. Mostly the window trim just looks so incongruous...thanks.