Things are going quite well in our house/greenhouse. WeÂre glad itÂs been a cool summer here in the North East. WeÂre able to keep the greenhouse temps only about 10 degrees above the outside temp. Cabin stays cool  just like any other house, you close your windows/curtains in the morning. Plants seem to be thriving (blossom end rot on tomatoes  weÂve read this common on trellised plants). Bit of an aphid problem (on the hard shelled gourds), maybe IÂll try oak leaves. Now we just let the daddy long legs do their thing Âgood way to spot bug problems (look for the "good bugs" as well as the bad). Trees are doing their job  filtered shade through the morning hours, then starts again around 2:00 p.m. If itÂs a sunny day, we mist and water down the floor (gravel) mid-day. We wrestle with the divide between trying to grow most of our food (a noble, yet lofty goal) and using the space as living space. Next year more space will be allotted for veggie production, but the ping pong table has got to stay. More work to be done (isnÂt there always?)  automatic watering, permanent planting beds, replacing the fountain with a small pond and waterfalls. WeÂve just finished splitting 5 cords of wood for this winter and weÂre already thinking ahead about how to best subdivide the space for overwintering (our aim is to keep the temp at a minimum of 45). All in all, itÂs been a great experience. Here is a link that might be useful: GoodGreen House

CarrellHouse- Thanks for the response! Yeah the bathroom placements are a little unusual, here's why- The idea with the mudroom powder is my attempt to keep muddy/manure/dust boots from tracking through the house just to "go". I actually would prefer my guests not see my mudroom at all, so I plan on the full flex room bath being the guest access bath. I'm going to have the kids "wash up" in the mudroom bath before proceeding into the house further. I anticipate the mud room bath as staying, well, muddy. Keeping room- I share your concerns about the 10ft of keeping room space. All it would take is for one kid to leave the bar stool pulled out from the island and it would get tight. The further developed documents (not posted) increase that width to 11.6 which is better, and I am looking at ways to possibly(?) steal a few more inches elsewhere. Apparently this is where the acronym TBWOIF comes in! Dining- This is where I am choosing form over function. I really consider myself a pragmatic person but I have, from day one, requested a three sided dining area. In fact it was a pretty big "driver" in the design process. Yes It will require more steps to dining. I will gladly be willing to pay those steps in order to have windows where I wanted them. We are avid bird/nature watchers and sitting by all those windows watching my bird feeders at suppertime is worth it. Pocket office- Mrs Pete's recent post made me think about this too. It is actually not a work from home office, just a place to pay bills etc. I believe the window will help. The other alternative would be to steal a foot from the master closet. Boy, this whole design process has been one big lesson on "everything is a compromise." ;) KawerKamp! Thanks so much for such a great lifehack! I really am going to keep this in mind in the pantry!

Personally, I would never build a new house with 10' wide bedrooms. My current house has 2 bedrooms that are 10' x 11' 4" they feel they feel tiny to me with a full sized beds. But this is a 1179 sqft 1983 tract home so it is expected. If I were looking at a resale house in the 1800-1900 sqft. range that had bedrooms that small I would keep looking. Were it my house, I would keep the bedrooms at the original size. It is only 46 sqft. larger for both bedrooms but it will make an enormous difference in their feel. But that's just me. It is your house so build what you are comfortable with. Funny thing, I did exactly the opposite with the house that I am currently building. The original plans came out at 1850 sqft. but after several months of bumping this wall out and stretching that room I ended up at 2109. And the garage got even bigger. I didn't really want to go that big but to get everything to feel right to me that's where it ended up. Best of luck in whatever you decide to do.

I want to take the linen closet out of the master bath and put it in the laundry room and then see if there is enough room for a double sink with a good size shower (5 ft at least) and toilet. I would put a pocket door in that bathroom. While these bathroom changes are possible, I don't think they're wise. If you remove the linen closet and use all the vanity space for sinks, you'll have literally no storage in the master bathroom. Pocket doors are ideal for spaces that are rarely closed ... mudrooms, laundry rooms, closets ... but they're awful for doors that are opened /closed frequently. They wear out, and then the broken part is inside your wall. The other thought is to take out the double window on the back wall of the master bedroom and place one single window the the left of where the double hung is now and put a single door Here's what I'd do to the master bedroom: - Bring the master to the outside corner ... this separates the bedroom nicely from the rest of the house /gives an ample sound barrier in all directions. - Shrink the bedroom a little, allowing more space for the bathroom and the closet. - Yes to transom windows above the bed! These are not common, but they look great. Then add a sliding glass door straight ahead of the bedroom entry door, bringing in nice Southern light and making a nice sight line as you enter the bedroom. It also gives convenient access to the back yard ... and when you're outside, it's only a step into your bathroom. - Place the shower against the bathroom's far wall, allowing it to be large and luxurious. You'll have space for repetitive sinks, but I'd rather have a nice bank of drawers on each side of the sink ... good storage always trumps duplication. - The closet is now considerably larger than it was. I opened a door between the bathroom and closet, which eliminates the need for a linen closet IN the bathroom ... just plan a shelf for towels, etc. right by the door. - Note that I also changed your laundry room ... I moved the washer/dryer to the exterior wall. This allows the dryer to vent directly the outside; this is both cheaper and more fire-safe. I reduced the counter space a bit, but it will give you enough for a "waiting load" underneath, shelves above for storage, and ... just as important ... walking space. - I also doubled the space in the hall bath's linen closet. Alternate thought: You say it's just you and your husband ... do you need this linen closet? You have a small linen closet outside the two secondary bedrooms, which can manage guest towels and sheets ... you could expand this vanity to a more-than-minimal size. According to their website, "Almost any detail on our pre-designed floor plans can be changed. The size and location of windows, doors, closets, even entire rooms, can all be modified." So that's helpful. Yes, but you've said that your motivations are speed and simplicity ... if you make large modifications, you're throwing away the very things that brought you to this choice. Also I'd suggest you don't attach the garage to the house but have it offset a bit and have an enclosed walkway to the house. Make that the mudroom /pantry. Excellent plan ... I think this kitchen needs storage more than additional counterspace. It's a nice plan for a ranch house and reminds me of so many of the houses built in the 50's. I've lived in a house that was 90% this plan, and it IS a plan that works. Since you never do laundry when sleeping, put it where it is most convenient to you. I should have put my washer/dryer right next to my bedroom since the hallway there is wider, but I considered what if I did laundry when sleeping, which in all my years, I never did. Go figure. Keep in mind that when you move to a new place, your habits may change. Our homes do shape how we do things. So, obviously, the real question is, what's your ideal laundry method ... and how can you shape the house to support that? Also what about moving the stairs here creating a natural wall? Nice! I'd move one of those sliding glass doors so it makes a nice, bright sight line as you enter the foyer door.