Hey, thanks for the responses. The "bluff" is a sheer drop from the edge of my back yard at about an 75 degree angle. Hard to climb but you can. Part of it drops down about 10 feet almost straight down or 80 degrees forming a land ledge of about 10 feet wide and 20 feet along the edge. Then there is another drop down of about 90 degrees about 20 feet to the bottom. The other 1/2 of the back yard is where the 80 degrees comes in and it drops down about 30 feet with no ledge there at all. This is about 30 feet along the edge. I think we will try to plant some of the creeping junipers and/or put some of the rolled up straw and try to get some grasses growing on there also. This area faces east so it is shady all day long. I don't think the daylillies will work because of that, though it would be gorgeous. Our neighbors poured some rock down their "bluff" to try to stablize it and the last heavy rains we've had over the last couple of weeks caused a mini land slide. We kind of think that it was because of the rocks they added and that they were just too heavy. Their bluff is steeper than ours. I think it would be impossible to climb up it and that it is about a straight 90 degree angle. If anyone thinks we are making a big mistake doing this, please let us know. Since we haven't even moved in yet and have to do that before starting working on the bluff, planting this stuff will have to wait at least until March. It has been stable for 3 years or so since the house was built with the only problem being the neighbors mini-land-slide which we attribute to the rocks they added. We found a wonderful nursery on Battlefield Parkway in Fort Oglethorpe I think. Still not too sure of the area. They are a pretty large place and seem to be a Mom & Pop place. They offer a 2 year guarantee normally, but a 3 year guarantee if you use their plant food and soil to plant it. We got a beautiful little 4 foot tree named California Christmas Tree to plant in the front yard. It has medium length needles in clusters like a pine, but has a droopy, slightly weepy effect. I hope it will do well. I did see some of the ones recommended above and they were very, very light bluish green, so I hope this one will work. I hope TNTom is right about the pines doing good here.

THANKS for your thoughts!! (Hope this isn't going to weigh you down with information, but, here goes:) EXTENDING MASTER WING: We can bump out the end wall 4 feet max, improving (from 12' L) to 16' L (a bit longer on the deck side) x 20' W. (The opposite wing is 22' L x 20.5' W). SYMMETRY: To help reference the driveway approach towards the house: take the floor plan and literally rotate it about 45 degrees clockwise: that's the direction the driveway comes from (imagine an imaginary line continuing out from that 12' master bath sink/counter and shower). Essentially it will be like driving on the driveway towards the house, then veering a little left once you get to the house (like on the plan the words: "FIRST FLOOR/Scale 1/4"); then for a parking space: backing up onto what's left of the land outside the master wing bump out. (gosh I hope I'm explaining this ok) I am hoping the symmetry issue will be overlooked because one never really looks straight at the front door. (what d'ya think?) BED SIZE/PLACEMENT: King size bed(even though it takes up most of the space I know). We're hoping we have our choice of placing the bed either on that end wall or the bathroom wall, but probably the end wall. I am thinking that's a great idea to change the casement unit on the end wall to a horizontal band of rectangular/square windows along the top of the wall as you suggest! Sure would help with layout, huh? MBR DOOR: Never thought of moving a door over towards the exterior wall! It's an interesting thought. I WAS wondering, from a professionals point of view, if the MBR door was sort of TOO ~ not hidden enough? but figured the FP sorta blocks it a little. My only concern with this idea is that a desk area is one of those important requirements we have & don't necessarily want it in a bedroom. This will be a vacation home but I want a space for a computer and writing desk. I'll definitely consider moving it inward (towards the stairs) but need to also keep an aisle that's not too narrow. STAIRCASE PLACEMENT: We experimented with stairway placement everywhere it seems! We concluded that if the stairs weren't right there in the middle of the "Y", WHAT would be there then? Ultimately, we decided the staircase with the stone of the fireplace (FP) could maybe be a sort of "feature", with interesting, open, spindle/railings all the way around instead of it taking up space on the wing sides. Kind of "embrace" it! STAIRCASE ISSUES: Problems we hope to address with the stairway is to make them wider (currently 36") and, we want a landing instead of winder style treads so that the stone work from the FP can end at that landing. That means we also have to push the FP into the great room some. Does anyone think the great room space will be too much infringed upon? CLEAR VIEW: One idea was to build a FP with a sort of "column" look on each side (where a chimney would go up one of the sides), essentially creating a "U" shape where one could see straight through from the front door to the great room window wall. That was using a gas FP. Since then we're leaning towards an energy efficient wood burning FP where we're pretty sure the chimney would have to be straight up (vs. offset). Because of this we're imagining rocking all around the FP, all the way down to the staircase landing, and then putting some sort of neat artwork or waterfall or ? on the rock wall facing the front door. (NOTE: there's only LP or electric available on this particular bluff) FIREPLACE PLACEMENT: We're in Wisconsin and the winter's can be super, duper cold, so the 2-sided FP idea is really cool sounding, but, unfortunately, probably not a possibility in this case (Also, no way can we deepen the deck or we'd go over a 600' cliff! haha). I also don't want to really block the view at all (from our living space that is ~ obviously we ARE blocking the view from the entrance). We have considered putting the FP on the far right corner in the Great Room (GR) but that's where we think the TV should go. As much as I like the idea of putting a TV above a FP, in this case I don't think we have the space to do that and sit far enough away so not wrenching our necks to look UP at a TV (+ the heat problem). That wall of windows in the GR is also facing NorthWest so #1: we're trying to avoid sunset glare on the TV and #2 we want seating to face the river. FP will be for warmth (and viewed w/swivel chairs). Ultimately, we went back to the FP centered in the house, as shown. (Also trying to honor the Frank Lloyd Wright trademark with a wide, stone chimney in the middle of a house). Any thoughts or ideas with these things in mind? DOWNSTAIRS: Is going to be pretty open and used as a rec room (nice pool table, foose, game table, etc) and some additional sleeping space. (We originally were only going to have one BR upstairs and a carport where the 2nd BR is now. All the other sleeping was going to be downstairs!) We decided though, if WE'RE old, then our friends would probably be OLD too and would need to stay on the main floor maybe too! haha) Here's the current Basement Plan: KITCHEN: We aren't going to keep that U-shaped kitchen as shown. We'd much prefer eliminating that breakfast bar section and instead having an island. As you can probably see, that right, master wing side, with needing the wider staircase & bumping out the MBR end wall,is what's causing us the most difficulty rearranging to make the best use of space. We'd still like to keep a foyer coat closet & a desk area. Also trying to figure a better designed master bath w/a longer shower w/seat and better linen closet design. Could have a pocket door vs. swinging. (Would like opinions on pocket doors!) Lastly, the master closet is dumb and of course should have either bi-fold doors or? Any and all ideas are very welcome. PS: Here's a home in Madison, Wisconsin that is one of my "Inspiration" pictures! Love the wide horizontal, dark brown siding and typical (for FLW and WI) stone! (also, notice the typical FLW centered chimney!) mmmmmm : ) (SMILE)

I like bungalows. Okay, that was neither here nor there . . . on to some constructive advice. - Everything I would've said, BirdLover6 already said: Light in the main living areas, etc. - L-Lass is always wonderful, and her flip-flop is perfect. I like the smaller flex-area being kind of a large entry. In this house, I can imagine a seating area and a little bit of privacy ('cause people aren't entering /leaving your house constantly), and it gives you your larger family room to the back of the house. - The island looked "odd" to me in the original floorplan, but it seems to fit in perfectly in the new plan. - The single thing that grabbed me right away in the first plan, however, was the under-sized dining area. L-Lass has fixed it. I'm not sure a bay-bump is right for this house; I might consider more of a square-bump . . . oh, and to stay true to character in a bungalow, go with an L-shaped banquette. But the location and size of the newly-placed dining area is dead-on. - I don't know anyone who doesn't need more storage. I'd do away with the half-bath (and its expense) and have a good-sized closet in the mudroom. I'd have the closet extend under those large stairs (the half-height storage would be good for holiday items that you don't access often). The secondary bathroom is in an ideal spot to be both private and convenient, and I don't see a need for a half bath. - OR this space would be an ideal pantry, something you don't have now. - With the half-bath gone, you could have your drop-zone in the mud room, and that would contain the clutter of bookbags and shoes in the mud room. - OR, with the expanded mud room, that drop-zone area could become a lovely glass-doored, floor-to-ceiling china cabinet. That would suit my needs quite well! Or it could be a china closet, with a closed door. - I'm not so crazy about the master bath. First, I hate the two piddly-sized vanities/sinks. I'd go with one comfortable-sized vanity and one simple sink, though this would require moving the bathroom door. - The big problem, though, is the two tiny closets. You have double sinks and double bathing areas . . . but nowhere to store anything. Triangle shaped closets like this will hold practically nothing. I'd give up the separate shower, move the tub-shower over to the window side . . . and carve out a nice-sized, rectangular walk-in closet where you now have one closet /the walk-in shower. You're not planning to be elderly in this house, so you'll have no trouble stepping into a tub-shower. While a separate shower is a nicety, adequate storage would be my priority. - Another master closet option: Bring the back corner of the master bedroom back so that the back corner of the house is square . . . and add a walk-in closet to the right of the master entryway.

@doc5md We've been in since May, so plenty of time for second guessing ourselves! A few thoughts: Regrets: Should have insulated with rock wool between the 1st and 2nd floors and all the bedroom interior walls. Little boys are loud lol. Should have put a window in the shower. Upstairs could have been laid out better - space up there for 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and an office. The "UNFINISHED" area upstairs was supposed be an unfinished storage/mechanical room. It ended up finished and is now my office. It works fine, but we could have made better use of the space. Wish we'd put the upstairs air handler in the attic so the return could have a run of flex duct to cut down the noise. Its loud. Wish we'd put the bonus/play room in the basement. We've still got about 700sq ft in the basement we can finish later. And we can put a closet in the bonus room to make it a bedroom. But I value efficiency more than excess, so it bothers me. Not quite regrets, but might do different next time: Might have been better to have the laundry where the main floor half bath is. The thought was that my muddy kids could come in the mudroom and throw their filthy clothes in the laundry sink and go on. That has worked, but they won't always be so sloppy. A bathroom by the mudroom and carport door (most used exit) would have been nice. In the living room instead of 3 windows and a door we did a 12ft sliding patio door out to the screened porch. Its nice, especially in spring and fall, but it limited space for living room furniture having to maintain a clear path to walk.