The building company we like has a web site with their floor plans listed and all the options available and the cost of the upgrades spelled out. As I said before, most of the items available we have researched and we like what's offered. On those areas we don't, we will have the ability to tell the company what we would prefer to use and then they will order it and install it. For example, the company uses Mohawk carpet. We don't care for any of the levels they offer. However, there are higher levels of Mohawk that we like. Given that it is still Mohawk, they will order it through their supplier. The same holds true for the Congoleum vinyl they use. How much extra is unknown to me right now given that we aren't ready to break ground. The company sales rep said the company doesn't begin to start talking numbers on items until we put down a $500 completely refundable good faith deposit meaning we have a floor plan in mind and are ready to act on it, which I can completely understand. I will know how much it would cost retail (which I completely understand is not what the company would pay for it) so I can at least compare the price they give me to what it would cost me to have it done on my own. That is an option, as we were told the other day by the carpeting sales lady we were talking with regarding our current home. In fact, she was preparing for a meeting with the building company next week on a whole-house install. If I don't like the price the company offers then I'm free to have the work done myself as long as I'm willing to foot the costs. They will tell me how much of a credit I will be getting for them not doing the work or providing the material. Again, that was spelled out to me in the email with the company's sales rep and confirmed independently by a friend. Another example is in the appliance package. They offer different levels of GE appliances, which I hate. I prefer LG. The only thing I will be required to do is to purchase the appliances, provide the builder with the measurements, as it will affect the kitchen cabinet sizes, and then pay to have them installed. I understand the builder will not warranty them, but the installer I hire will and so will LG. Maybe this company is different from other production builders, but one of their advertised promises is that they will take any of their floor plans and modify them however you want with whatever material you want. They are even willing to do some structural rearranging. We want a pantry in the kitchen, which their in-house architect will work into the floor plan before the contract is signed, and which we will then be presented in terms of how much it will add to the cost. We also want a different style of backsplash in the kitchen incorporating a tile mural I love. I will buy and supply the tile and they will provide the installation based on the detailed plans I am required to provide. Again, I understand that all that will come at a higher cost, but before the contract is signed all those costs will be spelled out in writing. When it comes to the main structure of the house, I know this company's reputation. They build solid homes. We will see the floor plan we like in a few weeks as they are currently building it as a market home. At that time I will be able to judge how well it will work for us. Where the structure of the house is concerned (the bones) from the experience of people I know and trust the house is fine. Where we will want changes are in the areas I've previously mentioned, and they are willing to accommodate us in those changes. If I think I can get a better price on those cosmetic areas then I'm free to do so. Even the pantry isn't that big of a deal as we know a couple who did the same thing. They spent an additional $800 for it and was given a $250 credit for the cabinet they chose to leave out.

Thanks, Sochi...but I haven't even figured out the mood board, yet. I have contractors out every day, working on my house. I've had time for a quick comment, here and there, but no time to concentrate on anything for more than a few minutes. Marcolo- Would you want to do it? That way you can clarify what the thread should be or not be. You did an excellent job, with the 1920s DAT :)

Oceanna - I just got done reading the thread regarding your split. Our is only slightly different than yours. The window above the door is that 70s bubble glass. I don't like it, but ours is clear bubble glass while all the other neighbors have yellow bubble glass. I feel lucky. We also have side lights on either side of the front door, also clear bubble glass. We painted the interior side of our door sort of a deep plum shade. I liked it at the time but would rather go with a very deep green now. Actually, I want a new front door, but that's another budget item entirely, and I'm not ready to go there yet. When we bought the house, the railings were black wrought iron with little gold splotchy things. The rail separated the stairs from the living room. We needed some of that space for my piano, so DH build a half wall from the living room window wall about half way up. On the entry side of that, we've hung two shelves just made of MDF and painted white. Currently there is NO railing from where that half wall ends to the top of the stairs. I was getting on DH's case to get something built there, but the contractors have suggested waiting until they're done with the kitchen. It will give them more room hauling things up and down the stairs. On that big tall wall over the stairs heading down, we have another MDF shelf that we use for some of my larger doodads. At Christmas, we fill it with greenery and have large glass bowls with ornaments and other Christmas items. Unlike you, our kitchen doorway sits off to the right of the stairs, so when you come up our stairs you come into a wall. Oh, our house appears to be a mirror image of yours! I LOVE what you have down at the bottom of your stairs. We have two boys, ages 12 and 10, and a 100-pound dog. We use that garage door as our main family entrance and exit. For me at this point, I doubt anything nice would stay in that location very long! I'm really looking forward to the kitchen being finished. Not so much looking forward to the process. My moto is to "keep the eye on the prize." I also have a goal of having enough money left over after the kitchen to replace at least the windows on the front of the house. Unfortunately, ours are original windows, single pane, and you can see the gaps when the wind blows. We live in a part of the country where 60 mph winds are normal in the winter - slamming right into the living room window - ugh! Oh, we replaced the light in the entry with a ceiling fan with light fixture. I realize it's entirely too modern for your decor, but it suits ours. Besides, I was pretty intent on getting rid of the huge orange globe that was there when we moved in! Also, the house is not air conditioned, and it can get quite hot here in the summer. The ceiling fan helps move the air around the living room quite a bit. Bonus. So, I don't have any advice for you on the entry. Most people here have really left the entries pretty plain. I would vote for painting the wood part of your half-wall white as well. However, we have spent most of the last five years slowly working on replacing all the "wood" trim in this house with white trim. I put the wood in quotes because it was very, very dark and not good quality wood. I had no guilt painting it! Oh, in the corner by our front door, we have a 3-foot tall stuffed moose dressed for fishing. Not a "real" stuffed moose, more of a teddy-bear stuffed moose. Again, I'm guessing that's not really your style, but frankly we are a bunch of nut jobs in this household, so it suits us. It gives me a smile whenever I walk up and down the stairs, and everyone who enters the house comments on him (his name is Morty). Let us know what you decide to do with your entry!

Hi judi82 I just went through the exact same thing, painting multiple rooms in a house with a wide open floor plan. I asked for and received much appreciated advice on this forum by posting pics of the space we had not yet moved into. In the end though, I did not have enough confidence to make the decisions without someone walking through the space with me in person. Since most color consultants were kinda pricey in our view, given we had just bought a house and done a lot of improvements we didn't expect to need to do, I ended up hiring a color consultant out of our local Benjamin Moore store. She was fabulous and only $85/hr. I spent $112 and feel like it was money very very well spent. The biggest worry I had, in addition to the actual color selection, was where to start and stop the different colors given the open plan. Although I knew the general color scheme and feeling I wanted, I knew not a damn thing about undertones, which apparently are everything:) So anyway, maybe your local BM store has such a consultant? Hope that helps some and good luck!