Thank you all for your insight. I have indeed ditched the designer, hired an awesome contractor and started again. I talked with another mold remediation company who said that the problem wasn't really bad enough for their services, although they could demo and rebuild for me. He talked about removing moldy wall board inside closets) since it is inexpensive to replace, and, after killing any mold on existing framing, if the boards are still sound, to paint them over with Zin, as per ksc36. We have corrected the water issues which is why we feel we can now remodel. I'm going to remove the existing, nasty, carpet and the asbestos tile beneath. There is no standard for tile where I live and the asbestos is 1%. I'll replace it with wood look tile and use a carpet over it. Maybe use under floor heating at a low wattage if it seems the floor is damp. (there is no vapor barrier on the floor in the houses in this neighborhood). We've decided encapsulating the old floor will just be passing on the problem to the next owner, and we don't want the hassle of declaring it when we sell. (In 15 years!) I still owe the company that created the demo plan about $1000 for the 'testing' etc. Live and learn. Also the company that created the demo design sent it out to 4 contractors to bid. The highest bid was $25,000. The lowest, around $14,000. My new contractor has said nothing disparaging, but I can tell he thinks we've been led astray. I think the company that designed the demo plan just normally doesn't work on small basement projects and was applying protocols for larger moldier, more asbestos filled buildings to our 300 sq foot basement. Perhaps to make a quick buck. I'll never know! Thanks for your input, I appreciate the time you took to answer my desperate cry for help!!

suezbell - some great ideas, thank you ! I really like the idea of extending the breezway back to make a foyer and covered porch on top. I love porches ! One thing though - the top of the floor of the breezeway is at grade whereas the top of the floor of the house lower level is about 2 feet below grade. It doesn't look like I would have room for a porch above, plus stairs would be required to access the porch from the living room. Also, I don't think we have the budget for anything additional to what's proposed. So, you think the garage with the shed roof looks ok with the breezeway & addition ? Definitely will consider a single door w/ sidelights at the breezeway entrance. Makes perfect sense. Still on the fence with windows at the front of the addition. See post above this one that shows possible window scheme. I'm not so keen on octagonal windows. The upper level full bath is existing. My design can keep it exactly the same except for the door. I could have the entry to the bathroom placed in the media room if I moved the bathroom sink across the room to where the proposed door will be. I know that it seems a little strange to go through a pantry. But it could be interesting. The pantry won't be a typical pantry - but more like a provisions store/ apothecary / elixir bar sort of thing. We are a bit unconventional. I agree that the living room is a bit long at 23'. based on this feedback, I moved the fireplace and sofa/sitting area towards the stairs by a few feet. The idea of a partition and closet is a good one- very practical. Something to consider, but I'm guessing my better half will want the expansiveness and view of the two story stairwell. I did manage to squeeze in an 18' long closet on the lower level at the front of the addition. You can see this in the renderings just above this post. What do you think of this closet ? Your idea of accessing the pantry/ storage from area near the stairwell is a good one. Something to look at further. As you mentioned, maybe split up the pantry into two seperate rooms. I would probably still want to access the pantry from the kitchen, but at the same time, I could get another 8' high wall cabinet in the kitchen. It would also give the kitchen a even more refined look. Below is a rendering of the kitchen as it is proposed now ( with the entry into the pantry). Again, thank you for all of the feedback. Very good information and much appreciated. I will take a closer look at your ideas and see what I can do. Mike

I also started my plan from the kitchen/pantry out. My kitchen/pantry space is 381 square feet. This does not include my large cold storage basement pantry not my basement bar/booth space. What everyone is telling you is that if you are wanting a kitchen like your photo, that you will very likely be above the 1500/1600 sq ft for a house that flows with the kitchen. You don’t want a 12*12 living room to raise your little family to compensate for a great big pantry. It is just fine to have only the 2 bedrooms on the main floor. My plan has all 3 kids in the walkout basement (with 10 ft ceilings). I am doing a C kitchen versus an L. Your photo is a C kitchen. It takes a different spacing than an L kitchen. My last home had a C kitchen and I loved it. I hate U kitchens, which are still easier to do than a C. Post the room sizes you have in mind, and everyone here will help give you an idea of the livability. Right now you plan to live there for 20 years, but it sounds like you have a young kiddo also. Life throws so many curveballs. Building a home with acceptable room sizes will help you if you have a great opportunity that takes you elsewhere.

OK, here are some options. [Note: Door & stair opening/landing measurements were taken from your older post.] BTW...is the Living Room wall a true, completely enclosed wall or is it partially open (like a pass-through or with spindles interspersed for the entire length of the wall)? I wasn't sure b/c it was not "filled in" like the other walls. On the off chance the wall is not solid, I created solid walls in some of the layouts -- if the wall is already solid, then no need to build one out. ++++++++++ All but two layouts have the refrigerator in the same place -- the bottom right -- to accommodate a table. The only ones that have the refrigerator elsewhere have banquette seating; not my favorite for the only table seating, but it's an option. The banquette is the only way the refrigerator can realistically fit anywhere else than along the far right wall, assuming you want decent aisles, that is! Note that I mixed things up. I did this to show you what options you have. In many cases, you can "mix & match", just be sure you keep decent aisles, a fairly open space around the door, and at least two Prep Zones, preferably with water next to both of them. If you have a question as to whether some options can be mixed, just ask! I'll work it up to show you yes or no. Walls...Note that while I did not modify the 4'5" wall (bottom right), I did modify the left side a bit in most cases, some more than others. Hopefully, you can modify that wall b/c it's one of the biggest reasons you have such a traffic jam -- it forces people to go into the middle of the room to go from the exterior door on the left to the rest of the home. One last thing, the Cooking Zone (with the range) should be the most protected Zone from traffic -- so if traffic is directed away from it or it's in a "dead end" area, it will work better. ++++++++++ Layout #1: Long "L" with China "hutch" for storing your good chin as well as a buffet for staging/serving food. There are three variations; all three share the same Work Zone Map, so only Zone map is included. Layout #1a has a shallow built-in pantry with 12"D shelves floor-to-ceiling. It still has two 24" pantry cabinets. I'm actually not a fan of pantry cabinets this wide and originally put in three 18" wide pullout pantries, but they didn't quite fit b/w the wall and window (you need some filler b/w the wall and the first pantry cabinet). Two didn't provide enough "buffer" to the door. Layout #1b has a tall cabinet with a MW alcove. See a later layout with two 18" pantries & a 12" Utility pullout. What I think is best, is a reach-in pantry (Layout 1a) or shallow pantry cabinets (Layout 3). ++++++++++ Layout #2: Similar to Layout #1 except it has two sinks -- one where the current one is as a prep sink and one in the old Dining Room for Cleanup. This provides two or three very nice Prep Zones -- all with their own counterspace as well as sink access for all three. It also creates a Prep Zone separate from the Cleanup Zone, very helpful if someone is trying to load/unload the DW while someone else is preparing a meal or snack. ++++++++++ Layout #3: Short "L" + small island + Shallow Pantry cabinets and a China cabinet ++++++++++ Layout #4: It has banquette for table seating, a small island, and the refrigerator is on the top wall b/w the windows. The MW is in a tall cabinet to the right of the range. ++++++++++ Layout #5: As with Layout #4, it has banquette for table seating, a small island, and the refrigerator is on the top wall b/w the windows. In this case, there's a prep sink along the right wall creating a Prep Zone separate from the Cleanup Zone, very helpful if someone is trying to load/unload the DW while someone else is preparing a meal or snack.