Thank you for all of your advice. I have changed the mast. Bath to outswing (THANKS!). We are building in GA, have one child, and have covenants that require the home to be 3500 Sq. Ft. We don't require a mudroom, but the Storage Room will be used for winter coats/Storage and a general oversized storage area. I am not a fan of natural lighting in the closet, for fading/loss of hanging space issues. I do prefer the toilet to be to the deep interior of the Mast. Bath so that there is some privacy when using the toilet while the significant other is sleeping (it's an issue!). I have fought for more windows, but he does not like a lot of natural light for some unGodly reason?? I do not like J and J's at all! This will be primarily used for guests. It's unlikely to be used at all. I'll be playing around with the kitchen island to have symmetry with the sink and also room for the DW to be placed NEXT to it, and not around the corner. My idea for the kitchen is to be a hard working one, with large and rarely used items placed in the pantry on a counter, with storage shelves on the opposite wall. Thank you all so much for your suggestions. It gives me an idea if we are going in the right direction. I have so much to learn! A

Thanks for the responses - I decided to just not cut the wall and hope that the flooring guys could do an excellent job in replacing it. I ws worried that glue could have gotten into the tongue and groove and maybe more boards would need to come out rather than just the 3 or 4. I will just live with the tighter opening into the kitchen. Thanks again

Janni.... "On the island, the cabs that face out - are you sure you want those to be drawers? I have a series of large "empty" double door cabs - and plan to use that for my AWKWARD stuff like a rice cooker, waffle maker, etc. I actually have my food processor and waffle iron in a drawer today and I don't find them that particularly convenient." i also have several small appliances like waffle maker, food processor, rice cooker etc and this would be a good place to store these items. I wonder if they would fit better if this was divided into 2 drawers instead of three. Do you find it inconvenient because the drawers are too shallow? I wonder if more of these bulky small appliances would fit in these double door cabs than the drawers?? Definitely worth considering. I'm 60 and I dislike island sitting but I still have teens at home and grands that will want to sit there. I don't know where the best place is to put 3 seats. full height book space would be nice. Thank you for your helpful suggestions Janni. eta...still concerned about the bumped out cabinet too. Thanks for your thoughts on this.

Your new bookcase looks very nice! I would move the red chair (that's next to the fireplace) and place it next to the other red chair, across from the fireplace. Then place that small accent table between them. Similar layout to this: Then, remove the round mirror. Place a large piece of art there, centering it between the left edge of the TV and the end of the wall. Then, put the floor lamp to the left of the TV as well, just a few inches from the console. Place a couple taller indoor plants to the right of the TV console. Also, this is very random, but have you thought about shortening the length of your fan's rod extension?? Right now it really drops down into the room and if it was raised it would make your ceilings feel taller/room feel more open. Little details like that make a world of a difference visually. Hope this helps!