That is a good point Babs...I have not been in the habit of using a potting bench to this point. I usually pot/divide etc right in the bed, most of the time. At other times I end up using the kitchen to pot things up and I would really like to get out of doing that. I will have to try to think about when I actually do pot in the house. Off the top of my head, I have done winter sowing in the kitchen which I guess I wouldn't be using a shed for, since it would be too cold out there at that point. The only other time I use the kitchen, I think, is to do my houseplants which I would normally do either in the spring or the fall. Other than that, I am usually digging, moving, potting up right at the place where the plants are coming out of. I have also wondered how I would feel about the usual counter-like height of most potting benches. Whether they are designed to work standing or if trying to work sitting on a stool with no overhang on the bench would be uncomfortable. Maybe that is another topic for another post. [g] I have played with the idea of using a rolling tool holder that would go with you so you are not making ten trips back to the storage area for that one thing you forgot. [g] Unfortunately, I don't have an overhang that I could put a bench under either. I have not heard of any prison program for building sheds here in Massachusetts. Isn't that interesting that they have that in New Hampshire. You are very lucky that your husband is a builder and that he actually finds the time to build things you need. That isn't always the case. Thanks.. pm2

Granlan, that is the way we feel about my father who died in 1960. My husband died two years ago and it comforts me to visit his grave which is in his home town. It is in Lindsborg, Ks and is called Little Sweden. I visit places we went together and have lunch at the Ole Stuga. I also put flowers on his family's graves for his sister who lives out of state.

Dh and I have lived in our current house for our entire marriage, 17 years. Truthfully, it was being built when we got married, so we lived in an apt for 2 months, then my parents for a month then it was ready. We live on the outskirts of a waterfront tourist town. We were supposed to be here for 3 years. Dh was in the Navy and this was not supposed to be our forever home as we anticipated being transferred by the Navy. However, dh realized the Navy was not meant to be his career as he didn't want to constantly move once we had kids. We wanted to live close to one of our families, but unfortunately, they live on opposite coasts. He is from the San Francisco Bay Area, and I am from the Wash DC area. Since it was the height of the tech boom at the time dh was getting out of the Navy, and we simply could not afford a home in the Silicon Valley, he got a job here, which fortunately is only 25 minutes from my parents. And here we've stayed. It is NOT my dream home. I don't even really like it. It was small when we moved in, and even smaller after having four kids! We looked around at moving to a different home, but absolutely love our neighbors and our community so finding a home that fit our needs was very difficult. We live in a high COL so home prices made it hard to find something that fit our desires while still being affordable. 10 years ago, we added on and while the space has helped, it hasn't changed the fact that our floorplan isn't desirable to us. We live in a waterfront community with very strict building codes, so we worked within that and have maxed out what we can do w/o completely gutting the house and starting over. With four kids in private school and one off to college in four years, I've pretty much resigned myself that we won't be moving anytime soon, nor can we really afford at this point to do any major changes that would help. I am constantly looking at houses for sale in the area, but the only affordable ones are in tract home subdivisions and that's not type of community we desire. So we make do with what we have. And it's not that my house is bad, but it's not set up well for entertaining, something I'd love to do more often, we had to give up our fabulous screened porch when we added on and cannot add another due to space constraints. I miss that terribly. On the bright side, we have wonderful neighbors, live in a waterfront neighborhood so the kids can fish, swim, kayak, ride their bikes freely (community is a peninsula w/no through traffic), etc. My dream is to move into the historic district in our tourist town where we can walk and bike everywhere. We live 5 miles from there now, but not on bike-friendly roads (though dh is an avid biker and rides them, no way my kids can). There are some really fabulous Arts & Crafts cottages, as well as many other architecturally interesting homes that date back to the 1700s. My hope is to move into one of them some day and have that be our forever home, with a second home in another climate. I wish I could love this home and think of it as my forever home, but it is not ideal for aging. We have three floors, with bedrooms all on the third floor as the garage/rec room are "under" the main living level. My parents still live in the house I grew up - they are going on 50 years there. They will stay until it's too much for them as it's perfect for aging, a rancher. All that said, as much as I want to move, the idea of moving is dreadful to me, which is probably one of the reasons I haven't really pushed for it. The thought of trying to keep my home in "show" condition with four kids, a huge dog that sheds, well, not fun. So perhaps a small part of me continues to find something undesirable about any of the houses I'm always looking at. I figure if I'm going to go through the hassle, the house has to be pretty close to what I want! Love all the interesting stories!

Mark-I agree that you have many great suggestions. But I feel that the immediate comments made to hire an architect to every question actually de-values architects. It also encourages people NOT to use this forum. I agree. "Hire an architect" seems to be the go-to response on this board lately. I'm more interested in discussion than this shut-down comment. I find the question akin to, "What color should I paint my walls?" In this particular case, I agree that the question is so vague that it cannot be answered. On a previous post, there were several negative comments about aspects of the plan. I remember this house plan, and it does have a number of things that can be improved. Is your plan to stick with this /adapt it further, or are you looking for a new start? I suggest you make a list of what you want in your master bedroom. For example: - Located near the garage entrance - Large closet (with storage for linens and suitcases) near the laundry room - Space for a king bed, two nightstands and a chair - Windows on two walls - Full wall of bookcases