Thanks so much for the input on that wall! Here is where we are at now (at least for the time being :) ). We decided to change the bar wall into the family room just to a large opening with half walls and columns for the support (perhaps something like niffy's kitchen/family room?). We want to keep it open but just don't know if we will use those cabinets, sink, etc enough to make it worth the added cost. Plus, with every design change I seem to be just adding $$ so I need to streamline. So, keeping that very simple with no cabinetry, I think I do want some cabinetry on the blank wall - but I do want to keep it simple with perhaps a combination of open shelves for cookbooks, etc but also some more concealed space for the "clutter" - mail, etc. Still haven't decided on the finish or the look, but now that I've got the other layout pretty much figured out I'm going to talk to some of the cabinet designers this week and see what they come up with for that space... will keep you posted. Still having trouble with the fridge. It's just not a very wide space, and whenever I draw it up to be more of an armoire or integrated to go with the rest of the room, it ends up looking tall and skinny... I also *may* be able to get a deal on the 48 pro subzero fridge above that mahlgold posted above (which is making my DH so happy just thinking about!) so I've been trying to figure out what that would look like... it's so beautiful on it's own, but height-wise I think we may need some cabinets above it to go with our layout and not just be door, fridge, door all at ~7 feet. Even with it being a deal, it would still be a splurge so I would want everything to look right. It seems to never end :)

How do you plan to use your basement? If you are storing cleaning supplies, pantry overflow, extra school supplies/curriculum materials, holiday items, costumes, you know, the stuff you want NOW and what if it's raining? It does open it up but totally changes how you use it. The basement will house the mechanicals, some seasonal storage, and dh's wood shop. Our big freezers will be down there too. We're planning to put a wood furnace in the basement, which will require loading about 2x per day during the heating season. We will still have a few animals at this place, which will require us to be outside a couple times per day, regardless the weather. I don't want the stoves too close to the corner, nor do I want the aisles to be narrow, both b/c of the amt. of bodies that can be in our place at any one time. I think 45-48" would be my personal minimum aisle width, especially when there are things like dishwashers and ovens and fridges opening into the aisles. I'm revisiting an idea I had earlier of adding on a small mudroom space along a portion of the north wall that would envelop the basement door. The roof of this room would be below the stained glass window. (I do not want to lose that!) This would get our family stuff out of the main living space...and then maybe I could use some of the entry closet for even more pantry space. Heeeehheee. ; ) I will have to wait til DH gets home to double check our stairwell-landing-basement door measurements to see if there is any way to work that door back into the kitchen if we don't do the add-on. There are three bedrooms upstairs, and there are stairs to the attic. We plan to turn the entire attic into the girls' domain, including a bathroom, since we have 6 girls and only one boy. That gives us a room for ds, and then we can use the "extra" bedroom for more flex space- sewing, library, office, nursery... we have all kinds of ideas of how to use that extra room, LOL. The 4th bedroom was turned into a laundry/full bath, but we've figured out how to work that space a little bit harder to make it into a master bath in one part, and the laundry-1/2 bath in the other part. This place is full of potential. Your comments and drawings are helping me to think this through, thank you. : ) This post was edited by laughable on Mon, Nov 18, 13 at 8:38

Last week was a bit hectic culminating in the remodel version of The Marx Brother's Night at The Opera as I had various workers coming in to do various stuff as well as a visit from the cable guy to move my modem and router from my bedroom where it had been originally placed when I moved back in October 2018 and still didn't have the room divider built which houses the television servicing the den/office and "living room" My room divider houses what I call my stripper pole television as the TV is mounted on a pole which turns so I can watch television from either my den/office or from the "living room". And of course the television in the bedroom was disconnected from cable and so he has to make another service call this morning. The electrician was here to hang the chandelier in the dining room as well as change switch plates to black and add some smart switches for my bedroom. Naturally when he got here, he didn't like the smart switches I ordered and convinced me that I should go with the Lutron Caseta hub so he'll be back. All this to have the digital equivalent of a "clapper" - if I'm in bed, I don't want to get OUT OF BED to turn off the sconces in the bedroom :-). Because my ceilings are concrete it isn't possible to move any lighting junctions in the ceiling and the one over the dining room table is not centered so it has to be swagged. Probably when my condo was built in 1965, swagging was considered the height of elegance but not so much anymore. My designer had recommended a sock and so I thought okay but when I saw what it actually looked like it seemed ridiculous to have what reminded me of Seinfeld's "poufy shirt" covering the chain. To my "non-designer" eyes the cure seemed worse than the cure so against the objections of both the electrician and designer, I had it removed. The chandelier is an old Art Nouveau chandelier that originally had small chains swagging from the bottom and over the course of time some of these had just fallen off. Amazingly what seems like a simple item to procure requires four months for the lighting people to get. But the chandelier is hung and presumably the decorative chains can be added when they come in without having to take down the chandelier. I had the carpenter who did all my cabinets and other wood stuff fabricate a medallion for my bedroom chandelier. My designer had found one which I loved but the company never responded - oddest thing since there is both a website and EBAY presence. At any rate, I am so glad I held out for this one as I absolutely am in LOVE with it. It's got an Art Deco feel and so even though the chandelier is Rococco Revival, it ties in with other design elements in my room since my sconces are vaguely Art Decoish and my wood furniture is my old Art Deco Waterfall furniture. Anyway long winded Saturday morning missive but if we can't share with all of you on this thread, who else can we LOL? I think the angle I shot at - I was in bed - doesn't do it justice This is the chandelier with the new medallion This is the sconce which is on either side of my bed This is the bed with the sconces - I still haven't finished in terms of the bed treatment. I got a faux mink bedspread which I should start using to finishing it off. This is a shot of the room divider which houses my television as viewed from my den/office. You can actually glimpse my chandelier over dining table to the left completely with tacky swagged chain :-)

Hey team! I desperately need help. There are no stone masons in the area of my cabin, apparently, so I have to design my front steps myself. There is a quarry that will cut and deliver custom sized stones, but the excavator who dug our foundation will have to place them. That means minimal site prep and accuracy. For that reason, I thought to do just two stones, the bottom one big enough to support the entire top stone. As you can see, the front is very simple, and could use the beauty of some really great steps (and I'm thinking one long window box on the left and another around the corner to the right of the porch), but the ideal size is killing me. Should they be really wide? Wider than the door trim? If the top step is almost at the height of the door, should its run be longer than a standard run? so you can easily step out onto it before descending? The height from ground to sill is 17", the width including trim is 43" I could do 1-2 much wider stones as the base, creating a step that goes unnecessarily in all directions but gives a wider look to the entry, or I could make both stones the same width, whatever that should be. HELP! I"m embarrassed by how it looks unpainted: it will look MUCH better all painted the same dark brown (see the partially painted side for reference).