Can't really improve upon tigerdunes minimun specs above, efficiency performance dehumidification (if sized correctly..)staging electric strips. R-8 should be for all ductwork supplies and returns. All connections should be mastic..not foil or duct tape but paint on mastic and/or mastic tape. load calc to show how much air is needed and how to distribute air.(duct sizing & design) I'd invest in the room by room load calc and see how they plan to size the ducts and lay them out. you don't mention where ahu & heaters will be located. one in crawl space the other in attic? both in conditioned space with ductwork in attic and crawl? one thing to know going in is that sheet metal duct is best under houses. animals love flex duct, while you can usually deal with mice in attics..coons, possums can wreak flex duct. also sheet metal duct ( I call it hard pipe) leaks air at all connections. in addition to screwing duct together all joints and seams should be mastic sealed...before duct is wrapped. duct wrap should be stapled, and taped with duct tape (fsk tape) 80 years ago we built houses for ventilation. tall ceilings, balloon framed walls. to add central air to these homes is to change the dynamic of the house. in my area we usually foam floors with closed cell as it is the most cost effective way to both air seal and insulate the floors. here is a link to LaHouse (LSU Baton Rouge, La) about insulating floors: http://www.lsuagcenter.com/NR/rdonlyres/D33F711D-DC4B-4E4C-9ED6-A97DCE9DB026/79806/pub3187insulatingraisedfloorsHIGHRES.pdf you'll have to cut and paste for it to work.. if ductwork is in attic, another option is to foam the roofline and keep ductwork in a conditoned space. this will minimize problem areas like recessed lights that are not air tight, which allow attic air and insulation particles to enter the house. we use open cell installed in rafter bays and covering the face of the rafters. in my experience with older homes you have to fix the house in terms of air leakage and insulation for the central installs to provide comfort, dehumidification and savings. otherwise you just throw more tons of a/c at a leaky structure. insulating floors and attic would be to your benefit. air sealing the house is a good investment. there are lots of energy raters in Texas. you should talk to a few and get more information before spending so much for a/c. unlike a lot of audits an energy rating unbiased information that provides a blue print for efficiency, recommendations specific to your home and performance & install verification. best of luck.

Yes, you'll need to check with contractors in your area. I'm in western Canada, and we have a friend who converted an old one-room schoolhouse into a summer cottage on some land a family member owns and farms. My husband, who's a builder, did the work, but it's not winterized or suitable for full-time, year-round living. It has running water and a woodstove to take the chill off the spring and autumn mornings and evenings, but that's it. Our friend spends most of October to early May in the city, and then spends the rest of the time at the schoolhouse cottage in the country. You may want to consider something like that for the building, an extra space for the summer months, for entertaining or as a studio or quiet getaway from the main house.

I am so gracious for all of these comments and feedback. You guys are really helping me to target my objective here. While I could spend more on a total remodel, it really is "unnecessary". I realize that the decent sized formal dining room is a plus. Also, optimally, at some point down the line, I'd like to extend the back of my home by five feet and add a floor (giving me a larger kitchen and enlarging the size of the bedroom above it, which is the same size). At that point, a total remodel would make the most sense. So perhaps for now, the NON PERMIT route might be the best path to take to get some modernity in the home while keeping the expenses low. I've been looking at homes in towns near me which have kitchens with similar square footage, yet sell for $200K+ more than my home. Here is an example. Their kitchen is 12x7. They have their refrigerator in an adjacent pantry (this home is over $200K more than my own!) A NON PERMIT route with "storage tricks" (i.e. slide out spice racks, smaller fridge, ceiling cabinets) sounds like the right path. I get to save on not having to move plumbing/gas/electrical. @mama goose_gw zn6OH and @mnmamax3 I see your point about the off-putting feeling of coming out of the powder room into the dining room/kitchen area. While this might be the cheapest way to get a powder room because of the existing closet door, since I'd need a permit to construct a powder room anyway, perhaps a better entrance would be a new door constructed along the door of the hallway, sealing off the existing closet door, or turning that existing closet into a shallower closet. I believe the wall down the hallway is load bearing. This could be the modified floor plan which puts the entrance to the powder room in the hallway. Would it be a 100% NO to put a 24" refrigerator where my drop leaf table pot rack and radiator are? If I were to put it in that spot, there would be 3" between the fridge and radiator. On the other hand, if I went with the 24" refrigerator in the place of where the 30" one is now, I'd get 18" of counter space between it and the 30" oven instead of the 8" I have now!

I went on a local house tour years ago, where the couple had a voluminous art collection. Well, they collected everything. Their house was so full, and there was no harmony. These guys talked about “harmonious” decor, and I liked that. The house I toured actually had me a little queasy by the time I left. No place to rest the eye, it was total chaos. The house itself was beautiful, you just had to work too hard to see it. I kind of feel that way the the video, there is soooo much stuff, even though it’s all very personal with a story. I’d love to edit the surfaces, which at some point start to look like they just came home from a fabulous estate sale and needed to set things down while they changed clothes to go on vacation and came home with more stuff that they set down while they picked up Skippy from the dog sitter and . . .