The kitchen layout does NOT work. Green is right that you cannot stand at your sink and load the DW. If you are going to do an angled island like that, it needs to be MUCH larger to work well and to adequately separate the cleanup and prep zones. You need at least 12" cabinet between the corner angle and the DW to be able to stand at the sink and load the DW. And that cleanup zone needs to be opposite the prep zone side of the sink if you are only going to have a single sink. It would be a better layout to put the cleanup zone on the top run next to the refrigerator, and then straighten the island out and put a prep sink on it to have actual prep space on the island. Right now, it doesn't meet the minimum guidelines for 36" adjacent to a water source for prep. And the clearance between the wings and the walls is tight. This is a one person kitchen. If you envision any one helping in here, then it needs to be completely redesigned. I'd personally swap it with the dining room so that it could be lighter. I dislike a dark interior kitchen, whereas a dining room can be a dark interior room because it's mainly utilized in the evening when there is no natural light anyway. The addition of a closet to the office may make it a technical bedroom, but I'd want more room to be able to realistically have a bed in it. And get rid of the angled entrance. It's only hurting the furniture placement in the room. I'm not a fan of the bathroom that ate the house syndrome, but I'd at least want a double vanity in the master. And I'd want the other upstairs bath to be accessible from the hall rather than just the bedroom. If the office has to count as a bedroom, then it HAS to have access to a bathroom. The two baths should also be back to back, as that simplifies the plumbing, and it allows the bedroom to have the choice corner location with windows in two directions. Most locations do not allow a direct stair from a garage to a basement living area. The stair would need to be in a mudroom type area with a fire door between it and the garage. I would redesign the surplus garage space to create a mudroom and pantry space from it and to contain the stairs to the garage.

Thanks for the input, Dedtired (which I am right now -- dead tired, LOL!), Les and Lynne_melb! Yes, the porch/deck will come off of the sliders where the tiny deck is now. As it stands now, it would have a gabled roof and the shed roof would just meld into it. Dedtired, thanks for the nice compliments! This is our dream house, and we really do love it. The views are really nice. I hadn't thought of skylights -- thank you! That might be something we will incorporate if we go the porch route since I am concerned about the potential lack of light in the family room (the three windows). The windows from the sunroom (in the turret) also bleed into that area, too, so that will help some, but still... Les, I hadn't even considered that kind of shape. That might look really nice. I'm a little concerned that it might up the price quite a bit, though, and we're on a pretty tight budget (which might be part of why I'm thinking of deck only). I can't really envision how the shed roof would tie in. I'll have to think about that. Lynne, yes, I would like to have a sheltered area from bugs, and we really did love our old screened porch. I think I'm hesitating because of the lack of light in the family room if we build the porch, and the cost would be so much less if we just went with a bi-level deck. Plus, I just would love to see what it would look like. Maybe if I saw it, I could fall in love with the idea again! I guess another thing that worries me is that I love the view from the family room & breakfast nook windows (lots of trees back by the creek), and I'm concerned that we'll be diminishing it by the porch obstructing part of the view (it will need to stick out about 3' more than the nook in order to be in proportion -- not long & narrow). Maybe once it's there, it won't be as bad as I'm afraid it might be. Thanks for helping me work through this!

We had a screen porch when we moved in, one of the reasons for buying the house. I wish I had been able to spend a few days in the house before buying it for that reason, as it did increase the cost of the house compared to our neighbors, since it was "extra living space." We had a screen porch at the house we were leaving, so wanted one in our next house. Not all screen porches are created equally and be sure you have adequate circulation. The way our house was built/porch addition, the air was trapped and it was always hot. We used two floor fans and 2 ceiling fans and it was still hot and muggy (in the south). I had no idea there was that big difference in the location of porches and we ended up never using it, plus it blocked light to the interior which we so needed. A tornado one brisk spring did a great deal of damage to our porch, garden, roof, cars, etc. We decided when they tore the screen porch down, that we would not have a screen porch again at this house. I do love them when they work, but ours did not, so just make sure that all your weep holes and venting holes are not directed at you when you are outside, and that you have good air circulation. We added a pergola over what was our screen porch, left the concrete intact. We are able to have all-weather furniture and two swings and use it as often or more often than the cold screen porch in fall/winter, the hot screen porch in spring/summer. I do love screen porches but not all houses are located so that they work well. Just make sure of that before building. Having said all that,we built a small screen porch near our shop which is part of our house and we get great air circulation there and although it is not very large, only accommodates 4-5 people and the dog, we do enjoy it. I am saying, Just make sure the location of any screen porch has good air circulation and is not getting all the hot air from your attic in summer and cold air in winter.

I looked at all the vinyl window options and came across energy wise manufacturing out of Schullber, WI. I could not be happier w this product! I have been wanting a screened in porch for many years, but could not justify the cost if it was not used "most" of the year. I live in Richmond, VA where we have mild winters and it is not uncommon to have sunny 60 degree days in Dec/Jan/Feb. These windows create a "greenhouse effect" and allows me to enjoy my screened in porch most of the year. Alot of people thought this idea was crazy - but I am glad I stuck with it and found a company that makes them and was willing to ship them to me. Besides for retaining heat in the winter, I really enjoy the fact that the room stays clean from dust and pollen most of the time. Some people balked at the idea of taking them in and out, and also storing them. But for me it’s worth the trade off. The shipping cost is high ($300.00) especially in my case bc my window openings were SO LARGE (60 X 66). An added bonus is that the shipping container acts as a heavy duty storage container for the windows when not in use. I store the container under my deck. Eugene is a great guy and extremely responsive to his customers! This a unique product and for people who don’t mind the effort, it is the perfect solution to get more use out of a screened in porch. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND!