Tigerdunes - yes all my systems are getting a work out this week. We lost power for 4+ hours on Monday and all 4 HVAC units were working hard to get the house back to comfortable. The gas units (including the new bedroom one) warmed things up pretty quickly - all in second stage. My basement unit (heat pump and electric strips) was a real problem. The condenser froze up with the rain/sleet and the defrost cycle wouldn't clear it. We ran until today on the strips only (can't wait to see the electric bill) before I could chip all the ice off the condenser and get it running properly again. Forecast is for low teens the next day or two - so they will all be working hard for the next couple of days. Glad I signed up for a low 12 month fixed gas rate. To the other poster - not sure why the comments on zoning - my house is zoned by having different units (one for each floor and a separate one for the master bedroom), not a mechanical zoning system.

A vote for NO beadboard. Originally, bb was an early 1900s kind of thing - there's nothing remotely midcentury about it. Now its totally overused and usually in the form of DIY paneling from the big box store. Not that I think we have to be historical purists - just have all the design components relate well and complement each other. In my mind the country-ish flavor of bb doesn't relate well to the more suburban sophisticated style of your tile floor and of the typical 60s ranch house. Unless you've already reworked the rest of the house to be more traditionally styled and beadboard friendly - in that case just pls disregard! Agree that the sprayed on epoxy finish (in any color) can be a good affordable alternative to ripping out the tile and re-installing some other kind of wall. The tub will probably peel so maybe you could just replace that - the money and effort you save not ripping out the tile wall (believe me that is a beast of a job) can go to the cost of replacing the tub.

You don't want to vent hot air from the top in the humid South or anywhere else. Hot humid air will be sucked in to replace it at the lower levels. That will cost you a kidney in continuing electric costs. You could move your sleep and work downstairs in the summer, but you probably already dismissed that. You could close in the loft space and install a mini split. You could install a relatively large duct on the wall of the open space with a blower to recirculate cool air from the lower level to the top. Montana might sound better to you.

We are trying to finalise our master bed/bathroom and have two different designs (if you can think of any other way to change it please let us know!) In the first place we have an almost 3m double shower and bathtub. A vanity, and toilet. I worry that having a 3m double shower is way to big.... And cold! Less intimate. In option B we have jiggled everything around made our walkin closet longer and added the vanity on the nook of the WIC. We would then have space (2m) for the wet room double shower and tub. The main flaw we see with this plan is that we are moving the toilet over from near the WIC to closer to the master bedroom. That, and the fear (without being there in person) that it may be too claustrophobic? Can anyone poke any holes in the design - anything you would change or ones you like better? Which would you choose and why? Thanks!