Thanks for the great information ...patches I'll take a look at your plans...mightyanvil..thanks for taking the time to provide such great advice. This will be our "vacation" home..but it will really be a weekend get away place, that is if we can pull it off. The home will oriented so that the front of the home is north, the back south. We want views to the south and west. I was avoiding a second level because of cost, although considering a loft, but it sounds as though the rule of "cheaper to build up rather than out" applies. It's just DH, myself, and our chocolate lab. Originally we thought everything on one level but are now considering living room, kitchen, mudroom/bath on main level and bed and bath on above. We also considered a basement, as my DH wants the extra storage, but costs vs. it and just a slab foundation..not sure of the differences although there are those that say "might as well put in a basement while you're at it" We're not worried about excavation as we have a friend who'll do the job for us. We love open floor plan because we anticipate small footprint, we want back deck (but plan to build it on later) so outdoor spaces are important. We definitely want a mudroom...area to keep coats, boots, and area to rinse off dog after a run in the mud! We don't really need a garage..again, something we can add later... We live in Western Pa and do want a weather tight home, as we get more cold rainy weather than hot sunny...but want overhangs to keep direct sun out in summer, but still allow sun in winter (passive solar?)... Views to south (back) include woods and stream..views to west include woods and field. Weather hits us from north west...lots of wind from time to time. Why not a screened in porch? I love to sit out but hate the bugs! Ideally, we'd like to contract to get a "shell" built and finish the home ourselves as time/$ allow. Not sure what our options are there... I had to laugh about the home you'd described above with the various levels ..we currently have that set up...and have 5 levels and 4 sets of stairs and it drives me crazy! I can handle one set, but am a bit tired of 4. ;-)

I would do the Antique Copper. I think the Cinn Stick and Richmond Gold are too close to your floor color.

Well, what you've done already sounds lovely but can you post a photo or two? I too have a long and narrow living room, 12 x 23 and it's been a nightmare for me so I'm curious as to what you end up doing. One thing I have to add is I'm also concerned about the accent wall because I did exactly what you did with a copperish orange and even though I loved color, within a couple of months I was ready to paint over it. The reason is because orange is a very strong and energetic color and in the end it pretty much over powered the room. It also made it hard to relax in it. I plan instead to bring the autumn rustic colors into the room by way of the rug, lamps, pillows and so on, you know, little bits here and there. Directions for photo posting are here, I'm looking forward to seeing what you've done so far! Here is a link that might be useful: How to page

My son has installed Amtico vinyl by Mannington. He thinks that is a good product. I have a wood look laminate plank floor. It is very nice but I am careful with it. If it gets wet it can warp. Depends on were your putting it. It is easy to install. We are going to remodel in spring and am really considering Amtico vinyl plank. Durable,can handle water and grand kids, dog and cat. It is also a less expensive choice for us.