Interesting thread! I do insurance appraisals for a living. Comments: always amazed at people who throw out statements like 'you can rebuild at so much per square foot.' Don't listen to them. At the very least, go to the site posted by nutynetie in this thread. I just now used that system to compare results in a known house between it and a real insurance appraisal. I found it to be about 15% low for my area in South Jersey, and the same house set down in Rockland County NY, where I assume the original poster is from, was about 33% low for that house. The website system also showed the same cost for several NJ areas that I am familiar with, which should have a 10-15% differential. So this is a very rough system, and you should probably add something to its final totals if you're going to use it to insure your house. If you have put in a new kitchen etc, and it is of a higher quality (e.g., you had formica before, now you have granite or silestone) be sure to tell your insurance agent, and add at least part of the installation cost (not the entire cost because you're trying to account for the difference between what you replaced and what you replaced it with). As Gloria said, don't consider the selling price in trying to calculate replacement cost--they have nothing to do with each other. And, in some circumstances, building owners who carry less than full replacement cost and have a partial loss will not be paid 100% of that loss by the insurer because of something called co-insurance. Ask your insurance agent. Unfortunately, most insurance companies use something pretty inaccurate to calculate building replacement costs, at least PRIOR to losses (after the loss is when they may take a more thorough look, which is to their benefit, not yours). They actually use something similar to the web site system mentioned above. Exception: if you have a high-end house, there are a couple of companies (one, especially) that specialize in them, your independent insurance agent should know who they are. These companies will send out someone to appraise your house in a fairly thorough fashion. I have seen their estimates be way high, IMO, but that's not terrible because they will really take good care of you if you have a claim. The overinsurance is the price you pay for superlative service. For the person with the stone house, I would be very suspicious of any numbers arrived at by using a system of "Standard" or "Premium" costs. At the very least, find someone in your area who builds in stone today, and offer to pay him something for his time to take a look a give you a number. Probably will cost little or nothing. Also be careful if you have special flooring, like 'heart of pine' or curly maple. To replace things like these means going to someone who dismantles old buildings to resell the materials. Finally, your insurance agent is probably a good guy --- you want to know how much to insure for, and he wants to accomodate you, but take whatever numbers he or the insurance company gives you with a grain of salt, even if they give you Guaranteed Replacement Cost (don't know if that's still available).

Me again. Flowerlady I looked so hard at your pictures. You have inspired me to marry two pieces I have making them one and taking up half the floor space. I have two cabinets. One old jelly cabinet or pie safe. Has screen door on front. Second cabinet has glass doors and I am pretty sure was the top cabinet removed from a kitchen. Looking at your tall cabinet with glass doors gave me the idea. I need to build out the jelly cabinet three inches on the sides. The other cabinet is three inches wider. Sigh.They are the same depth. I am going to cheat and just add trim boards top and bottom to jelly cabinet giving it a little wider stance and interest to the square box look. I will draw a soft curved design on the added wood. No worry about anything matching. Paint and glass and old china will cover all eventually. Heheheh I am already having visions for the design. This is going to be perfect. It will live in the guest room/sewing room den and hold all my collection of vintage sewing boxes and actually hold my bobbins and sewing stuff. I am so excited about this project!! And in case inquiring minds want to know. I want the glass door cabinet on top even though I need to add to the smaller cabinet to make it work. The other cabinet holds my craft books.I think it will be a good idea to attach the two pieces to each other. I have about 16+ things ahead of this project but I will pick up the wood tomorrow on my way home from work. This is going to be so fun. BIG space saver and exactly what I was looking for for this room. I just bought the glass door cabinet at yard sale a couple of weeks ago.$7.50 Chris

It is so much fun watching what people do in their little homes. Mine is 1100 too. You have done a great job. Do I see a sun room on the left of the living room? This is a bit off subject, but my kitchen has the same layout. Other than my window is double, so you probably have an additional cupboard on each side. Mine is remodeled with identical cupboard arrangement. I have two problems with my kitchen. One is I hate the corner units, bottom one turns. Never seem to find what is in them and haven't figured out the best arrangement or what should be stored there. Actually this has been a pain to me in other houses with bigger kitchens. I'd rather have normal cupboards there and drawers below. The second is when my kids (adult) are visiting. They always want to be in the kitchen helping, a great thing. But we end up with 3 people in the corner between the sink and stove. I've tried to change this....moving whatever they are doing to other side of sink or stove. There isn't anything on the other counters and plenty of room on them. Sometimes I just give up and let them do their thing and figure we just like being together. But this corner is bugging me and becomes the landing place for anything being done. Lucky you having a dining room. This really wasn't an issue when buying, our family visits are usually 2 or 3. Company is barbeques outside. Still miss the dining room though and have a drop leaf table in the kitchen. Anyone else without a dining room? When using the stove, the area becomes quite warm. Maybe I am still learning to live small. But have no need for anything bigger and as with you, really fun to decorate and create comfort within.

Since you're not building an actual apartment with a separate kitchen, what you're creating is a family room /den off the breakfast nook/kitchen and a bonus room -- a guest bedroom with full bath. You should quit struggling to redefine that second sitting area and bedroom as anything else and go ahead and put an opening between the breakfast nook and the family room for easy access for your guest to dine with you (rather than requiring your guest/family member to access a dining area of your home through a back hallway with an exposed washer and dryer). Just outside your breakfast nook, within the area behind the garage, create a hallway -- at least an 8'x8' "hallway". From there, to the right you enter the family room/den (behind which is the bonus room/ guest bedroom with full bath). Whether you add any door (and/or what kind of door you add) in the opening from the breakfast room to the square hallway and/or from the square hallway to the den should be determined by the degree privacy you want for you and your guest. Directly across from the opening from the breakfast nook into the square hallway DO add a door to your new mudroom. That hallway/mudroom could lead to your new laundry closet at the far end of the mudroom -- located by the left exterior wall (where the dryer will have an exterior vent). From this mudroom, you add a door to/from the garage. All the rest of the walls of the mudroom -- wall to wall and floor to ceiling -- can be storage -- whatever kind of storage your family actually needs. Will your ironing board and iron and cleaning products fit in that 8'x8' laundry closet on the opposite end of the mudroom from the 8'x8' hallway or do you need storage for them. Do you have enough pantry type storage in your kitchen or do you need storage for that. Do you need a hat/coat rack or a hall tree or a bench with shoe storage in your mud room. Do you need storage for tools in your mud room.