thanks to all who have posted so far, especially Eric. We can probably save/budget down the road for a kitchen redo, or do part of it ourselves. Additions would be a little harder for us except finish work (floors, tile, etc. Can do drywall even but would need to find time to do it). What that kitchen has is a U shaped layout, not too bad except there are overhanging cabinets between a small dining/family space and the kitchen. It's a counter/pass through kind of setup where someone can sit at stools and talk with the person in the kitchen....except the cabinets hang down so the person in the kitchen has to look under them. We would likely tear those out and relocate the stovetop to the perimeter wall and make that pass through an island. Then that entire space could become kitchen/dining. It is possible we could still move out a wall on that (kitchen) side of the house down the road too, we are in Hawaii so all the construction costs are much, much higher than mainland. So jealous of all the posters here who can put on a large extension for less than 50K. Plan A or Plan B will cost us about the same. We don't plan to sell and move anytime soon, but should we need to we're leaning toward sq. footage instead of just extending current bath and upgrading the kitchen. Our neighborhood is about 20 years old so people are beginning to redo those rooms as the fixtures and appliances are ageing. We redid all the appliances about three years ago with stainless finishes, new faucet/sink, and redid the countertop Corian, so the kitchen is livable - just need to clear out some clutter and make smarter usage on available storage space. We could paint or restain the cabinet doors to freshen it up. A few neighbors are creating the "big bang" kitchen now but I'm not certain a 70K upgrade will improve the value that much as a new neighborhood is planned about 5 miles away within the next couple of years. Would we love to live in a "WOW" kitchen, of course. But as with most people we have to make a decision on where it is best to spend the money for now. We could feasibly also add on a 2nd story in future years, but we prefer the single story and if we age-in-place as planned, the new bath will include wide accesses and no-curb shower.

Layout...I'm trying to create your current space on graph paper (to then add the 14' deep addition), but I keep running into measurements that don't add up. Would it be possible to measure your actual space? Actual spaces rarely match what they say they are on paper from the builder and post them here? Take graph paper and draw up the existing space - walls, windows, doors, doorways and measure each as well as the distances b/w each. You don't need to add the refrigerator, etc., just the infrastructure. I'm assuming any doors and windows in the new space can be placed where needed (correct me if I'm wrong). From that, we can just add a 14' deep extension off the existing space (the width of the Kitchen + Dinette, I assume) and work from there. You could do it by hand and take a digital picture of it or use PowerPoint or similar to do a quick drawing and save it as a JPG file and post it here. You can find free graph paper online. Do you have a full-basement under the current house? Do you plan to add a basement or crawl space under the addition? Dining Room as a Playroom...we did just that in our home as well. For the first 10 years or so, our DR was the Playroom, without any Dining Room furniture at all (we moved from a Townhouse with no formal DR). We ate in the Kitchen in a small area. As our children grew up (now 15 & 17), it was used less and less as a playroom and we eventually reclaimed it as a DR - a DR that was rarely used for anything except at Christmas, Easter, and birthdays and as a dumping ground and the occasional project the rest of the year. One caveat - we finished part of our basement and added a "toy closet" for storing toys not currently "in use". The kids eventually outgrew our small table space as well. When we remodeled, we reclaimed our DR to use everyday as our main table space. We took down most of the wall b/w the Kitchen & DR and added a peninsula for (1) some separation b/w the two rooms and (2) more counter and cabinet space. The DR became an "informal DR/formal kitchen table" space and it suits us perfectly! We did not have the luxury of being able to add an addition, so this worked best for us. You do have that luxury - so you could continue to use the DR as a Playroom for a few more years (not many more years, though, unless you are planning more children!) Perhaps you could then turn the DR into a Study/Computer Room/Library and get several more years' of frequently used space out of it. You might even consider starting the transition now - add a desk or two for homework. I would probably put a computer station/docking station out in the open, though, so I could see what the kids are doing online...

You have a couple of choices but the one that probably makes the most sense and the "cheapest" money, would be to take out a first mortgage on your home. Since you currently own the home "free and clear" interests rates are at historic lows and, depending upon your geographical location, you should be able to get a mortgage somewhere in the neighborhood of 3.5%-4%, with a monthly payment of around $600, for 15 years. Obviously the payment would be higher to pay off the loan in 10 years. The problem with this option and also a HELOC (home equity line of credit), is that most lenders will not loan 100% of the homes value, which is what you need, $100,000-15,000 (your 15% down)= $85,000, which is the current appraised value of your property. So unless you can find a lender who will loan 100% of property value, you may have to get real creative. Is it possible to phase the remodel? Do some now, pay off the loan, do the remaining later? Also, a HELOC works in a very similar way that a credit card does, as you pay down the loan, more money is available and you wouldn't need to take out another loan.

We added a new addition on to the house a couple years ago including a large ballroom with natural hardwood floors and a club house with tile floors and a full kitchen. I need some help on figuring out the exact white color to paint the walls and trim along with an accent color over the fireplace in the ballroom as well as an accent color in the clubhouse. Also, I need help with choosing a white color for the master bedroom which will accent newly painted fireplace and mantle in SW Agreeable Gray as well as maybe a white color and an accent color to match the newly painted vanities in SW Agreeable Gray in the master bathroom. I could also use some help with choosing the right vanity lights, sconces, chandeliers, and curtain panels.