Kchan, You are asking good questions. However you are not going to find anyone on this forum who will be able to design the ducts for your new house and gurantee you will be comfortable. You stated your general contractor will do the design work based on some courses he took. Is he a qualified HVAC installer? The installer needs to do a load calculation (Manual J), and a duct design (Manual D). Ask the contractor if he has the software and is qualified to do this. If the answer is no, then I suggest you find a reputable HVAC installer to size the installation properly. This sounds like a beautiful new home, and I would to hate to hear you are unhappy with the heating and cooling.

Like the gray rectangle tiles. Don't like those that are not smooth -- cleaning nightmare in the making. Bathrooms need "storage", too -- laundry hamper space in addition to storage space for toiletry items -- and don't forget that plunger and cleaning supplies. You also need an enclosed towel cabinet as far away from the steam of the shower as possible but still inside the bath for convenience. A full length mirror behind the door with a hook over that for a bathrobe is also a good idea. One option: 3' depth to put your shower/tub combo in the 7' end of the room. 3' for toilet. (Note: choose the mid-height rather than the shorter one.) 5' for vanity 3' for door clearance. (You've marked it at 3'). +_____ +14' total. You need a 3' path out of the 7' width for the length of the room for walking. You need about 3' from the wall for the toilet, back to front, leaving you 4' of the 7' across from the toilet -- room on that wall for towel racks near the tub. A vanity will be about 18" deep, leaving you 5 1/2' feet -- 3' for walking path and 2 1/2 for another feature. Across from the vanity, add a 18" countertop and overhead cabinets the same length. The countertop can be used as a dressing table and/or a place under which you can hide a laundry hamper. You'll also find it useful as a place for setting your clean clothes as you shower. Across from the door, add a floor to ceiling cabinet 18" deep for towels. If you can add a window above the countertop between the overhead cabinets, do.

Sorry, lglossner , but your sketch is way too symetrical and too many materials. I would stay true to the original design and keep the existing siding. Why waste money and add to the landfill? Same goes for the brick; no reason to replace with stone which is now a days is usually faux. Houzz has some great examples of lakehouses for inspiration. Put the ones you like in a Houzz ideabook with notes why and what you like or don't like. You can check out the ones I put together for myself. The point is, that these ideas you collect will be very helpful when you are working with an architect or designer. (I would not wing this without professional help.) Start with what speaks to you. This color would work with your brick.

@3onthetree 100 more questions . . . . - Where is any shop storage room? - I haven’t designed the interior of the shop portion yet, - Shop man door?– There are regular doors on the other 60 foot side and three drive through pays for large vehicles / motorhomes / tractors / boats etc - Shop toilet? Would probably build it out near the apartment - Laundry for shop clothes? Either use the laundry in the utility room of apartment or have a second set on the back wall of apartment for shop use - Will this be like a separate AirBNB? Should they have shop access then? What about noise? If short-term rental, then pulling through the carport is better than backing in just the trailer and having your truck stick out exposed because of a dedicated patio taking space under there. If we use for Airbnb or short term rental, people could bring a camper or just a car. Yes backing in is kinda a pain, but having a nice outdoor entertaining space is worth the backing headache. - Will this be for journeymen in the shop? 3 bedrooms (Master heirarchy) suited to family, 3 bedrooms (more equal) suited to 3 individuals. A family might want other amenities. Space is multipurpose, parents could stay in it if we have the main house built, family could stay, friends etc or rental too… the property is 160 acres, so there is a chance in the future that we could need additional help and would have space for someone to live. - I take it your husband is in charge with designing the shop and you are taking control of the apartment? Realize there is some coordination and shared design thought of both together. He is mostly in charge of the shop, but we haven’t spent a ton of time building it out yet. We are in the design phase to come up with a plan and figure out costs. The last plan is much better in terms of the Kitchen/Living, 4' wider definitely gives you more opportunity. The kitchen is much too excessive though, you can reduce the cabinets. Also going along with your thoughts of symmetry and garage doors, you can "create" the look of symmetry with the facade materials design, e.g. black window frames will blend in a background of black siding the size of the overhead door (concept shown, not colors). – The large kitchen serves as dining and kitchen and without a formal pantry, I can use more of the space with cabinets to have storage. I think it is borderline excessive too, but I spend more time in that space than a bedroom, so would prefer to put the extra space and extra $$$ there. Here are a couple kitchens I have done before.