How about something like the plan below (with stairs flipped?). Two changes to the exterior - I brought out the front by the game room to create an entryway, and I pushed out the little hallway to outside by the dining room to create space to enter the master bedroom from there. The entry to MBed is no longer as private, though, I did like it better when you got to the Mbed from the front of the house. Your stairs are no longer the decorative focal point in this plan, which I am guessing your architect was trying to emphasise before. So for such a big and light filled stairwell, the plan I have here is kind of wasting that. That said a grand, two story entry with expansive stairwell isn't casual Florida beachy cottage....I'd be picturing more something like this: This post was edited by robotropolis on Mon, Oct 6, 14 at 8:54

I think your undue hardship is the stairs, easy access you want to achieve, and the door which was placed in good faith to access an outdoor eating area. You can mention children, elderly, or disabled persons in your household, if applicable, as well as any regular visitors. While I am not familiar with your jurisdictions' procedures, I know my town will grant almost all reasonable variances, but the process must be followed and the fees must be paid. This means that the neighbors must be formally notified of the variance application. My town also requires a land survey before a CO will be issued - this means after the variance is granted and structure is built. I think its a formality that takes time and some money, but its very doable in many cases. As for the 5 foot space, 5 foot is quite narrow. If the deck didn't need to be elevated, I would consider a stone patio or porch instead. Either one can be designed to tie into your existsing architecture and enhance the appeal of your home. Either way, I would put a swing along the 5 ft. width and try to keep the area limited to a smalll bistro set or a high table with 2 bar height chairs which tend to be more compact. Good Luck! I'd go for the variance to try and get what you really want.

My island is 5'6" wide, a little more than 8 feet long. I love the width, as I had plenty of room for a bank of drawers on one end, and plenty of room behind the prep sink. If you're going to have a sink in the island and seating across from it, then you really do need to make sure you have enough room for someone to sit there without getting splashed. I also second the idea of seating people on two edges rather than in a straight line. I did this and we often find ourselves at the island for meals. It really makes conversation easy and comfortable. I also like that there is a spot near my prep area for someone to sit and talk to me. I am going to be the dissenting voice in aisle space. I have 42 inches between the cooktop/fridge/oven wall and the island, and I like that the island is just a pivot and one step away when taking things out of the fridge or oven and putting them on the island, or taking things from the prep area to the cooktop. Another thing that worked well for me was to put two trash pullouts in, one by the prep area and the other, larger one by the cleanup area for general trash and scraping plates. Cj

Thanks. meanom I did start a new thread on adding some whites to speak to the windows. One suggestion was to paint white casing around garage (currently that is grey). Since so many helped on this thread with the difficult garage door decision, I wanted to make sure I wasn't messing with the garage door if we add some white. Here is the long shot. Feel free to comment on the other thread or here. Please tell me if you like J or this new J with white version: J with white casing: Here is the link to the repeating white on the exterior thread, for those that can stomach one more of my exterior design elements. If not, thanks for all the amazing help on my garage door decision. You guys are the best! Carol [Thread: Repeating white on the exterior to speak to windows [(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/repeating-white-on-the-exterior-to-speak-to-white-windows-dsvw-vd~3185395)