Thanks again to all that have taken the time to respond. I love the parts of the book that you posted Mark, thanks so much for taking the time. I am going to keep an eye out for those volumes when I am shopping the used books sales. I love the chapter header about dynamite. ILoveRed- Thank you, and I also like the shed dormer. The gable dormer appears more cheerful to me, if that doesn't sound too strange. I was driving around today paying extra attention to houses and their architectural elements, and I saw more shed dormers around here, especially in houses that just had a single dormer over a front porch. The gable dormers are more common in pairs or sets of three. This is something that could be changed without too much trouble, so I will be keeping it in mind. gthigpen- Your house is lovely! I like the color you chose for the exterior and the board and batten looks so nice. Thanks for taking the time to post those. Advice on the windows is noted. It certainly would save us quite a bit of money (I think it was almost 40% more for a "bronze" exterior). If we did do white windows, I don't think I would want a white exterior, as it would just be so much white. ETA- After seeing Mark’s pictures I pulled out a book we have titled “Down on the Farm,” copyright 1954. I was looking for any pictures particular to my area and could only find the one below. Thought I would share it, not for inspiration in my home design, but just because I love old photographs and figured some of you would also appreciate it.

May snow again tonight...but will hit 60° by Sunday, so the shovel will remain retired. Thus far, with two hawk nests across the street and the return of the red squirrels, it appears this will be one of ' those' years -- the type of year where the survival of the fittest theory will test its efficacy. Hard shooting into a rising sun, but, that's when the bluejays decided to settle a score with a hawk. And, the meanest little guy in town likes the deck railing. If one could package chutzpah, this guy would need a garden cart to carry all the audaciousness and arrogance he has. So, between 4 resident hawks, red-tailed and red-shouldered, and the red squirrels, it may be a hellishly red summer! Jane P.S. The farm store just delivered my order and the chap said they are seeing a different type of customer now. The pandemic is bringing out future gardeners - more people are interested in and are beginning victory gardens. Here's hoping that may become a trend.

@The_Lane_Duo no tv. I definitely need to and plan to move things around. I feel like I have all of my stuff all lined up on that wall and it’s terrible! Thanks for helping me see outside of the box. Btw everyone’s builds are looking amazing. @Trish Walter I am sure your husband will adjust :) @Buzz Solo in northeast MI Congrats! The chair and loveseat I like are super soft but the fabric sample they sent me home with shows they are close in color to the sectional but not exact. Maybe a leather chair would look better?

@a - I can't tell what the dimensions in your kitchen are but if you can swing the changes toward your idea I like it. You could see if you could get narrower cabinets on that wall to help, I know some you can get only 21 inches deep. Otherwise you could do a wall of shelves or something, but you'd lose counter space, of course. My kitchen is smaller but I'm having a minimum of 3'8" between, the minimum recommended distance for wheelchairs. I saw how my dad struggled for 13 years in a wheelchair in an older house not built for it and I decided I'd rather not take chances because you never know. I'm still getting a decent side island. @Rebecca Delo, aren't windows wonderful? We were lucky in that the way our house is built the windows were in last year. Now it's a matter of DH and I putting the garage doors in so we can really close the place off this winter and use one of those bullet style heaters so we can finally continue working all winter. (or at least part of it, we could use a break sometime!) @Keepthefaith MIGirl, I love you're going to paint your chandelier. DH had this idea a couple of months ago that I was handy and creative enough to find some old fixture somewhere and make a brilliant (and cheap I suspect is his real thinking!) looking chandelier for our dining room. I'm willing to give it a try but I made NO promises! lol