You all are fantastic - and funny. Note to self, posting "bad" pictures really irritates you :) Oceandweller - that is A TON of information, thank you so much for taking the time to write that all out. We are in a subdivision (the lots are about 2 acres each), so I wouldn't call it "naturalized." The back yard could definitely be though - there is a ton of scrub and wetlands mixed in to the lake front. The lot next to me has several river burch that I would kill for. The lots are basically empty fields right now, with a thin tree line at the edge of the lake. The lots gently slope down to the lake - then on the other side of the lake the golf course slopes up (if that makes sense) - so your point of not blocking the view is well taken! I like the idea of ginko, cherries, red bud and fruit trees. All things I love and which would give me the flowers in the spring too. The buying order of trees ->shrubs -> perin. was helpful too, as well as considering the windbreak! That will be a good thing to keep in mind along with some privacy along our back decks (one second story and one on the ground). I can't wait until the framing is up and I can send you all better pictures, thanks so much for the time and insight!

Mantle Mount for above a fireplace. I agree with others to move the fireplace back to the wall opposite the kitchen and make the back wall all windows. You need as many windows as possible back there. Here's what I'd do if you can remove the nook and maybe pull the dining room down so it is on the same outside wall as the bedroom. It would mean making the front porch smaller, but that would help to bring even some northern light into the dining room. It would also give you a "hallway" from the foyer to the bedroom wing. This would make the back wall where the nook was all sliders to the backyard. This would help bring in more light to the kitchen and would make the whole back south wall windows. Plus since the nook is basically just a pass through to the master, it's basically useless as it was. I also moved the outdoor door from the master down further and added two windows on the east wall to the master. Moved the fireplace to the wall of the bedroom.

"I like every single thing about this plan." That opinion may be based upon lack of understanding of what the drawings show. I avoid: Designs that do not relate to the site. Closets where hanging clothes turn corners. Windowless walk-in closets. Kitchens with overly large work triangle. Large expanses of exterior wall without windows. Walk-in closets that will be difficult to walk into. Hallways less than four feet wide. Stairs less than 3'-6" wide. Freestanding tubs that do not have sufficient space to clean around. Powder room off main entry A powder room where you can sit in and carry on a conversation with someone in the living room and have visual contact with. Powder room window that opens to a front entry porch. Master bathrooms with little counter space. Bathtub/shower with a window. Closets with doors that insufficiently provide full access to the closet's content. Dimension that go to the center line of walls. to name a few.

cobalty, the features you describe as essential to you are ones that the vast, vast majority of consumers neither know anything about nor feel the same way about. I'm not an engineer or a tech person but I've spent my adult life in Silicon Valley and it's hard to out-geek me so long as a discussion doesn't get deep into the technicalities. Backhauls don't need to be wired. Latency simply means delay, not speed, as I'm sure you understand. For the vast, vast majority of internet users, the greatest factor impacting latency is the signal pathway to/from the internet after leaving their homes. And, for this same vast majority, their normal internet use is wholly unaffected by latency. As I'm sure you know, what ISPs and equipment companies describe as internet "speed" is really capacity - how much the truck can carry, not how fast the truck is travelling. Internet signals travel at the speed of light- congestion, distance, and equipment processing speeds, among other things, are what contribute to latency. What better way to limit a teenager's time wasted playing games than to have equipment that offers only limited or moderate response times because of latency. People I encounter who proselytize for Linux take a similar approach - look at all the things "my" approach offers and your's doesn't. Except, how many of those things does the buying public think to be essential or are able to deal with as the softrware and hardware require? Answer- few or none. Home IT equipment is a plug and play ecosystem. To the extent possible, products configure themselves with onboard setup software. They're shipped with programs consumers can use to receive setup steps and configuration items that can't be automated - to enter passwords, etc. Few ever access access the innards again. If you ask someone what the password is to access their router, the response will usually be incorrect, responding with what the Wifi password is. Often that even needs to be looked up or was written on the bottom of the router. And Wifi passwords? No, they don't know how to change them or set the channels used. It's why people buy iPhones instead of Android ones, Macs instead of PCs, iPads instead of competing ones. . They want to use the technology without having to setup, configure, troubleshoot, adapt or fiddle with it. I have no doubt the equipment you prefer does what you want it to and that's great for you. If the market found Ubiquiti's products as compelling as you do, they would be more than just the very small player in the marketplace for home equipment that they are. They're not more and I think enough said. I do agree with the suggestion to give thought to wiring for things like cameras. The rest of it is optional, the world runs on Wifi these days and the infrastructure equipment that serves it is more than up to the task.