I surely strayed OT when gabbing on about a swimming pool, but I was looking at the examples and photos as issues that include both true access (to the front of the home or the main entry or the heart of the home, or all 3) in terms of physical layout, proximity, obstacles, versus how to achieve "welcome to my entry" or welcome to my garage or to my driveway. So one part of the original discussion was that we should strive have both (good access and good identification/welcome), and part of the discussion was about how we do various other things or remedial things to mitigate either poor planning or site limitations. Very often, color is an easy way to link or separate or highlight, or to creat drama, and the properties of color and hue make big differences. So I am interested in how perhaps the exact same design, executed in different colors and materials, might create different effects. That is one of the fun things about seeing some of the photoshopping of paint and siding colors on previous posts relating to balancing garages with the houses, or front doors, or whatever. From a design observation, I think the blue driveway color has an impact of de-emphasizing the front door and kind of "popping" (yes, I used that awful word) right at the street edge and flowing away from the house rather than drawing you in. But, for others, it may create an opposite response and seem to flow toward the house and entry and pull you in from the street.

What is a hoop-house? I linked to a place that sells such things. I'm looking to buy a place. When things are done well and properly, then the property appreciates, as yours will, with 9 foot doors... The only plans I've seen with 9' or 10' doors are designed to accommodate RVs. Those plans are typically more square footage than I can likely fit on this property. Still looking for a plan that 1) looks like a garage or barn, 2) with 9' doors, that isn't enormous. The current favorite is the one I linked to in my original post. Might be able to just modify the plan to be a foot higher, I suppose, and get a 9' door that way. --Steve Here is a link that might be useful: FarmTek Garage & Storage Buildings

These stairs are inside... At the bottom of the stairs is the side door to the house and the door from the garage as well... Then up four stairs to another door that enters the living room kitchen area. The stairs are currently carpet covered pine... I will try to get a picture... Dry wall is currently going on with lots of sanding....

I vote for # 4: Undesirable. I want guests to enter the house through the front door entrance. I'm including a pretty entryway, a place for them to drop their things -- I'm putting effort into this, and I want guests to use them. I don't want them to enter through the garage, past the laundry room. This applies to ALL guests from my mom to casual church friends. I don't think people pay enough attention to their driveway, parking and entrances. The way you arrange parking and doors will tell your guests where you want them to enter. In an ideal situation, the guests would park in an obvious spot ... a spot that would provide them with a clear pathway to the front door, which would be visible from the parking spot. No other door would be visible /confusing. The worst is when guests park on a side drive and must walk around a protruding garage in hopes of finding a front door that they can't actually see from the parking area. On the other hand, a door from the garage to the back yard is a good thing -- but it's just for the people who live in the house.