As an update, after spending some time with this over the holidays, we aren't really feeling the various iterations that would allow laundry--it seems like we'd really have to take out the lower lefthand window entirely to make that work and even then the flow wouldn't be ideal. The most viable spot seems to be where the coats and broom closet are if we move the door, so we'll keep that as a future option. That lands us with storage and a baking counter along the lower lefthand wall. (This is what is already there, except right now it's on freestanding shelves and carts.) This leaves a couple of dilemmas: length and depth of baking counter. We have 24.5" of clearance for a counter in the corner before hitting the bottom window (and only 20" if we want to clear the window moulding too, which would probably look better and be simpler). This feels too shallow to be useful for rolling dough, etc., so I'm considering keeping counters 20" deep on the ends with the section under the window coming out to 28" or so. Second question is the length. The window opening is exactly 36", and with the moulding, it's 46" long. So if we stick with stock cabinetry (which I would like to do from a cost perspective) this could be a 21"/36"/21" split along this wall, or a 15"/48"/15" (both with a couple of inches of filler on each end). The first feels like more useful storage, but will it look strange to follow the window opening vs. the moulding? As far as utility, this will all be drawers below with two 18" open bookcases on either side of the window, and much of what will be stored here is moving out of an existing 32" drawer bank, so the 36" seems more than adequate. Two 24" drawer banks would also work. Thank you!

Everybody slapping up photos of MCM houses is getting funny. It reminds me of that old New Yorker cartoon of an executive sitting in his MCM office, talking into his desk intercom to his secretary, pleading: “Could you please bring something round in here?” At some point somebody who owned this house wanted some curves. If you paint out the curves with dark-toned paint and get rid of the beehive mailbox and the round doo-dad over the garage, it will solve 90% of your problems, and you can focus on getting the curves out of the landscaping and hard scape. With a couple of hundred thousand $$$$$ you can use this house to approximate the look of a MCM masterpiece — but as noted, brick really isn’t an MCM material, so you might not end up with a very impressive result. With 15 thousand $$ you can use paint and landscaping to reinforce the great angles your house has, and they really are great, so look for a paint that makes you happy seeing next to the brick and the roof.

You sure about the code on impact? I know there is some interpretive stuff out there on the impact code if you are far enough back from the coast and below a certain peak roof height. I am putting laminated glass in my windows when we re-do the facade. What part of the OBX? Who is your builder?

Definitely get the mildew off the roof. I have mine done every four years to keep it clean. Costs around $400 for my roof. You'll be amazed at the difference it makes. Right now, you have no clear view of the color of your roof so hard to pick a trim color. If the windows are indeed vinyl, you can paint them but you don't want to go darker than the existing color. It will absorb the heat and could cause issues with the windows warping. Google painting vinyl windows and you'll see the cautionary advice when painting them. If they aren't vinyl and you're free to pick a color, I'm with those who say don't paint them dark. Once you clean the roof, you could consider painting the gutters a darker color. Beverly's idea of staining the driveway is a good one. Really softens the look.