I don't generally look at photos and see the potential as I do with yours. So here's the potential I see... Apple trees. Step 1. When they break dormancy in spring, go out there and remove the dead branches then step back and look at the tree and start shaping it the way you want paying attention to areas you want to fill and let branches grow. I would bonsai the two of those. Could be done really nicely. Step 2. The Apple trees bloom in the spring. I would pick a clematis such as Sweet Autumn Clematis which blooms later in the season and plant a couple at the base of each tree and let them climb in there. The Clematis won't be intrusive to the tree like Wisteria which would eventually kill it. So now you get to keep the trees and enjoy them and the feathered friends and bugs that entertain you. I would keep the trees. :O) OK, let's move on to the driveway strip. Well, can we deal with the mailbox area first? Let's do that, eh?! :O) Great place for a rock garden. So much potential there. If it's just full of rocks, take a bit out and throw in some sand and soil, then top with the rocks which were removed to build it up a little. Great plants for this area would be Lewisia, Beach Wormwood (it would trail over the wood with silver foliage), Penstemon, dwarf Scabiosa, Pulsatilla (Pasque flower), Sempervivum (hens and chicks), Platycodon (Balloon flower), etc., all of which can be winter sown. Veronicas would also do fine in there. The driveway strip... You mentioned that the soil is great close to the house and not-so-great on the other end. Knowing that, I would work and plant according to the soil conditions and definitely create a varied garden. When looking at the second photo, I see the need for an 'anchor' plant right at the start of the driveway - between the driveway and the mailbox. Something which would last all season with good foliage. My first thought was a hosta, a big one which can take some sun exposure. Plain leaf and dark or semi-dark. All hostas bloom in purples and whites so it would fit right in to your colour scheme. I like Karen's idea of Russian Sage along the fence here and there. It's foliage is great too. And yes, plant a varied garden with your colours. It will look absolutely wonderful! :O)

I prefer the idea of the kitchen with island, but if you want cabinets on the north and south walls, and at least a 3 ft island, you need a kitchen that's at least 14+ ft. If you want seating at the island that will fit into that width, too, then it probably requires 2 more feet than the 14. It all depends on how much space you actually get to add to the kitchen. I would try to get the laundry room so that it's not a walk-through. I prefer a closed room for collecting and sorting laundry, without having to look at it coming in and out of the house, and without muddy shoes walking through either. I think you should probably be able to add a walk-in closet in place of the shower if you're also adding square footage to the master when you extend the house the 3 or 4 ft. It's really too hard to say exactly what you can accomplish when I'm not quite clear where you're wanting to add the space by your extensions. Are you planning to put in the fireplace? It's a long way from the bedrooms to kitchen and laundry, and the fireplace would make it more complex. You might want to think about how your traffic patterns work in this houseplan...how it affects room layouts, etc.

Bed Bath Closet #1 or #2 looks like they would work for you. I kinda prefer the #2 if you could make the vanity have two sinks. Bed placement would be easier than the first pic because of the two windows. You could put headboard on the left long wall nicely. I could see you losing the kitchen U as long as that wall where the 10-6 numbers are is cabinetry. It would open up the space nicely. An island might be too much if you put a table in the dining area. You could instead get a table that is really functional as both for fine dining and yet still work for breakfast. Your kitchen/fam is set up like mine and the original owner opted to not have that dividing set of cabinets come out to complete the room. Here is a pic to give you an idea of what I have and what you could possibly do. That is minus the stinky little boy- lol

Betsy, we've had yorkies for over 15 years ... right now we have six of them. I think a shih-tzu/yorkie combo will be adorable. It's true, it'll require regular haircuts, the amount of time between cuts will depend on the style you use. We don't keep the regular yorkie-looking long hair style, because our kids play outside and they get into too much stuff which sticks to the hair. About 10 years ago, when we just had three fur-kids and $35/ea was just too much every 6 - 8 weeks, I watched carefully and saw what the groomers were doing, and bought some really good clippers and started doing it myself. They looked pretty funny the first few haircuts, but we all got the hang of it and it's not too bad now. From what you've said about Sedona, I'd be surprised if she has problems adjusting to a little brother or sister. When we got Pebbles, Rocky was just rude to her ... snarly every time she'd come to play, he'd hop up on the couch to escape her, because she was too short to jump up. It was ugly sounding for exactly two weeks ... on the 15th day he came off the couch and started playing with her and they were the best of buddies for the next 11 years. The worst part about housebreaking is that yorkies have short little legs, which makes it easy to squat or squirt quickly. We never had a problem house-breaking from puppyhood ... but these rescues are another story. My sister was never able to housebreak hers, but it was also her first experience with an indoor dog. I'm guessing your experience will win out with your new baby. Yes, I'm assuming you took one home today! They're too cute to walk away from!! LOL!