Cole, I actually made a ceiling out of part of it. Turned out nice. The PO had a bit of a tack room in one end, painted white. We closed in part of th car port on the house that was on the property and I used the distressed wood, some old doors, and a few old windows and made a ceiling out of it. Put some of the horse shoes up, and little bits of tack. When you look up at the ceiling it's kind of like looking at the outside of an old farm house. Turned out pretty cool. I get lots of compliments. I've saved out all the nice wide pieces for little projects. I'm down to pretty much framing lumber. These are good suggestions. I definitely plan on at least one chicken tractor.

THANKS JSWEENC!!! Here are my pics and proposed layout.. thanks for the uploading lesson!!!! This is a big day! Let me try to walk you through what you are seeing: The living room, kitchen and dining room are currently three different levels. They will all be the level of the kitchen when this is done. The big thing surrounding the stove that separates the kitchen and living room won't be there. The wall above the current counters where the current fridge is will be windows. The window will be above the future sink and in between the new fridge and dishes cabinet (not the microwave as it says). The cabinets that separate the kitchen and dining room will be gone. Basically, everything you see will be gone. My main goal is to make everything one level and then to make everything less choppy and flow better. The drawing of the kitchen was just a first draft. Some things will change. The island will probably be 10x4 and perhaps the second island will be 8x3? (if you all still think there should be a second island after seeing the pictures). The laundry and pantry rooms will be flipped. When looking into the living room in pic #5, that back wall with the stripes won't be there. It will be floor to ceiling windows. Ignore all the furniture drawn into the living room sketch. The middle section will most likely be fairly empty and the end section will have seating for tv and conversation. I'm also thinking of making the second island movable incase a future owner would like to have a kitchen table there instead for an 'eat in' kitchen. But maybe you think our dining room is close enough to our kitchen for that not to be a potential issue. I'm definitely thinking of resale in this renovation. I'm thinking the perimeter cabinets will be white and the islands will be stained. The second island could be soapstone or whatever and the main island and perimeter counters will be calacutta marble. I'm envisioning the Refectory style from Christopher Peacock. It has a clean contemporary look that makes me think it will go with this house but it is also a traditional look that will hopefully warm up our home (just make it a little less funky). I have no idea what the second island will look like yet. The floor will be wood and the same floor throughout living room, kitchen and dining room. There are currently three surfaces. ANY feedback you have on these thoughts would be very welcome. Once I get a little further along, I'll be reposting my pics and layout in another thread to get my layout critiqued, so I apologize for the duplication in advance. I just didn't want to go further with the two island idea if everyone nixed it. Jsweenc, I will make sure to have seating at the first island because your point about people being closer while cooking is right on. Snowyshasta's islands were really something. Laxsupermom, thanks for showing me! The term continent made me laugh. Mairin, you and Amck's point about the island working if they made sense with the house is great. I like more traditional things and our house is contemporary so I always have to fight my urges. I will definitely post the sketches of the proposed islands once I get that far. It is so useful to get so many sets of eyes on the projects. I love reading everyone's comments on proposed layouts because I learn so much. I'm not good at visualizing outside of the box. Igloochic, our kitchens are similar sizes. Do you have pics of your proposed islands by chance.

Vjrnts - This picture is pre-fire. And yes, I was heartsick. I'm trying not to be now, but at 80+ years old, I guess it is time to build a new one. I should let you know that the exterior is still standing and perfectly intact. It's just there is so much structural damage inside that this wall will have to come down. I know it will never look like the original, but we're attempting to infuse the new one with age. The history is this: it was one of the first homes up in the Lookout Mtn Park section of Laurel Canyon. It was built to replicate the Frankenstein castle in the original black and white move. The black and white Snow White and the Seven Dwarves was partially shot in the caves in the back yard. I bought it from the original owner's son, and we intend it pass the property onto our son as well. It's really kind of funky by today's building standards. But it was much loved and has been lived in by a number of stellar talents. Here's a pic of the living room:

I wouldn't buy one for the victorian because we try to stay more victorian in here ;) But for our townhouse in alaska, yes if mine ever died a terrible death we'd replace it. It's a natuzzi so it will likely live longer than us (which is good because we had to remove a window to get it in the family room). Very comfy, love the corner and it works incredibly well for a family. That said, I'd never put one in a formal space. I don't like their informal aspects. And that is totally a sectional snob talking because I have to admit I've seen several that are rather formal and quite lovely (some here even) so the "no sectional in formal spaces" thing is just my snob talking. Or maybe it's because I like to separate our guests LOL They might start poking and pinching if all on the same sofa :oP The one thing I think (to me) that makes a sectional not work well is the inability to get up and walk away from it without putting your bumm in someone's face due to a close coffee table. Much like getting out of the window seat on an airplane. It's not fun for anyone involved :oP So put the sofa table a bit aways so people aren't forced to do this??? Or better yet use a couple of tables (matched) so that people are able to get up and walk straight :o)