I agree with much of what's been said, and I think you can improve upon this layout: Garage: A back entry garage is going to require a turn-around type driveway. Do you have space to make this turn comfortably? I'm thinking this back garage concept is only workable if you're building on a corner lot. Your kitchen isn't spacious. Does this fit with your cooking style? You have something of a door log-jam around the garage-kitchen entrance. I'd consider having the garage-entrance door in the utility room and eliminating the broom closet altogther -- nothing's going to fit in that tiny triangular room anyway, and you have a good-sized utility room right there. Opening up that corner will not add functional space, but it will add visual space. Your dining area is tiny; really, it's the same size as your laundry room, and your master bath is larger. PLUS the dining area IS the walkway from the garage. In reality, the table you've pictured will not fit there; you'd comfortably be able to have a small 4-person table in that area, but it still would be a bit cramped. I think this is the biggest problem with this layout. I totally agree with the poster who says that the dining room French doors should become windows. You still keep the light, but windows are cheaper, and they are one less set of doors to secure every night. And with another set of doors right there in the living room, the dining room doors are not necessary. You asked about cost-effective. All those angles are the exact opposite of cost-effective. And for little purpose; for example, the triangular linen closet by the secondary bedrooms isn't even going to hold towels. Your public living spaces are quite cramped, yet your foyer is spacious. This isn't where I would allot my square footage. My best suggestion for opening up this public room space: square off the back wall of the house. That is, extend the living room /dining room area a bit. Since angles are so expensive, this will probably end up being almost a wash financially. This'll give you space to breathe in your dining room area (remember, this is a main walkway too), and it won't hurt the living room area. You can still have the back porch -- and without the angles, it'll be more serviceable. Unlike lots of people here, I do like the jack-and-jill bathroom concept, but that's personal preference. IF you were to change to a hall-bath, you could elminate the half-bath. If you were to eliminate the half-bath and take a little space away from the master closet, you could use that area as a small office. If you place the desk against the wall, you'd have a small but usable space. Why? Because then the current office could become the dining room, solving the biggest problem in this layout. Six doors in the master suite is an awful lot, but I would eliminate only one: The bathroom door between the linen closet and the sinks. It's only a few steps to the right or the left to enter through another door -- this door isn't needed. Plus it eliminates that seeing-the-shower-from-the-foyer problem. Still on the subject of doors, I would get rid of the silly little double-doors in two places: They pose a problem when it comes to light switch placement, and mixed doors in the same space are just odd. I think you've allotted too much space to the master bedroom closet -- too much, that is, in proportion with the rest of the house. This closet is as big as the kitchen, larger than the dining room. I do, however, love that one spouse can go into the closet, turn on the light and make noise without disturbing the other sleeping spouse. I think the layout of the whole bedroom area will function well. The master closet, though, is far from the laundry room. Carrying laundry baskets through the living room and kitchen/dining area, threading your way through furniture, is going to get old. With all that space, you could include a stack-up washer/dryer in the master closet and eliminate the carrying. One note of caution about the location of this master suite: Where will you locate the TV /stereo in the living room? If the answer is above or beside the fireplace, you're going to want to include extra insulation or gyp-board between the living room and the master. Otherwise a person going to bed early is going to be disturbed by the noises in the living room. This isn't a design problem -- just a detail of which to be aware during building. I would take the window out of the shower and move it to the toilet room. Actually, I wouldn't have the toilet in a separate room -- closing oneself in a tiny cabinet to use the toilet feels too enclosed -- but that's an unpopular choice around here. My overall impression of this house: It's okay, but nothing great. It looks like a starter house (in terms of size) but with a nicer master suite. With some tweaking, it could be much nicer.

Congratulations. You got probably the safest, most energy efficient fireplace on the market these days. A brand new direct vent system will emit an odor the first time it is used, I think, because many of its components are painted and the paint gives off a smell when it is exposed to high temperatures for the first time. I remember our direct vent system smelled the first time we used it. That was three years ago. I do not remember having to open windows to clear the sir of odor. After all, the direct vent system efficiently exhausts fumes up the chimney to the outside. That's the beauty of the system. So opening windows should not be necessary. But I suppose if the smell is very strong and aversive, it might dissipate more rapidly if you open a window or two. Come to think of it, our three year old system emitted an odor, sort of a metallic smell, for a few minutes the first time we used it for this season about 2 weeks ago. My dear wife, who is much more sensitive to smells than I, complained about the odor. So I shut the thing off until she went out shopping. I think that if you find the odor very aversive, open the window as recommended. Alternatively, you could probably turn it on for a shorter interval than 6 hours, say, one or two hours, the first time, and allow the system to "cure" or whatever gradually. Good luck

I am sure whatever you decide to do it will look good, it will be tasteful and it will be sensitive to the house which is more than a lot of people would do. But I think there were a number of members whose opinions I respect have pretty much not participated in any threads about the renovation since you painted because they were dead set against it. I'm not sensing a lot of support for covering the block except from the camp that thinks one should do whatever you love, and of course there will always be support from the camp that would give Fallingwater a cottage makeover to "update" it. Remember that in a house that is so "specific" in design such as yours that any chipping away at what makes it so specific becomes rather "non-specific" and it takes away from the essential character and turns it into something blander. You've already said you have no problem diluting the original design intent of the house, and with some of it I agree with. But that may be also why you aren't getting a ton of positive feedback on the stone selections you've made, and that's what makes me also have trouble remembering what was compelling *for you* about this house. It may be different than what is compelling about it to most people and to most people those may be the things you are mostly changing. I live in one of four houses of a particular design by a modernist architect. For the most part, I think what has made them compelling to buyers in the location, and outdoor space on two levels which rare. They are quirky and odd to begin with but every single thing that has been done to one of them (and it's a lot, by different owners) has made it blander and blander, and now it's just ugly. I don't think you are going to do *that* but you may end up with the attractive woman who's had way too much plastic surgery syndrome. There is a point of diminishing returns or even negative returns.

Can't believe how time flies, but just over 20 years ago I hired a designer to help me find a color for my walls. It was the best failure I ever had! The designer came in with her fan decks, Held a few pages from the fan deck against my walls, making a cup around the sample with her hand. A few minutes later she declared the perfect color for my walls. Excitedly, I ran to the store and bought paint. Brought it home, painted a wall and it was gag awful! I called her back and she came back to my house where she declared that the paint was glorious, it was the perfect color. . . it was my tile floor that was off and needed to be replaced. (1700 SF of tile) Since my tile was in perfectly fine condition and didn't need replaced, I continued my search for a great wall color. It was tough because my tile looked like it was a very light, off white, neutral, but in reality it was a very light taupe and had just enough pink to make every beige look dirty. I met a woman via the internet who was an artist and had just started her own paint company producing high quality paints in what she called "Trend Proof Colors". She became my mentor. I had a good background in art, but not much experience with interior design. She taught me how to visualize and understand home color palettes and lighting and what works and does not work and why. She provided years of instructive criticism, stopping me from making mistakes and helping me understand what was going wrong. Her company was purchased by Valspar just a few years ago and she is off to new adventures. The money I lost to a totally incompetent designer led me on a path of growth and discovery that I may never have experienced had that designer picked the right color.