Since I am new to gardening and have only put in one small flower bed, I can't say my DH has complained alot. Although, he was none too happy when he had to help dig and add in shale and compost...even though it only took him about 30minutes... When I first decided to make gardening my new hobby, I think he kind of laughed it off. But now, I'm always looking at websites for flowers, gardening magazines, this website everynight, he asks if this is payback for me having to hear about flyfishing all the time! LOL Now that our flowerbed is growing and I have a ton of potted plants, he is warming up to the idea and asked when I was going to do something to the side of the house!!! Gotta love it! I said, "Show me the money!" LOL

I'm a dissenter. This plan is NOT functional. You've got too much wasted space, and too much walking around. You can function better in a much smaller house if all the walkways are cut short. If I were you, I would find another plan and adjust it. -stairs going straight up are a pain for someone who doesn't like stairs. In your previous plans you had those nice split stairs with a landing in between( much better for going up). -why don't you find a plan where the garage is closer to the kitchen? Perhaps, in front of the kitchen?You have quite a walk from the garage to the kitchen. -The washer/dryer. Trust me, you don't want a long dryer vent. -Although pretty, corner FP is a beotch to decorate with furniture; it limits your options if you get tired of the same furniture placement, or if you want a sectional couch etc....That's what I have now and I would NEVER dot it again. -I would find a plan with a Great Room having some kind of a wall where the TV can be placed so that the people sitting in the GR are FACING the kitchen, too, so you can talk to your family while cooking. Plan with "options" to move your furniture around. Placing a TV on top of an FP is wonderful, but the warranty is null and void if it gets overheated from the FP. It may be too high if any of you ever have a neck injury. -I would put a PANTRY in the corner of the kitchen and squeeze in a closet into the room in the front, and move the door closer to the entry (if you go with this plan). Typically corners in the kitchen are kind of a waste, and corner counters are pricey because they take up a lot of space, so if you can place a pantry in a corner with a pretty door, it enhances your kitchen. I don't mean to sound harsh, but I find that many times people mean well and go along with you without pointing out the "obvious" problems. If you've read my previous posts, you know that I've had 5 homes built in my life...and found mistakes after the fact. The architects went along to get along ;) Take your time finding a plan close to your needs. Building a house depends your YOUR lifestyle and personality. I'm always in a hurry, I like things close at hand, and choose function over form.

wonderful news; any tips you can pass along ?

We also have a leathered surface to our granite. It's been installed now for a few months and so far, I've been very pleased with it. No issues with scratching that I've seen - although we're careful, our GC are less so. Also, haven't had any issues with oil, etc., but they did seal the granite also, which I would imagine helps. I LOVE that it has a "soft, warm" feel to it - it's hard to describe, but I love to touch our granite. Though it's hard - obviously, it's stone...it has a dimension that is difficult to describe other than being "soft and warm". I imagine that others with the same surface would say the same. I love that when the light hits it, we have physical texture (the areas where we have mica bits in it tend to be lower), so the main surface is matte, but the relief area (the mica) is shiny. One slight drawback - I wouldn't want to work bread dough or anything like that directly on the countertop because I think that little bits might get stuck in the crevices...but I haven't tested that and don't plan to really - I use cutting boards, etc. when I'm working with things like that. I did the same thing when I worked with our laminate style countertops too, so it's really no difference now. The picture I'm attaching shows a bit of the textural element of the leathered surface of our granite.