Ooh! Pretty! What kind of tiles are you using? I really like the white tile. For some reason, I don't care for silver in the bathroom. Although, it does seem like you should add another color to the mix, to liven it up..

Summerfield- I showed my husband the plan and he thinks it's wonderful! He thinks the wood storage idea is great and also likes the pergola. He can't believe how much it looks like the farmhouse, but so much better! LOL Is it okay if we make just a few changes? (I tried to show it on the plan.) His only concern is that the furniture is too close to the fireplace...which I told him, is the way I drew it :) Could we move the sectional down a bit, towards the entry? It could be a little shorter on the end seat, just enough to put your feet up, when sitting there. It would also be great to move down the TV console and the chair and ottoman. It's a big fireplace, and even with a screen, the furniture has to be at least 3' away. The good news...I have room to put the window seat next to the fireplace! There doesn't have to be a lot of room in front of it...since it's mostly for visiting nieces and nephews to use. That's why I took out the chair in front of the shelves and put the floor pillows...that's their toy area. I have a lot of Fisher Price and coloring books we keep on hand for the little ones. In the kitchen, I made the island just a little shorter, which let me move the chair and put a plant in the corner window. I also added a plant table under the window, with the window box and plants on either side. I really want a place to have some star jasmine and some smaller plants and that's a nice south corner. Thank you SO much for all your help! We really appreciate it and it's so amazing that you've brought our little farmhouse to life. Thanks again :)

I vote for the bathroom. If you are "looking ahead", here's our story. In 1989 we bought a 2bd 1ba cottage with an illegal 2-room apartment on the ground floor/garage level. After taking a hideous 18 months to remodel it in fits and starts, in 1991 it became a 2bd 2ba with a master suite downstairs to replace the apartment. When the RE appraiser came to look at it, he criticised us for putting in such a "disproportionate" and "huge" bedroom suite. Remember this is 1991 - very few people had ever seen big remodeled kitchens and master bedroom suites in our (older housing) city, let alone HAD them. We didn't get the appraisal amt we hoped for and couldn't refinance. Fast-forward to 2003. Neighborhood is gentrifying fast, old people moving out and young couples moving in. We decide to take out some equity and try the refinance again. Appraiser comes out, walks in the door, and says, "Wow, great job!" (tall cathedral ceilings, big picture windows looking out towards the hills). He goes downstairs and says, "And you even have a master bedroom suite! Gee, lots of people want these nowadays and so few of the houses around here have them!" We got an incredible appraisal, in fact he pulled comps on 3bd homes because he said so few 2bd homes in our area had the features we did. My niece and nephew, both of whom own homes and are getting married this year, would kill to have a master bathroom ensuite. Go for it!

Depends on what you want. Plan one has a serpentine aspect : living /kitchen /dining are removed from each other and the prob is that none of the three spots are large enough to accommodate what I would want . Perhaps that is what you desire in that people will be splintered off but I see continual back and forth and not in a good way. Plan two w probably a reduction of island somewhat offers the one lg space and I would plan for the couch and around fireplace to also contain a couple chairs once the island is adjusted for that. And you still have the front room as a separate area which will evolve as far as your use dictates. Can't comment on storage ......it can be worked out .....looking at more long term possibilities and comfort/enjoyment for day to day living. Good luck