Thanks for the responses! Interesting... Okay, to answer a few questions -- yes, there is a pantry. It is thru the mud room entry, and is virtually right behind where you see the wall ovens. It is in a different room technically, but close by. It's the only place we could make one fit. We had this huge kind of fridge in our last house and we got spoiled with it... BUT, I don't want it to be the elephant in the room! As far as where the microwave is located, instead of going with double ovens, I'm doing the stack with micro/convection oven on top, and oven below it. I'd be willing to nix the desk, I guess. My husband will not agree, but I'm the one that spends the most time in this room! I definitely want it to function well! Thanks for your input. Keep it coming...!

Chibimimi and Southern Canuck: The house will keep the timber frame, wall strip sheathing, flooring, rafters, strip sheathing on the roof above the rafters, the ceiling joists, and strip sheathing on the joists. The siding is ALL going to be donated (at least what doesn't need abatement (50%) - it is coated in many layers of lead paint that is cracking) and needs to be removed to place the exterior insulation. The gingerbread will stay. The returns will go. The trim will be similar. The porch trim will be similar. The windows will be as close to their current layout as possible, but the windows currently upstairs do not meet current egress requirements, so that is why I am enlarging the gable window. The plan that shows the door entering directly into the kitchen is the current house (as it sits now/before renovation). Not what it will be after - see the other layouts for clarification - hope you can actually read them now (I am new to this forum, and am trying to get you the info the best I can....) Yes foundation walls and floors, crawl spaces, and dirt basements really do or can account for up to 30-40% of heat loss. They are the largest window in your home. Especially if they are uninsulated, and air infiltration is not managed. Just because you highly insulate you ceilings doesn't mean you don't have heat loss through the ground. Yes heat rises, we ALL know that, but what many don't understand is how heat follows a cold gradient also. For instance when you lay directly on the ground you must insulate yourself from the earth nearly all year round or you will have either moisture problems or hypothermia problems. The earth absorbs your body heat, just like it absorbs the heat from your house. - check out Green Building Advisor or the Building Science Corporation for further documentation and in depth analysis of this phenomenon. If you get your hands on a thorough whole house wall/energy (BTU) calculator, you will see just how much energy is really lost through the foundation walls and floor. OR you will see just how much you will save, by insulating your basement walls and floors............you need to manage moisture, vapor and air though too or can create a massive petri dish inside your home. Those aren't architect drawings - they are mine..... Earthen or bermed homes use the earth as a consistant energy mass, that regulates temperature - the ground is an insulator, but also a heating or cooling mass - which is why geothermal heat/cooling works. It is true documented science that many are confused by. My hope is to keep the essence of the original home, maintain it's look, but tweak it just a bit to fit the needs of my family, while striking a fine balance between making equitable, sustainable, healthy design upgrades. I will have a Venmar ERV to do my air exchange (ERV because the geothermal provides cooling too, and the ERV can help with moisture too). The fireplace will also have outside air exchange.

2LittleFishes, I am also a yellow lover! Your kitchen ideas are very exciting to me! I ended up using yellowish counter tops in my kitchen and Wyndam Cream on the walls to give my kitchen a warm feel. The light in your particular space has a huge impact on how colors appear. We actually have Hawthorne Yellow in my daughters East facing bedroom and it looks very warm in there, however, her closet is painted the same color, and due to the flourescent lighting, it takes on a distinctly horrendous green tone. Who knew? Your wedding dress looks lovely! Funny, now that I think about it, my wedding dress was gold and cream! Yellow is a very happy color for me. I absolutely love the yellow of circuspeanut, jterri, & spyder! The picture below shows the yellow directin I took, based off of the counter. After that I chose the backsplash colors, and then I had a difficult time with the paint. I ended up going more neutral with Wyndam Cream, but my initial desire was for a stronger color. The wall color is picked up by my creamy yellow backsplash tiles.

When trying to fit an island in a kitchen, keep in mind the following...... (It's kind of generic, so there's probably stuff in it that you don't care about, but I wanted to be thorough!) First, the NKBA recommends minimum aisle widths of 42" for a one-worker kitchen and 48" for a multiple worker kitchen. However, many here swear a minimum of 36" will work in some cases*. So, here are minimum kitchen widths with an island: Island w/cabinets and/or appliances on one side and no seating: Minimum aisles* and no traffic: 25.5" + 36" + 27" + 36" = 124.5" (10'4.5") [basis of next numbers] For one aisle of 42" with Traffic b/w island & one run of cabinets (on larger aisle side): + 6" = 130.5" (10'10.5") For two aisles of 42" with Traffic b/w island & one or two runs of cabinets: + 6" + 6" = 136.5" (11'4.5") For one aisle of 42" and one of 48" (for frequent/heavy traffic): + 6" + 12" = 142.5" (11'10.5") For ideal aisles of 48" (w/multi-worker kitchen or frequent/heavy traffic): + 12" + 12" = 148.5" (12"4.5") Island w/cabinets and/or appliances on both sides and no seating: Minimum aisles* and no traffic: 25.5" + 36" + 27" + 36" + 25.5" = 150" (12'6") [basis of next numbers] For one aisle of 42" with Traffic b/w island & one run of cabinets (on larger aisle side): + 6" = 156" (13') For two aisles of 42" with Traffic b/w island & one or two runs of cabinets: + 6" + 6" = 162" (13'6") For one aisle of 42" and one of 48" (for frequent/heavy traffic): + 6" + 12" = 168" (14') For ideal aisles of 48" (w/multi-worker kitchen or frequent/heavy traffic): + 12" + 12" = 176" (14"6") Island w/cabinets and/or appliances on one side and an island with seating** (i.e., empty wall behind seating): With run of cabinets behind the seats and no traffic or counter behind seats: 25.5" + 36" + 40.5" + 48" + 25.5" = 175.5" (14'7.5") [basis of next numbers] With run of cabinets behind the seats and either traffic or counter behind the seats (but not both): 25.5" + 36" + 40.5" + 54" + 25.5" = 181.5" (15'1.5") With run of cabinet behind the seats and traffic and counter behind the seats: 25.5" + 36" + 40.5" + 60" + 25.5" = 187.5" (15'7.5") With ideal aisles: 25.5" + 42" + 40.5" + 60" + 25.5" = 193.5" (16'1.5") Island w/cabinets and/or appliances on both sides and an island with seating** b/w them: With run of cabinets behind the seats and no traffic or counter behind seats: 25.5" + 36" + 40.5" + 48" + 25.5" = 175.5" (14'7.5") [basis of next numbers] With run of cabinets behind the seats and either traffic or counter behind the seats (but not both): 25.5" + 36" + 40.5" + 54" + 25.5" = 181.5" (15'1.5") With run of cabinet behind the seats and traffic and counter behind the seats: 25.5" + 36" + 40.5" + 60" + 25.5" = 187.5" (15'7.5") With ideal aisles: 25.5" + 42" + 40.5" + 60" + 25.5" = 193.5" (16'1.5") Notes: * The "minimum" aisle width of 36" only works if the kitchen will always be a one-person kitchen and there is no through traffic in the aisle (i.e., no more than one person working in the kitchen at a time (this includes prepping, cooking, cleaning up, getting a snack, etc. and there will be no traffic going through the kitchen to get to another part of the kitchen/house). Some people have varying aisle widths. They'll have the minimum recommened 42" in most places, but 36" at one place (like b/w an island and range) where there will only be one person in that particular space at a time and no traffic going through the area. ** Assumes counter-height seating with 15" overhang, the minimum recommended by the NKBA. Please do not skimp on this overhang. It doesn't really help. People still take up the same amount of room when sitting at the island as they would if you provided the minimum overhang. People can be "squeezed in" just so much...the stool & their bodies will still stick out into the aisle just as much as if there was a 15" overhang. All you do when you skimp on overhang is make it uncomfortable for people to sit at it for more than a few minutes. To adjust to the reduced overhang, people have to sit sideways, "straddle" the cabinets, or sit further back and have to lean forward farther to get to the counter...none of which are comfortable after a few minutes. (If you expect people to sit sideways, then provide 36" of linear space per person rather than 24".) The NKBA guidelines were developed for a reason, not b/c the NKBA was trying to give us all a hard time. They also were not "grabbed out of thin air"...they researched this and other items in the guidelines. One more thing, if you think the shallower overhang will be OK b/c you only expect your young children to use the seating, then remember that children grow very quickly (ask any parent!). Before you know it, your children will be adult-sized teens and still trying to sit at the counter (and probably w/friends). So, don't be shortsighted when planning, look into the future as well. [The NKBA recommends an 19" overhang for table-height seating (30" off floor, note new overhang recommendation), 15" for counter-height seating (36" off floor), and 12" for bar-height seating (42" off floor). They also recommend planning for 24" of linear space per person for counter-height & bar-height seating; 30" for table-height (again, note new guideline).] One thing to note: Bar-height and, to some extent, Counter-height seating are not very comfortable for very young children, for older adults, and for those with certain mobility issues. They also are not the safest seating for young children (clambering in/out of the seat and even just sitting at the counter at a fair distance from the floor). So if you can, try to provide table-height seating fairly close as well.