I don't think it was actually about trends for me. I suspect I'll like what I like now for most of the rest of my life. I think it was more that I'd never really considered kitchens before. Or my home. I'd just bought my first home when I started pinning and had never had the choice to decide how my kitchen looked before or flipped through kitchen pictures before. For instance, I don't think I'd seen an all-white kitchen before, which is a clean, crisp, appealing look. So I pinned a bunch of those. And then later I found some multicolored kitchens I liked so much more, and now I could never go back to all white. So it was more of a you-have-to-kiss-a-lot-of-frogs thing at work. With no perspective and nothing to go on, I had very little idea of what worked for me and what makes me happy, and I'd seen very little of what was out there. I also knew nothing about kitchen function. But now I've seen a bunch, learned a bunch, and thought a bunch, and I think I can happily marry this general concept for the long haul: lots of windows, green view, decidedly informal low-to-mid-range finishes, overall light and bright in tone, some wood, and some actual color on the walls or cabinets (yellow, green, or a warm blue). The real problem is that my husband hates yellow and green and prefers dramatic, dark, and fancy stuff, and I'm also married to him for the long haul.

Thanks everyone for your comments. Sophie, I've seen you comment on unneeded renovations so often that having your first comment be "sledgehammer" really says something. Thanks. To clarify, the shower currently spans the entire width of the room, 6'. The second shower head, hidden in the photo, is on the wall that the toilet is on. So what's to the left of the shower is...more shower. ;) I am not a DIY-er. I will pay a GC+subs. My concern is less about my out-of-pocket expense and more about the return on my remodeling dollar. I can be frugal but if it makes sense (like adding grab bars now) then I want to do it. My thought is that I might move in 2-3 years, but I've seen how life plays out. That might stretch out or....it's always possible that I'll never move. Who knows? Current thoughts on design (I'm open to feedback): --demo everything, including drywall (wall has gouges from past owners' DIY attempt to remove old foil wallpaper). GC says new drywall isn't expensive and makes it easier (and cheaper) for plumbers and electricians to work unimpeded. --keep toilet where it is but replace ---Make shower the Walk-in kind with showerhead on same wall as toilet and glass panel to replace the wall that separates the shower from the toilet. GC thinks the glass panel could be wide enough that I would not need a door to the shower; water will not splash into room. --my thought is to close up the window to the other room. It's weird. It's also a metal framed window (I replaced the other metal windows in this part of the house with clad ones, so they look better). --yes, upgrade the vanity, counter, lights, flooring etc. --yes grab bars! Good reminder, enduring. We did that when we remodeled the guest bath. That's the time to do it. My Qs: --should I move the vanity to be on the same wall as the toilet? This will require moving the door over. More significantly, I would lose the storage of the current cabinet behind the door. It's 12" deep. When I googled, I haven't found any suitable replacement. The freestanding linen cabinets tend to be 15" deep. A lot of them have glass panels on top, which is cute, but having the door open onto a glass-top cabinet sounds like a recipe for disaster, esp. in the bathroom with naked feet. Is there any way to recapture the storage? The current vanity is 4' wide, super low, and the drawers are horrible, so a better vanity will provide more storage but can't replace that large cabinet behind the door. --if I move the door, should it be a pocket door? I kind of hate them, but maybe I haven't met the right one. This is the master bath (which adjoins the master bed but does not open directly onto the master bed). I don't want to be woken up at night with my partner jiggling the pocket door or flipping on the light. But maybe there are great pocket doors? --spring for a skylight? The big kind or a sky tube? An interior designer said he recently saw one, in a bathroom, where the skylight in the roof was large but the opening over the vanity was more narrow. So the benefit of the light without a huge hole? (I didn't see pics, so I'm not 100% clear) --anything I haven't considered? Thanks for all your thoughts and comments! Maybe I'll host a toga party to celebrate demo-ing the Roman bath (or maybe they were having a toga party when thought up this idea, lol)

We are planning to reside the house--cedar siding in need of repair; woodpeckers, fading--perhaps new look. Have remodeler lined up for Spring. What way is best to update? Keep style? Update? Arts/Crafts possible??? Various horizontal siding/newer colors? Planning to replace siding with manufactured wood that can be painted. House is quite plain. Would like to enhance look to have more curb appeal--will likely sell in about 6 years. Thinking about adding on a porch to the front; perhaps wrap around to bring down height of plain, tall look. Roof is new, so want to keep with earth tones--perhaps newer colors? Perhaps add some shake-type siding to bring down height; maybe more windows on the side. Siding/painting estimate is around $50,000. Also need to redo small, outdated kitchen and bathrooms; add a deck on back, etc. Also need to redo landscaping--less trees, more sunlight now to grow grass. Landscaping needed around house. Would like to cap project at $200,000. Thank you.

I moved the vanities where there is no slope in the ceiling but it requires that you move your bedroom's door. The 5ft vanities are facing each other with a 4ft floor space between them. I think it is fine as long as the two of you don't use the same floor space at the same time when you are in front of your own sink. That is why I shifted them. I added a pocket door to access your closet from the bathroom. I just find that after you shower there is a long walk to get to your clothes if you don't have one there. Some houzzers do not agree with having an access to the closet from the bathroom and some others are fine with it. I am on the side that it should be fine as long as you have a good fan and you keep the door close all the time except when you need it. Some also would not use a pocket door. I think there are good ones on the market and you should be fine. If you decide on not having a pocket door, you could put a full height cabinet (but then a cabinet could get humidity inside according to some houzzers and yet many many owners have a linen cabinet inside their bathroom and I heard no complaint). The shower is huge 4'0" x 8'0". You could make it 6'0" x 4'0" and add 4'0" of storage to your closet and maybe a full height cabinet: One advantage with this layout is that there is not much plumbing to move. EDIT: In the first layout shown above, you could also remove the wall that separates the vanity area with the bathroom and add a cabinet that is attached to the vanity. It would make your bathroom more continuous instead of feeling like two rooms. I am wonder if it is fine to move the pocket door closer to the shower. Maybe having a fan like Helen suggests would be ok. Or another variation: A 3'6" vanity with a 1'6" cabinet: