Depending on the cost we are planning to build the Tranquility plan in central Texas, but we can't build a basement to raise the height of the home due to hard soil. Has anyone added a second floor covered patio to the second story of the Tranquilty floor plan or one of the other versions that is similar to it that Garrell offers? Our lot we plan to purchase has a panoramic lake view, but we need to be up higher to see it. We are not planning to build any of rooms on the second floor, but we would like to have an interior staircase leads up through the unfinished second story that gives us access to door that opens onto a 2 story covered deck. If that isn't possible then we would need an exterior staircase with an easy walk up on the exterior side wall of the master/master bath. Our ideal location for our covered deck would be over the Master and Master bath, and we are hoping the roof line can be altered to allow a gable over the covered patio. Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated, as I email Garrell 2 days ago, but I've heard back from them.

Your first photo shows litter boxes placed below an electric piano. If the piano is so seldom used that you can keep litter boxes below it, pack it up—store it or sell it. Put a room divider SCREEN in front of the litter boxes if they have to remain here. However, it is much better to put such things as far as possible from where people gather. These should not be visible from the front door! Nothing should go in the open space of the 2nd photo. It's the entry to your living area and needs to be at least 36" wide, though 42" is preferred. Not every open spot is wasted space. In the 4th photo there is a door on the right wall between the counter and the railing. The space in front of it is pathway that must stay open. You have to allow space behind a door for it to open properly. As to the rest of the photos, I do not understand most of the scribbles. Also, the photos are too narrow and too dark to see the rooms. Turn on all the lights in a room. Bring in a portable FLOOD LIGHT if necessary. Take a photo from each corner standing against the wall. Outside light is less glaring if the day is overcast, so won't wash out the interior when taking photos towards a window. You can solve some of your storage problem by going through your cabinets. Get rid of anything broken. Give to charity anything that you do not use. This means extra vegetable peelers to plastic storage containers to pots and pans. If something has sentimental value it should be stored with similar items where it can be seen. Do you have a section of wall where you could put a kitchen cart? If your kitchen is wide enough you can put a small one in the center like an ISLAND. Storage caddies can go on the inside of a closet DOOR or CABINET. There are pull out RACKS for baking pans and cutting boards. Do an online search for kitchen storage. There is a wealth of products.

Congratulations on your new vacation home! We just redid our kitchen/living area at our small lake house. We also did it on a tiny budget. Our biggest savings was getting cabinets used that someone else didn't want. You have an easy straight run of cabs there. If I were you, I'd haunt Craig's List, facebook marketplace, Habitat's Restore, etc. and see what you can find. I could have done ours 3x over with great cabs I found online. I remember kicking myself for not waiting a bit as someone was advertising an almost new set of cabs from a basement kitchen they were removing for $500! Solid wood drawers and everything. As it is, I was able to get a decent set of maple lowers with large drawers (drawers rock!) and white uppers for about $600 total. Don't put new counters on those old cabs. At least replace the lowers. I def. agree about removing that weird peninsula thingy. Have you thought about adding cabs where the white stand alone cabinet is now? I'm not clear about whether you are changing the flooring? In terms of paint, I always have a general idea of paint colour in my head when I start a reno whether I know it or not. If you haven't already, start a pinterest page and gather images of similar spaces you love and then you'll get an idea of the direction you want to go. I agree with your husband about the ceiling. It will be the centre piece of your room. However, the paint colours you are considering are not going to do it any favours. The blues are too cool and are going to make the space feel smaller and lower the ceiling. Personally, I'd do everything a warm, neutral white (Steam by Ben Moore?). Before you do anything with the wood stove bricks, check and see what you need for safety. Our new wood stove could be closer to combustible sidewalls than our old one, but each stove has its own specs. ETA: Is the furniture in the picture staying?

If you mean configuring the laundry and powder room into the utility room space, then a remodeling contractor should be able to help you with placement/code or maybe other ideas. I think, in an ideal world, we could all have all the space we need for all the elements in a house we want. But I'd rather have a powder/laundry combo, if I've determined that I need another 1/2 bath, rather than make do with one less bath than my family needs because some people object to having a W/D in proximity to a toilet, or whatever it is they object to. If you can squeeze enough space, I like the kinds of doors that pull out and tuck into the sides of the WD to hide it if you feel the need. I had both of these pics saved when I was trying to figure out how to move my w/d from a too small for today's large W/D units laundry room to my main floor bath. The first one is a bit hard to see but the doors slide/tuck in beside the machines.