I would not let anyone talk you into leaving that maple where it is. I'm overstating the point to make it so please don't be offended - but it looks ridiculous there. It would be one thing if it were rendered insignificant by other mature trees in the yard, but as it is your major tree, to have it two feet from the foundation is simply absurd. And if your neighbours complain about your insensitivity, ask how much they'd like to contribute to the replacement of your foundation, which will be losing its battle with the tree shortly, or if they're up for going up the ladder to do your quarterly eaves-cleaning (the brain wards are full of people who have fallen off their ladders cleaning their eaves). And offer to buy them a maple just like it (get it identified on the maple forum if you don't know what kind it is) to plant in their own yards. In particular given the work you are planning on the house, you can be entirely excused - the tree will be horridly in the way, and it may even die. A convenient excuse - use it! Do talk to them in advance if you know they feel strongly, but it's your yard, not theirs. Karin L PS, I do like your fake closed window. PPS, I have raised two kids in a house with old siding covered in old peeling paint (and then there is the inside). Neither one is precisely mentally handicapped. I think throwing siding away to protect them from lead is thoroughly misguided. Other reasons to throw it away may be valid, like rotting and the paint won't stay on it (though I quibble with that diagnosis). Not to say you shouldn't do what you have planned, but just to be clear on your reasons. PPPS, if you put the siding for free on craigslist, you might not have to take it to landfill.

I forgot to mention - having coffee was a hard requirement. So we kept a rolling utility cart we've had for eons (I had it before I moved in with my wife) and set it up with the coffee maker. It rolls, so we can move it around as we need to. It also (now that we're in the bare minimum phase) holds a toaster; a few dishes; our silverware tray with one good, sharp knife, beer bottle opener, and can opener; a few food storage containers; and of course, wine and wine glasses! It was also holding our microwave but that moved downstairs at some point when my sister was here and has now been donated to my mom. That cart and its contents have been a life saver, honestly. When we needed to we've gone into the other rooms to pull out things we had stored away; it's all within reach. Our "pantry" is on our dining room table. Our furniture is scattered helter skelter about the living room. The dishwasher is currently next to one of our sofas, awaiting installation. Things are covered in plastic. Boxes of unopened cabinets everywhere. Every room full of "stuff". Our yard and gardens are in awful shape this year, because we ended up doing this exactly when we DIDN'T want to, this summer! Everyone here is right that a bathroom sink is tight for doing dishes, but we have a little setup in there, and it works. We "keep our eye on the prize," take the occasional day off, find humor in things (like having no idea where the hell our broom is right now), accept that we aren't perfect (so yeah, we use paper plates sometimes to avoid dishes). And yes, moosemac, definitely, absolutely, celebrate every tiny achievement! For me it's also really important to tell my DW what a wonderful job she's doing (and it's the truth) since she's doing this on top of other work for others. I try to make at least some minimal progress each day (e.g., research faucets or cabinet hardware, post on here about a design dilemma, etc.). Finally, we kept one room free and clear of disruption and debris - it is nice and orderly and beautiful; our sunroom. That way we at least have one place to go to find peace and order, when we really need it. Moosemac, I love your survival list and will no doubt take some ideas from it. 2ManyDiversions - love, love, love the cat pic. It's truly amazing what we can learn to live without, isn't it? Makes one wonder.

Oh yes, knowing it is retirement place just for you and hubs changes the dynamic. It also depends on if you will have kids visiting and grandkids too. My husband is the "princess and the pea" of sleep. Any little thing bothers him, so he would not only want to have the master bedroom in the quietest part of the house, he would want it well away from any visitors. His son snores so loud that hubs cannot sleep anywhere near him. Same with the kids, we need a lot of room for them (3 rambunctious girls and one boy). YMMV. Hubs family never comes to visit us, so most of what we plan for them is purely theoretical. They can't manage the time or expense or logistics of transporting such a large brood of "his, hers and ours" kids across country. It kind of bothers me that even though they live in hubs house, they made no attempt to create a quiet space for hubs to sleep when he has his visits, let alone the two of us. It's OK, I can live with it, but if you spend a lot of time with friends or extended family, you might want to consider the layout from a guest and entertaining friends perspective. All throughout my life I've had to schlep laundry around so if I was designing my "ideal" retirement home I would not want the laundry in the garage or in any other inconvenient part of the house. At my parents condo they had the laundry in a closet with a ventilated door, so that it had a low visual profile, so it could be easy to scoot a small washer and dryer into various spaces inside the house. My folks had a stacked set up, it worked very well. Again, YMMV. I grew up with a washer and dryer in the kitchen and it was fine, the kitchen was HUGE and eat in so the washer and dryer fit under the cupboards with a low profile. Mom didn't want to drag the laundry down yet another flight of stairs to the ratty old basement which was the other potential spot. But Robo adding a nice big laundry room with a bedroom in the back part of the house would be ideal for me in so many ways. I would not mind at all a small kitchen if it had a lot of counter space and made efficient use of space. Another option which I might consider given what I said about few visits from grandkids, is turning the back bedroom into the master, (what do I care if it isn't an ensuite, although I would want to make it as nice as possible), and then using the bedroom off the kitchen as a craft and storage area. Hubs and I do a lot of fixing up things and for us, storage space is in short supply so I'd put bunks in there for visiting grandkids and then use the rest for laundry, sewing, crafting and pantry supplies. The other guest bedroom would double as a study and quiet room where I could go to get away from hubs loud mega tv. Don't know if that's an issue for you, but separate TV viewing areas is a must for hubs and I to cohabitate happily and was the same for my folks. Is often the situation with visiting grandkids too, particularly if they're into gaming like mine are . . . This is along the lines of the questions AD posed. I gave my considerations but yours may be different. Another example of an issue, is that in our house, where you have your laundry now is hubs messy noisy tool and workshop area with what is known as a "slop sink" where we wash big messy things by hand. A lot of homes have a workshop area in a corner of the garage. Again, YMMV if no one does that kind of thing. Alternately, it could become a garden potting area. If it were me, an entire garden workshop area, a "She Shed" would be erected with your kind of budget, out in the yard and incorporated into a landscape plant that would include water storage (cistern) and irrigation, in CA. If there was room for some solar applications, CA would be the place to include them.

whats wrong with the floor.I thought it looked like the one feature to keep as its rather uncustomary and not that bold really....those are positives. Your space is so large the floor is a plus ......classic or eclectic pattern is an asset. Do you dislike it.....seems like youd be removing an interesting feature for what reason? unless the condition is poor. Just work on the island /lighting/stools/ middle of the space . If this were my space I'd go eclectic mixed with the bit of traditional you have using color/hardware/ accesories including stools and pendants backsplash. You could be surprised .