Hey girls, sorry I'm runnin' late here, my daughter, Julie was in a car accident last nite (hit a huge deer) so I spent most of the nite at the emergency room. Shes banged up but no broken bones thank goodness! Julie I'm gonna do my my very best to see "Julie" off in the morning, but if not for sure on Monday....I'll post the cf# tommorrow if I have a chance to get it there before 12. I took out the cute little garden stake with a frog on it and the pair of garden gloves which I need and of course added some goodies I hope ya'll can use! Me & my 2 Julies and dh are having all mexican food tonite since today is....Cinco De Mayo day! Sure hope my guest loves Mexican food! Sorry I'll have to take you out on the town the next trip, Julie as I hate to leave my Julie right now. Still hope you had a fun trip!

Wow..it's hard to believe we're in the home stretch of this RR. I hope everyone is happy with the items they chose! Since Sassy & Julie were the only ones to SHOW me where they lived...I'm not choosing a winner....each will recieve a little extra something in the mail. Geesh Sue...I was to hot..I HAD to do something about that heat. LOL As far as Faint and the white jacket? It's to late for that, we need more of a padded cell! LOLOL Julie

Hi, Your question relates to budget. The best way to answer it is for you to tour homes in your area that are similar to what you have in mind and ask the builder(s) what the cost would be to replicate the home on whatever lot and in whatever community you have in mind. Then add the cost of the land. Once you've confirmed that your budget is realistic for what you have in mind, you can decide whether to replicate a builder's model home or purchase a stock plan from a plan service or to hire a home designer/architect/design-build firm to design a home for you. To hire anyone to design a home without answering the basic "is my budget realistic?" question risks spending money on a design that won't get built. Order of operations! Best wishes for a successful project.

@ RES, architect Same here been using Sketchup Pro since it 1st came out in 2000 and Chief Architect Pro ( before it was Chief Architect since 90s) In earlier days I have been using just for my own project designs and customers and for the last 10 years or so I been doing work for many customers...It seems this is the best way to get something designed that a homeowner can actually visualize the project as it was already built and you place them right inside the house and they can get a better feel how rooms interact with adjoining spaces, they can walk through the entire house, a finished basement, sit at the island of their kitchen, or the outdoors. Now I average about 100-150 designs a year for customers and contractors locally and nationwide with all kinds of projects... from simple furniture placement to entire 3D house layout, I have some builders they use my services for a spec home 3D visuals and real-time renderings, schematics for zoning board proposals, real estate agents, contractors, and homeowners, not to mention I work with some architects as well. IMHO This is the way to go nowadays to end up with a design you really want... I don't want the old-timers to take me the wrong way, quick pencil mack-ups are good in the field to give the customer an idea what you have in mind and to make sure this is what they like... but when you at home, you can present your customer with 3D images using available software in any way you like, sure it takes an investment, with plugins, certain renderers, etc the whole software packages ran me about 4k with bells and whistles that I need + monthly fees to display models and run online video sessions, etc but now when working with a customer when the initial model laid out... you can move walls, cabinets, swap elevation views, scenes, swap materials within seconds while the customer is watching and you can present them drawings in any style, shape, or form that they can pass onto their architect, builder, or contractor and with a visual everyone is on the same page. Here a few examples of different representation styles you can do with a mouse click.