Hi, just wanted to give you a bit more hope. I just did an addition up over my garage which connected to my upper hallway. The floor guy did a great job of matching my original hardwoods in both wood and finish, and the color was a custom color that he had to recreate. We put a header across the doorway to avoid having to interlace and avoid having to refinish the old wood. I personally like the look of a header in the doorway. As for price, as I recall hardwood is about the same cost as a decent carpet (relevant for my FR but not your kitchen or DR, obviously) but I don't remember the price per square foot. Anita

I do not have the kitchen bar, but I designed for it originally and decided if I wanted it, I could put in a nice one later that I could afford easier. Since then I have realized the kitchen area is huge and that a bar should be a priority next go around. I agree that an L+island is a practical choice, but I don't like the angled island. The angles are expensive and are space-wasters. Also, this design creates a wide space between the island and the main cabinet runs; 3-4' is pretty much ideal. With your emphasis on minimalism, are you set on keeping a kitchen table? Here's what I'm thinking: If you skip the table /go with a really big island with seating on one side, you could increase your counterspace against the back wall AND have massive storage /usable space on the island. Of course, this would knock out the sliding glass door ... but you could still have a single hinged door and lots of windows in the back wall, bringing in lots of light. Master : For example, my master bedroom will never be larger than the current design. In fact, I want to reduce the size of it just a tad. I have came to realize I don't need to keep up with the modern idea that a master bedroom is huge I don't think over-sized masters are really a trend. We see modest sized bedrooms as often as extra-large examples; personally, I'm looking at something in the 15x12 ballpark. Regardless, I'm having trouble reading the numbers on your bedroom, but I'm thinking the main area is something like 12x13? You sound like you're daring us to suggest it's not enough space. Thoughts: - If you're trying to conserve space, you might consider built-in shelves instead of nightstands. Something like this: This would give a more open look. I also like the wall-mounted lamps, but I'd want models on a swing arm. - What size bed do you have now? Do you ever anticipate moving up a size? I originally was going to have my master closet door be a pocket door. When started thinking about noise in the morning I decided for a traditional hinged door. What I realized now is that I rarely *ever* close the closet door. Bad habit? I think a lot of people leave their closet doors open, and pocket doors make sense on a closet. Also, a pocket door removes the problem of where the door swing will go. One thing I personally wouldn't like at all is the laundry in the bathroom. I'm sorry but I don't want to be cleaning clothes in the same room that is used for um, other functions. Just the idea that someone needs to use the toilet and then I have to go in to switch a load right after. Ugh. I don't mind it for that reason, but I also dislike the laundry-and-bathroom together. It just seems odd. I'm not crazy about either bathroom layout either. Since you're aiming for minimalism, I'd go for a Hollywood bath ... that is, a full bath connected to a half bath. Here's a quick idea, but it's certainly not the only option: This bath-and-a-half keeps most of your plumbing all together, which is a budget choice ... and if you could bump the pantry to the spot where the refrigerator is now, you could have a linen closet IN the hall bath, which I vastly prefer to a linen closet in the hall (after all, where do you need the towels and the extra toilet paper?). Of course, this "cost you" your closet, so I bumped it over to the spot where the kid's closet currently is -- it's now a bigger closet, which would make up for the loss of the dresser spot. This leaves you the space currently occupied by the hall bathroom /laundry ... it'd need to contain the laundry and a closet for the kid's bedroom ... but you'd also have space leftover, which could become any number of things ... or you could bump the stairs towards the right and enlarge the living room somewhat. For me, I'd like to not see the bathroom from the bed. Yeah, I hate that. Not because of looking into the bathroom, but because the light from the bathroom shines onto my side of the bed.

Here in my Southern Ontario, z5b garden it's hard to choose. SO MANY roses are just marginally hardy here, and so a little bit of extreme winter weather can kill them, whereas most winters will not. A warm period followed by a later freeze can also kill them. So do you take a chance, or do you skip such a vast number of great roses? We have overcast, wet, humid weather here a lot and there is blackspot like crazy. And of course this area is swarming with Japanese Beetles. During the height of their swarms I can pick/shake off over 100 day, which is a lot for my ~20 roses. Some will have none. Some will have dozens. Every year I wonder why I put up with it. Then every June when the first flush hits and before the big problems come I remember why.

I agree that granite makes it outdated. The cabinets are of a darker shade, so I would recommend you to pick a lighter and brighter looking countertop, like white or light gray marble -looking quartz or some of the white granites, like River White. That would create a very nice contrast and open up the space considerably. Also, I would get rid of the granite on the walls. White marble tile (like Carrara marble) backsplash would add a touch of glamour and lighten up the space even more. Staining or painting cabinets may be pricey, so I would invest in painting only the island. By changing the hardware you can give the cabinets a totally new vibe.