Unfortunately I didn't take any photos when I saw the slab here in SoCal. But, I don't think I would recommend the New Carrara. The slabs have been coming in quite gray. AZ tile will admit it. We were deciding between New Carrara and Calacatta Zeus. The 12" samples we got made us think for sure New Carrara veining but when we saw them in person, Calacatta Zeus was actually really lovely. Bigger movements of more subtle light grey veining. Carrara was a lot more activity with all over swirls. And again, very grey. We did slate colored lower cabinets and so happy we got more contrast with the white countertops. It also matches very well with our white upper cabinets. That all being said.. I don't see Calacatta Zeus on Arizona Tile's website any longer. I know there have been issues with the tariffs being put into place, but if you can grab some slabs, do it!

I had completely forgotten about this being a lake home so AnnKH had a great point about how a front garage would actually be a rear garage (or something like that). So I think the point about maximizing the views and accessibility on the lakeside is definitely more important that worrying about a 'snout' garage. But, here is our first floor floor-plan. We are on a 100' wide city lot (unfortunately no lake views) and this house is 71.5' wide. The deepest part of the house, not including porches is 41'8". It was deeper than I wanted, but the rooms in the middle of the house (closets, laundry, etc) don't need windows so I'm OK with it. Our second floor has three additional bedrooms plus a bonus/loft space. We've got 2 kids, ages 11 and 13. No basements here in Texas.

I would say this is a "straight colour swap". In other words the VINYL floor is almost IDENTICAL to the existing carpet. It is a "like for like" switch. You won't have to "imagine" the COLOUR....because it already exists throughout the living area. Your coffee table is almost identical in colour as well. It seems this colour is something you are drawn to. That's not a bad thing. It just is. Be assured the COLOUR will work nicely with what you have (because you already have it...see how easy this is;-). That's the easy part.The thing you MUST BE AWARE OF is the CHARACTER of the wood-look vinyl. In a small swatch, I'm seeing LONG "splits" and several knot holes. You MUST ASSUME that EVERY PLANK will have this level of character! As long as you are after that sort of look, you will be fine. You will WANT to change the look of the STAIRS. Be prepared for a bit of a clash between the white-washed wood-look vinyl to the "golden oak" colour the stairs currently show. The stairs work with what you have now because the beige colour is CARPET. It looks nice. But as soon as you move to a wood-look product you will see the clash. Some white paint on the risers (or off white to match the vinyl planks) and on the stringers and the spindles will go a LONG WAY to getting the stairs to look like they belong with the floor. It isn't a huge deal...I personally would leave it for a while to see if I could live with it. But be prepared that sometime in the future you may want to fix it up to get it to be more harmonious.

@kstewartau87 Yes, the sample boards, no matter the time of day, never looked to me like all the pictures look. I get screen colors vary, time of day, amount of natural light, kind of light bulb...yeah all of that. I was so disappointed when I brought the large samples home and they did not look good at all. I actually chose another color of provenza. Changed my mind at last minute due to a pit in my stomach feeling. Once installed, I was sooooooo happy I went for it despite those samples!! It's beautiful. For me: it does not show footprints bad, does not creek, feels quality under bare foot (but not like real hardwood), does not shot per hair bad. Prior to provenza I had a really dark rich laminate. It showed EVERYTHING and just the dog hair alone i was sweeping multiple times a day. Footprints anywhere light shines in and the water dribbles from my English Mastiff after drinking water were just embarrassing!! So happy I went with my gut!! Seriously. please find my pictures posted 2 years ago in this thread. There are several of my floor in different areas and one of the image that finally made me go back to my gut and install finally mine. Best wishes!