I really appreciate all of the input, suggestions and questions. The room is a big, ugly shell right now so now is the time for all major design issues to be addressed! John, thanks for the info on the drains and the flood test. Waterproofing is definitely a priority since our project has been complicated by uncovering evidence of water leaks that were previously unknown. We're in Michigan, unfortunately, too far away to take you up on your kind offer! I know that our door situation isn't ideal but it's one that we feel we can live with. We had considered using a pocket door but we're not able to relocate electrical switches to allow for it. I didn't try too hard to work around that issue though because I'm not a big fan of pocket doors personally. I'm definitely going to plan for niches right away, before the framing and plumbing is done. Emknc, thanks for posting a photo... You have a very spa-like room and I love your accent tile! Jglassdude, thanks for your input. I know that a 3rd sink would seem to be overkill but we (ok, mostly my micro-biologist husband!) prefer to wash our hands inside the lav area, before opening a door to come out and use a sink. Originally, the water closet fit within the square outline of the room and once we realized that we could bump it out and orient the toilet in the new space, we then added the sink where the toilet was planned to go. It's funny that you mention a bidet because we just tore one out... I used to use it for in-home pedicures and as a mop-sink for the floor! Lol! I should have mentioned that the shower head and control were shown on our drawing prior to the decision to hinge the door on the right. She correctly put the showerhead on the little corner piece because we can't run plumbing on an exterior wall but, as you pointed out, it angles straight at the door. We were thinking of instead having the NE corner of the shower built to accommodate a shower head that could angle more straight across the shower, especially since the door would swing away from it. It would seem that our controls then would be best on the south wall of the shower. Could you explain what you mean by "double acting door intent"? I'm not planning to hang towels in the tub area but there are raised areas on each end of the tub where towels can be placed while we are bathing. We've designed towel niches on either end of the tub step for extra rolled towels. We're planning to put a Runtal Solea towel warmer on the wall between the water closet and the shower. This is pretty much what the room looks like now... You can look right down into my kitchen and my dining room(!) The bifold door to the left of the ladder is my old linen closet door and will be walled off.

Adding more cabinets behind the table sounds do-able. Straightening out the bend does not. I think the biggest thing this kitchen needs is COLOR. Whatever color palate you prefer, bring it in. I'd go with a colorful, busy backsplash, some bright curtains, maybe a colored rug under the table, and a chandalier that doesn't disappear in all the neutral. And some greenery (or crockery) above the cabinets to fill in some "up top" colors. Really, this kitchen looks good -- it just needs to be accessorized. After that, crown molding. I'd be interested to know the size of your kitchen -- that is, the overall size of the cabinet area. It looks to be about the same size as the small kitchen I'm planning for our retirement house.

Something to start thinking about. Here are three versions. Notes: In layouts 1 & 2, the range is in the same place as it is now. This allows you to begin working around the range immediately. To move it will most likely mean electrical work to install an appropriate electrical outlet. I don't think you will want to start monkeying around with the electrical changes yet. Layout #3 has it moved to where the refrigerator is now. There is plenty of work room for prepping/cooking a meal, baking, and cake decorating. Pantry....there are two options: Pantry cabinets or a built-in pantry. Both can be installed now. They are in the same location in all three layouts, so if you decide to go with one of these layouts, you can install the pantry now, regardless of which one you decide to use.. Option 1, Pantry cabinets: The pantry cabinets I show are 30" wide, but you could put the two 24" ones there for now. Option 2, Built-in pantry: This could also be installed now. The advantages of this option are: You get more storage space overall (floor-to-ceiling storage, no cabinet constraints) The setup allows you to see all of what you have at one time without having to open/close doors/drawers The shelves are shallow enough that things will not get lost. Freezer: It can go where I show the MW center for now. It won't look "pretty", but there's not much you can do to make it look nice at this point. I do think you would be better off getting a different refrigerator with better freezer capacity and configuration. Refrigerator: In the layouts it's a 36" counter-depth refrigerator. It could be a standard depth, but it would stick out another 4 or 5 inches into the kitchen - you have the space, but I don't know if you'll like how it looks. Finished end panels on the sides would help minimize the effect somewhat, but it will still look big. For now, you will probably leave the refrigerator where it is since you don't want to move the water...unless you can do without a water line for now. It's not that difficult to make your own ice cubes for a year or so while you save $$ for plumbing & electric work. One final note - have you considered using IKEA cabinets? They are much less expensive than cabinet lines such as Omega, KraftMaid, etc. You might be able to afford to do it all now if you're willing to consider IKEA. The last time Consumer Reports rated cabinets, IKEA was rate highly. Many GWers have installed IKEA cabinets and they look wonderful! If you're even moderately handy, you can even "hack" IKEA cabinets to get even more options (check out IKEA Fans - linked below.) What's also nice is that they come standard with soft-close drawers and other options that other cabinetmakers either charge quite a bit for or don't offer at all. Layout #1: Layout #2: Layout #3: Here is a link that might be useful: IKEA Fans website

I agree with moving in and considering for a time, but here is something to consider while you're doing that: What drove this idea is the first room you enter into from the front door doesn't seem suited to anything but being a dining room. As a living room, it's odd that it's so small compared to the other living spaces, and, as you already said, there's no good wall for the TV. You also wouldn't want that room to be a kitchen for many, many reasons. However, that room would be a perfectly functional, reasonably-sized, not-weird-seeming dining room. If that room is a dining room, that also means the nook under the stairs would be a very logical area for a buffet. If that first room when you enter is the dining room, then the next room on your way into the house should be the kitchen because you want your kitchen and dining room handy to each other. As it happens, the current-dining-room-suggested-kitchen space is large enough and offset enough from the current-living-room-suggested-dining-room that it would be possible to funnel all traffic past the kitchen rather than through it. So your work zones in the kitchen won't be inundated with unwanted visitors. Furthermore, this suggested location for the kitchen is still handy to the back deck for outdoor eating. If those first two rooms become the dining and kitchen, then that leaves the current kitchen space to become the living room. It's a little unorthodox to have the living room as the room farthest from the front door, but it actually makes a lot of sense for this house. The other two rooms really do lend themselves to being the dining room and kitchen, and the current kitchen space is a good size for a living room and has two walls that could be the TV wall. It's also handier to the back deck/yard than the current living room, which I think will actually be a real upgrade. With the exception of shortening the two dining room windows (which isn't a structural change) so they're above counter height, none of the above requires any changes to any of the walls at all. That's nice because I think you'd get the most out of your space if you do bite the bullet and move some walls in the left half of the floor plan. The way it's currently laid out really, REALLY isn't as good as it could be. Since you don't have a guest bedroom downstairs, you don't need a full bath downstairs. You just need a half bath, and the shower space could be allotted to something else that would be more useful. Furthermore, you also don't really need deck access from the left side of the house, and having that deck access means unnecessarily losing a lot of space to a long hallway. On top of that, you have such an odd, circuitous entrance to the master bedroom that is (a) weird, and (b) means unnecessarily losing even more space to walkways. And lastly, there's a couple chopped up, not-optimally-shaped closets. Moving walls around quite freely in that general area, I was able to fit in a large master bath, a large master walk-in closet, a dedicated laundry room (that is accessible off a hallway, placed where the dryer can vent directly outside, is handy to your room, and yet is still far enough from the room that you won't be hearing the machines while you're trying to sleep), and a bonus hallway closet. Note that I shifted the doorway to the hallway from the current-dining-room-suggested-kitchen slightly so that you couldn't really see either the half bath or the master bedroom from the living areas.