"...There is no HVAC to speak of, only a woodstove in the living area and a gas fireplace in the master bedroom..." I'm not sure what your financial situation is but if you need to get a mortgage the lender will probably require you to put in a regular back-up heat source (something like a propane heating system ducted to all rooms in the house). The lender will be looking out for their interest which is that the home is conventional and can be easily resold. Also the lender and your homeowner's insurance company wants to know that the house will always have heat so that the water pipes don't freeze. If you have the cash to pay for everything without getting a mortgage then you can do whatever your local zoning will allow. If your using a woodstove as a main heat source be prepared to store lots of wood! You will want to have an exterior door close to the woodstove. You'll need it to get to the wood stored outside and for when your emptying ashes. You'll need lots of wood stored close and covered (to keep the wood dry) so you should include a large covered wood storage area near the door. If your going to have children or children visiting keep in mind when your placing it that the woodstove will get very hot. If you plan to eventually convert this to a B&B then consider what your guests would like. I'd expect a large king-size bed with a private bathroom. A place to put two suitcases and hang clothes. If your not living in the house while it is a B&B you will need to make several daily visits to take care of the woodstove to make sure the heat stays on. Also check with township zoning to see if you can legally have a B&B and what requirements they have (some places require that you be licensed). I actually rented a home on a property with B&B. I use to help out when the owners of the B&B traveled and needed someone to run the B&B while they where gone. I can tell you that most people have an idealized vision of having a B&B. It is certainly enjoyable meeting new people but it comes with work. You never know exactly what time your guests will arrive. Daily you need to clean the bedrooms, clean the bathrooms, wash the sheets and towels, and clean the rest of the house. Most B&B's provide hot breakfasts (that's multiple breakfasts because it depends on what time each guest is getting up ... some leave early for trips and some like to sleep late ... all like someone else making them breakfast LOL). There is a higher expectation of personalized service at a B&B then there is a hotel.

I think you have a real handle on what you want but a decision this big needs people you don't know and never will's opinion. Support and agreement is good and these folks know there stuff but it's your place you will live there. You never mentioned budget but for the kitchen I don't believe your prices include labor, electrical and plumbing, do they? I do know some people that paid more for the kitchen remodel around here that you can buy a simple tired home for. 12X14 sunroom. I was in the sunroom business and didn't want one for my home, sweltering in summer and stone cold in winter. Yes you can heat and cool them and watch those utility bills skyrocket. They look to be initially inexpensive but once you factor in added utilities it is more cost effective to extend with traditional construction with a large focal window. They will tell you they will appreciate the value of your property greater than traditional construction but now that they have been in fashion for a while they can actually be a deal killer. We are looking at homes and don't want anything to do with a sunroom. Glass is glass, the greatest heat loss is through the glass in a home, until they invent a high insulating glass that is affordable that is simply a fact. R-3 per pane, maybe, you do the math. Full thermal break or not. No one would build a room and put in R-6 of insulation in a wall. Sorry I know you are focused on the kitchen but thought I might give you my spin on sunrooms.

I have a pretty good idea of the price of windows. 8k cheap - 20k mid/expensive. And the roof would be about 7k shingles and (not entirely sure yet) but I think around 10-11k metal. Gutters will be what we put into them. But we need and will use windows and a new roof and a painted house. I mean, it will take a while to pay back in heating costs, but in the winter sitting by the front window, there is a gusty cold zone. And I'm in a mid-atlantic area, I'm not going to start covering my windows in plastic like my VT relatives! But the porch would just be cosmetic unless we actually put enough into it that we would actually use it. Heating, cooling, more windows, bug protection, lighting, finishes. And I'd rather have that someday in the far future if we ever choose to invest in it in the back of the house which is very private. Believe me, I know, before we even closed I had mocked up this but we tabled the idea after much discussion: And the typical simple extended porch you'd see with with a colonial doesn't excite me either. Sure it might not be that expensive, but why should I invest in turning 'bleh' (to me) into 'that's ok.' I'd rather invest in something I really like. I'm not investing in curb appeal for future buyers, but in my own home satisfaction.

OK, hopefully we've put to bed the "don't hire an architect, designers are just as good and cheaper" mentality. Now we can get to the subject of economies and cost savings. Every time one of these threads appears (which is often), the poster asks about savings--but it's almost always addressed to the issue of fixtures, finishes and equipment. Where can I buy the cheapest: countertop, range, flooring, "scratch and dent" stuff...Consumers miss the point (or perhaps they simply don't know or recognize) that the truly expensive stuff lies elsewhere. What one may save on fixtures, finishes and equipment is peanuts compared to the cost of the rest of the custom home design and construction! For example, the type and configuration of the land and how the design of the house accommodates the land, and its characteristics, is the very first place to start looking and analyzing for economies and savings. There are sites easy to develop and build on, and there are site which are just the opposite. The second place to look is at the design concept and how the design can be developed into a final design which addresses the site, the needs and wants of the owner and the budget, while still making good, appealing and envigorating architecture. For example, a simple, well-organized house is always less expensive than a rambling, undisciplined and inexperienced design. Where are the major costs in any custom home: site development and improvements, foundation, exterior building shell, structural elements, and the building systems: HVAC, electrical/signal, plumbing service and waste. All the stuff that HGTV never, ever films or has their stars discuss. What do they discuss? Building custom tables for the dining space and putting lots of pots and pillows everywhere. The design concept and the developed design and construction documents are where all of these things are explored and resolved. This is one of many reasons why experienced architects offer much more professional service than designers who sit at a CAD keyboard. The third place to look for savings is the extent and quality of the design and construction documents--the drawings, specifications and bid documents. Skimp on these to save a few bucks, and in many--most--cases the consumer will wind up paying much, much more through misused and inappropriate allowances; through construction oopsies (a technical architectural term) where the builder or his subs use their own ideas and experience to fill in blanks in the drawings; and on and on. And then there's the situation where skimpy documents leave the consumer to spend many, many hours trying to make decisions about stuff which is necessary by not specified--door and drawer pulls, paint and stain colors, yada, yada. When it comes to design and construction documents and services, you get what you pay for. There is thread after thread on this forum of consumers with bidding and construction woes; consumers venting about all of the decisions and selections needed once construction starts. So...the point here is to shop for saving on flooring all you want. But if you really want to economize, pay attention to the truly expensive stuff, and the professionals who can best guide your through these sorts of decisions. Good luck on your project! :-)