Mommy2twocuties, we determined our main floor square footage by first deciding which rooms we had to have on that floor. As far as room sizes, one thing I did to visualize was to measure the sizes of rooms we had in our existing house and use that as a jumping off point. For example we had a dining room at the existing home that was 11x11. I knew from living in that space that it was much too tight for the table and china cabinet that we had and the buffet that I want someday. Based on that, I knew that 14x16 was the minimum size that I wanted. We also used the same formula for determining approximate sizes for the family room, bedrooms, walk in closets and kitchen. Because our existing rooms already had the furniture and stuff that would be moving with us, it made the numbers feel real to us and give some additional perspective. Once you know what you want/need for rooms on a floor, and the approximate size of each, you can better ball park the square footage that you are looking at. It will still bloat up with hallways, stairwells and closets, but you will know if you need to be looking at 1500, 2100, or 2800 square feet to accommodate your wants.

Thanksso much everyone for the suggestions!! We do have a couple of Ikea's nearby, will check it out again this weekend. I currently have a Pottery Barn desk-very functional actually. Only reason I wanted new was that I wanted a high gloss white or glass...the PB one is Antique white. I know...I'm being lame:) My DH has just switched jobs and will now also have a home office (OMG!!) so I was hoping I could hand him off mine...although maybe it's too girly in antique white for him. We're finishing the basement for him so thought it we could have a workspace/office down there and the PB desk would be great. We'll see... OR~ maybe I could have the PB desk sprayed in high-gloss white. It's such a hard finish now, that I'm not sure if spraying would cause lots of paint chipping... Decisions, decisions:)!! I have a vision for my little office...just need to find the right stuff!

Well I'm a magpie too :) So I have both a mosaic (behind the range) and a subway tile, but I do have to compliment the fact that you went with a blue. I like it with the granite. A neutral would have been safer, and oh so boring :) By the way, we need to use the term DS...oh wait that's taken....(Dear Spouse dear son might get confusing) Or I like "SU" (spousal unit). My DH or SU as the case may be :) was told early in the design process that "I don't know" has a three day window to be turned into "I don't care" if he can't figure out what he wants :) Since I'm the designer...that's a challenge for him heh heh But he's one opinionated SU so normally he comes up with something :) He had definate influance on the backsplash. I was HORRIFIED with the cost, and he decided that it was the "only" one that worked LOL so my inner magpie won LOL

That WS secretary desk is gorgeous. I can see why you are drawn to it. I have this Pottery Barn Graham secretary desk in mahogany. I really love how it looks and it's just the right size for me. I'm not sure if it's too traditional for your tastes though. Crate & Barrel offers this Newman desk. It's a lot more affordable than the WS desk, so if your children destroyed it maybe it wouldn't be quite such a loss. Crate & Barrel also offers this Clarke secretary desk. Not quite the same look, but very modern. CB2 has a similarly modern, but more spare desk in the Intimo. Room and Board offers this nice looking office armoire in a variety of finishes.