THANKS for your thoughts!! (Hope this isn't going to weigh you down with information, but, here goes:) EXTENDING MASTER WING: We can bump out the end wall 4 feet max, improving (from 12' L) to 16' L (a bit longer on the deck side) x 20' W. (The opposite wing is 22' L x 20.5' W). SYMMETRY: To help reference the driveway approach towards the house: take the floor plan and literally rotate it about 45 degrees clockwise: that's the direction the driveway comes from (imagine an imaginary line continuing out from that 12' master bath sink/counter and shower). Essentially it will be like driving on the driveway towards the house, then veering a little left once you get to the house (like on the plan the words: "FIRST FLOOR/Scale 1/4"); then for a parking space: backing up onto what's left of the land outside the master wing bump out. (gosh I hope I'm explaining this ok) I am hoping the symmetry issue will be overlooked because one never really looks straight at the front door. (what d'ya think?) BED SIZE/PLACEMENT: King size bed(even though it takes up most of the space I know). We're hoping we have our choice of placing the bed either on that end wall or the bathroom wall, but probably the end wall. I am thinking that's a great idea to change the casement unit on the end wall to a horizontal band of rectangular/square windows along the top of the wall as you suggest! Sure would help with layout, huh? MBR DOOR: Never thought of moving a door over towards the exterior wall! It's an interesting thought. I WAS wondering, from a professionals point of view, if the MBR door was sort of TOO ~ not hidden enough? but figured the FP sorta blocks it a little. My only concern with this idea is that a desk area is one of those important requirements we have & don't necessarily want it in a bedroom. This will be a vacation home but I want a space for a computer and writing desk. I'll definitely consider moving it inward (towards the stairs) but need to also keep an aisle that's not too narrow. STAIRCASE PLACEMENT: We experimented with stairway placement everywhere it seems! We concluded that if the stairs weren't right there in the middle of the "Y", WHAT would be there then? Ultimately, we decided the staircase with the stone of the fireplace (FP) could maybe be a sort of "feature", with interesting, open, spindle/railings all the way around instead of it taking up space on the wing sides. Kind of "embrace" it! STAIRCASE ISSUES: Problems we hope to address with the stairway is to make them wider (currently 36") and, we want a landing instead of winder style treads so that the stone work from the FP can end at that landing. That means we also have to push the FP into the great room some. Does anyone think the great room space will be too much infringed upon? CLEAR VIEW: One idea was to build a FP with a sort of "column" look on each side (where a chimney would go up one of the sides), essentially creating a "U" shape where one could see straight through from the front door to the great room window wall. That was using a gas FP. Since then we're leaning towards an energy efficient wood burning FP where we're pretty sure the chimney would have to be straight up (vs. offset). Because of this we're imagining rocking all around the FP, all the way down to the staircase landing, and then putting some sort of neat artwork or waterfall or ? on the rock wall facing the front door. (NOTE: there's only LP or electric available on this particular bluff) FIREPLACE PLACEMENT: We're in Wisconsin and the winter's can be super, duper cold, so the 2-sided FP idea is really cool sounding, but, unfortunately, probably not a possibility in this case (Also, no way can we deepen the deck or we'd go over a 600' cliff! haha). I also don't want to really block the view at all (from our living space that is ~ obviously we ARE blocking the view from the entrance). We have considered putting the FP on the far right corner in the Great Room (GR) but that's where we think the TV should go. As much as I like the idea of putting a TV above a FP, in this case I don't think we have the space to do that and sit far enough away so not wrenching our necks to look UP at a TV (+ the heat problem). That wall of windows in the GR is also facing NorthWest so #1: we're trying to avoid sunset glare on the TV and #2 we want seating to face the river. FP will be for warmth (and viewed w/swivel chairs). Ultimately, we went back to the FP centered in the house, as shown. (Also trying to honor the Frank Lloyd Wright trademark with a wide, stone chimney in the middle of a house). Any thoughts or ideas with these things in mind? DOWNSTAIRS: Is going to be pretty open and used as a rec room (nice pool table, foose, game table, etc) and some additional sleeping space. (We originally were only going to have one BR upstairs and a carport where the 2nd BR is now. All the other sleeping was going to be downstairs!) We decided though, if WE'RE old, then our friends would probably be OLD too and would need to stay on the main floor maybe too! haha) Here's the current Basement Plan: KITCHEN: We aren't going to keep that U-shaped kitchen as shown. We'd much prefer eliminating that breakfast bar section and instead having an island. As you can probably see, that right, master wing side, with needing the wider staircase & bumping out the MBR end wall,is what's causing us the most difficulty rearranging to make the best use of space. We'd still like to keep a foyer coat closet & a desk area. Also trying to figure a better designed master bath w/a longer shower w/seat and better linen closet design. Could have a pocket door vs. swinging. (Would like opinions on pocket doors!) Lastly, the master closet is dumb and of course should have either bi-fold doors or? Any and all ideas are very welcome. PS: Here's a home in Madison, Wisconsin that is one of my "Inspiration" pictures! Love the wide horizontal, dark brown siding and typical (for FLW and WI) stone! (also, notice the typical FLW centered chimney!) mmmmmm : ) (SMILE)

Since my DH's first wife died in October 2003, through our marriage in 2006 and even today, DH has piddled with getting rid of his stash of tools up north. Now he is getting down to business, and has made inroads--because I told him I was through waiting on him to get his house ready to sell, and I would NOT go up there any more. So I am surprised and mostly pleased by his activity in that direction. He is an engineer with a tool for every purpose. He also confiscated my PERSONAL tools here in Mobile, and I found them among his out in his garden shed. THAT was a nono, and I started bringing them back. Some of those I kept in a Snoopy yellow plastic lunch box for 30 years, and I depend on them being available quickly when I need a screwdriver or a Vicegrip or a small drill bit. I miss the Snoopy tool box. I think his first wife must have left all tool-associated chores to him, and he does not quite know how to deal with my very independent take-hold do-it-myself history. Heck, when I tore out the bathroom, he should have known I did not wait for anyone to do what I could do for myself! Southern woman I am, but not the helpless variety. More like Steel Magnolia! (one of my favorite movies) So pleased that MamaGoose is on board these days, and Jay, and now that the fall is almost upon us again, maybe there will be a surge of activity on the forum. I really look forward to catching up with what's been going on while I was out gardening for about 4 months. Sometimes we all need to take a break to come back refreshed.

I have some tried-and-true recipes for cakes that I could/should have made. I had made a good coffee cake once before with canned pears using a Penzey's recipe, but it called for chopped candied ginger which I didn't have and can't get locally. Since I knew the candied ginger was a big part of the cake's appeal, I tried googling a recipe that didn't rely on that ingredient. Hence the one I found, which had a great streusel top and I guess might even be a great cake made with fresh pears, but who knows if I will try that again. If I make a whole cake in a 10 inch springform pan for just myself and dad, it will mold before I can get it all used up. I know this because I have had umpteen cakes mold on me and even go bad in the freezer since I just can't eat them up fast enough. I have tried to find a definitive recipe for ginger pear muffins without a smashing success so far. As for the yogurt container being filled with cooked white beans, and not knowing I was out of brown sugar, that I can rack up to my crazy life where I am running around between my folks old house where my mom's stuff is, my dad's new condo where he is living, my apt. in another town, and the two storage places where the rest of my personal belongings are. I had just gotten brown sugar, but it was at my dad's condo, not my mom's old kitchen where I made the cake but the kitchens look somewhat alike and I got mixed up. I had two containers in my apt. fridge that were for yogurt. One was an old one I put the white beans in and didn't take time to label with masking tape, and the other was the real yogurt. I forgot about the beans and grabbed the wrong one. The rest was trying to kill too many birds with one stone, which I am guilty of lately since I have so many birds in the air around me! I was overly optimistic about how a little sugar and spice might counteract the lousy tasting pears. I am not just a scientist but an adventurer. It could have been an epic good tasting Rube Goldberg cake, but instead it was (thankfully) a marginal but not awful cake. The spinach dip was just the recipe from the back of the Knorr vegetable dip packet. Mom had it left over in the cupboard and I had the ingredients on hand to use it up, along with a bag of bagel chips. I don't normally use the Knorr veg. dip for spinach dip since it has MSG in it which I am mildly sensitive too, and WAY too much salt for my taste. The best part of the tea for me was the Edam cheese, which I almost never buy, it is too expensive!

We plan on putting a shelf above the settee. Not sure about wall mounted lamps, not really into electric wiring at this point. A little coffee table would be nice, but this room is actually very tiny and just off the front entrance, so is a pass-through room to the dining room and back end of the house. I was standing in the entrance hall to the house when I took that picture. I would like someday to get a tea cart that could be moved in there for "afternoon tea" which my mother loved. The room is going to be sort of an homage to her, since she loved to sit in there and read. I do need some kind of light on that wall though, since there is no overhead lighting in the room. There is a chair in a corner opposite the settee with an ottoman that can be moved to the center with a tea tray placed on top. It has torn upholstery and needs to be redone, which is next up on the docket. I dunno, I am going to wait until I have the upper shelf mounted to see what I want to do next. I may end up moving the pictures. I like to use what I have for the most part, and acquire new pieces slowly with a lot of thought. Which is why it takes me forever to implement some of my ideas!