I just wanted to update my post with a final decision. They pressed us for a stain choice two months ago and they JUST STAINED IT ON THURSDAY! How's that for urgency? Anyway, after much thought and consideration we went with Minwax Walnut gel stain for the front door. Thanks to all who offered thoughts and opinions. I think it turned out beautiful. Here are a few pics as I know that's what we all REALLY want to see... :-)

Your house is a fine one story Colonial Revival. A traditional Cape would have a steeper roof without dormers, no porch, no portico or any classical features like columns or pediments. A good choice would be a paint grade exterior wood panel door from TruStile in Colorado. They have more choices than any other company and it is easy to design a door with their design software. Here is a link that might be useful: TruStile doors This post was edited by Renovator8 on Wed, Sep 17, 14 at 12:02

LL, I'm thinking the hot tub in the corner is the right move. It will give a better sense of enclosure, and use well the space that will otherwise be underutilized. Having the edge of the deck available for a seating arrangement or small table will be nice, because your view will be much greater from that spot. And if you have a lot of rocks on your property, putting rocks beneath the floor can help use that space as a heat sink. I'd recommend you look into setting that up, to give some extra heat to your house in the evening after the sun goes down and it radiates heat absorbed by those rocks during the day. Summer probably has knowledge of how to design the greenhouse to give some payback to you. I think the greenhouse idea will be a great addition. I'm always for a plant space. I'm going to point out something to you about the star jasmine though. It will provide you an evergreen plant inside like that, BUT IT ONLY BLOOMS IN MAY AND JUNE. I would suggest that you get a couple of nice blooming begonias in pots, or geraniums in RED, to brighten up the space. And I also have a potted (not hanging basket) bougainvillea which will end up climbing by its long thorny limbs, and IT WILL BLOOM ALL YEAR ROUND. They come in yellow and hot pink, and mine is a white and pink combo. I cannot wait to get it into my Teahouse. It likes heat, it likes moisture, it likes lots of light. Keep it watered. And if you want a spectacular large tropical plant, look into a MUSA species of banana. They can be hardy at your latitude indoors all year. Incidentally, I just love your house, and the more you tinker with the plan the better it gets. Sarah Susanka says that most people just design the rooms with no selection of furniture spots, but you are doing the whole deal. I think you are about ready to CHOOSE THE SPOT FOR LIGHTS AND SWITCHES AND PLUGS. AND DIMMERS. Dimmers are part of it too. Go for it, lady, you have the right ideas to choose from.

We have 10’ ceilings and an 8’ door. We replaced the original wood, which had warped (south facing, but covered), with fiberglass. Ours is a 3-point lock custom door from Kolbe, without glass. We originally ordered clad, but they can’t make that in a panel door. Can’t even tell you what it cost because the guy at the lumberyard is a bit of a dolt and kept changing the order after discovering various things. Anyway, it’s a great door, secure and efficient.