Chisue, yes.. we actually are planning on not going with the vaulted ceilings. I'm torn.. like the cozy look of the lower ceilings, but also appreciate the vaulted. DH is firm.. don't know WHY he seems to be winning all the battles! LOL Our current bonus room's AC is zoned, so with zing and a door. we will not have to heat and cool when we are no longer using it. After studying and study this floor plan along with William Poole's original Eastern Shore Cottage, 2 other plans of his, (which have almost the same layout) and using a tape measure to measure my current breakfast nook.. I think I need to make that nook narrower! It's almost 15' wide!! I think I'll make it move the width of the kitchen, 11' should be more than enough, don't you think? creekside, good option for the colliding doors ( open shelves) or possible could have the door open from the hall..? We are definitely planning our having the William Poole team tweak the plan a bit for us, so I'm trying to get everything down that I want to discuss with them.

I agree with what has been said already. One thing that has helped me a lot is that I would measure my house against my friends' houses and would forget that they cleaned like demons before having guests over, just like I do. I just assumed everyone's houses looked like that normally and mine was the odd one with the daily clutter. Another thing which is very important to me, is to housetrain our sons so that they go out into the world as functioning adults. I do not want my future daughters-in-law to curse me every time our sons leave a mess. My husband and his brother were not taught to clean up for themselves and had a martyr of a mother who wanted them to live home until at least 60 (yet somehow give her grandchildren). It has been a great source of friction in my house and my brother and sister in law once actually separated because of his throwing his laundry on the floor instead of the laundry basket (the fight was actually about his disrespecting her by doing that and his resentment that he worked several jobs while she spent money like crazy, but the laundry thing did not help the situation). It is a recurring "disagreement" in our house about dh's pitching in more. I had a very neat mother who was very strict about keeping the house neat at all times and I was neat as a young child naturally. Therefore, I rebelled and have battled clutter since I got older. I work on it all the time and find that I am great at organizing an area only to let things slide back over time. We are renovating/extending in the coming days and I hope to have figured out better storage in the new plan and also have made it clear to my darling sons and husband that there will be little tolerance for stuff all over the place. I have been working hard on not allowing the messes to take over and will continue to do so. One son in particular walks in the house and it is like he exploded. Both kids are usually almost naked within minutes of getting home (and we live in NY with cold winters, lol). We have started a system when they have to earn "screen time" (i.e. tv, computer, DS, Wii, etc...). They have a chance to earn 20 minutes each for "neatness", "listening to mom and dad" and "being nice to my brother". They get "graded" 3 times a day, a.m., afterschool/afternoon, & night (after dinner). There is a chance of earning 3 hours a day that way, but they usually get much less. If they get every 20 minute block earned in a day we call that a slam dunk and they are allowed something special for that (i.e. choosing what games we play, having a friend for a playdate, going to a movie, etc...). I also will never allow a playdate if their room and stuff are not cleaned up. They know that if it is all straightened up, they can almost always have friends over. They are funny in that they say they won't show the friend their room, as if that is why the rule is there. I make it clear that it does not matter as no one comes over unless they have cleaned up. It is the old carrot on a stick trick ;) BTW - we got a roomba last month, and he helps keep stuff up off the floor as he has "eaten" a few small things. He is the world's greatest pet as he cleans up after us instead of making a mess, lol.

seagrass_gw I hope to be able to fit them in too. It's usually completely empty in the spring and summer, except for rain coats. It's also currently holding the dog's leash. The cord bugs me too. I'm going to create a hook and pull for it, with the pull being stored in one of the closets. But that will be another day. party_music50 There isn't any room for a bench. The hallway is literally only as wide as the front door. I'm planning on putting a runner down and artwork above the doorway to pull your eye up as part of the makeover. You are correct about putting the cabinets where the bench is. That cabinet area space is about 76" long and 26" deep. The actual space right there is squarish, with the doorway on the left going into the kitchen and another door around the corner going into the bathroom.

It’s 140” along the wall with the back of the couch that keeps getting cut off. Ceilings are standard height 8’ High. The sectional on the right side extends the hallway and goes right along the line where the hallway ends, closing off the room and giving more definition to the area without closing it off. Even with the door open, there is enough space to walk between the couch and door. The door is about halfway in line with the couch sectional/hallway line