Found this old thread after doing a search for Far Reaches. We hope to make a visit there this coming Friday. I'm sure I read this thread back in the day as it was shocking and sad that Heronswood seemed to be going away, nursery, gardens, plants, it's people and all. It's interesting looking back knowing how things have turned out lately with the s'klallam tribe having bought and taken over the property, it's gardens and that Dan is at least partially involved in a restoration and expansion of the gardens. At least that's what he said at a Bellevue Botanical Gardens lecture by John Anderson, the Keeper of the Gardens at Windsor Castle. It was a nice talk that was at times funny and others a bit dry, but still enjoyable for this plant nerd. But I must say seeing Dan and hearing that he was still involved in the Northwest plant scene was one of my fav moments. We have been planning a trip to Far Reaches for several years and it always gets postponed as it is quite a drive and really takes an entire day. We have the day off and the weather seems to be cooperating and I have my eye on some epimediums, some Podophyla and some dactylorhiza and I'm sure a few surprise plants will catch our eye and drain our pocketbooks, I've been aware of Kelly and Sue's work for many years and purchased a few plants from them when their nursery was called Reflections Gardens. It was a rather small affair with not much in the way of display gardens and when we first walked up to the selection of plants to buy it seemed uninspiring. But as we walked the few aisles of plants we first saw one cool plant and then another and pretty soon we had a car load heading home with us. They've been settled at Far Reaches for many years now and having perused their catalog I know there are many gems to find.

This thread, which I didn't catch the first time around, made me think. In general, I cook to eat and feed my family. However, I do enjoy baking for special occasions. I think that if I didn't work outside the home I would cook more...and be more adventurous. But, I work and have a long commute so by the time I get home I have to make fast meals with little time for creativity or major prep work. So, we eat a lot of frozen veggies--as is out of the bag, pre-cooked meats warmed up, pasta, soup, occasionally waffles/pancakes/eggs, potatoes, etc. I.e., for the most part things that I can cook fast. One up side to this is that our meals haven't changed that much w/o a kitchen since we do have a MW, Toaster Oven, and hot plate to cook with! One very big downside to this, though, is that my children are not learning to cook like I did from my mom. Back on topic... After finding this site and reading about zones, I realized that one thing that I really wanted was a baking center. So when my kitchen was being designed I had it in the back of my head that whatever we ended up with had to have an area I could designate my "Baking Zone", preferably near the ovens--with room to roll out dough, spread out cookie sheets, and have cookie cutters spread out all at the same time! The other thing I got from this site was our window...having the window down to the counter (OK, not cooking-related, but a very important design element!) Our very first plan that our KD came up with had input from us...but a very naive/ignorant us! (Before GW...BGW!) Then....I found this site.....and the changes began. Actually, I posted that original plan and asked for help (and also asked my KD to start over w/no island) Many, many people here helped me come up with a plan over several weeks (months?). We finally came up with a plan that has changed little since then. Interestingly, when I took away the island "must have", my KD came up with a plan very similar to what we came up with here. The only 3 differences were (1) no mini peninsula, (2) a 36" pantry cabinet rather than a corner pantry, and (3) no separate Message Center cabinets. My KD wasn't completely happy w/our differences, but she, wisely I thought, told me to go home and mock up what I wanted to see how it would work (same advice I got here!) Well, the mock up was great! It proved that I did indeed want the mini peninsula (I liked it so much I left the mock up in place until demo and used it!) When I told her the results, she didn't argue, she accepted it telling me it's my kitchen, so ultimately it's up to me. So in the end, my design was/is based on what I wanted, not what the KD wanted. [If only someone else had measured my kitchen and she was given more authority, I think a lot of subsequent problems would have been avoided.] Our kitchen isn't done yet, but it's close...so I can't yet tell you how it is going to work for us...but we are so...

I would like to see even more of the existing layout and how the different levels relate to each other ... to pool, 'down' to game room, 'up' to bedroom, to garage, etc. Is the pool on the same level as the existing kitchen ? Is it right by the house or across the yard ? Is there any type of patio, covered porch, or deck off of the back of the house now ? Where does the driveway run - do guests park by the front door and come in that way, or does driveway have them parking by the garage entry ? Do the stairs at the front door go up ? Up to what ? Where does the door go under the stairs at the end ? Also, what are the dimensions of your existing furniture and any appliances you will be re-using ? What about items you are planning to purchase ? I am concerned that you may not be allowing enough room for clearance around your breakfast table because I do not know it's dimensions. Take the size of your table and add a minimum of 36" on all 4 sides just to edge/slide past or scoot around seated diners. You need 44" on the sides to allow someone to walk past a seated diner. In other words, if your table is 42"x60" and you add 36" to each side, you need a minimum of 9'6"x11'0" totally clear area just to scoot around seated diners. I am thinking something totally different than the plans you have shown. To get you thinking outside the box . . . . How about if you carve a niche out of the existing LR for a more formal entry with walls and doorways so the first thing a guest sees when they walk in the home is not the mess in the kitchen. Use the current Piano room as the family room overlooking the pool area. Put the baby grand in the current dining room and the dining table where the butler is currently. The table will run long ways from the front of the house to the rear. Open this new baby grand/dining space up as much as possible into one long room or, even better IMO ... depending on the size of your dining table, move the wall a couple feet so that the new dining end is longer and the baby grand end is smaller and they are separated by a wall with a wide doorway or arched opening. If the new dining space was 11x15 or 11x16 instead of 11x13, you could easily have a dining table 4x7 that would seat 8 and have room to pass around the end of the table to the doorway into the new family room. I imagine the new baby grand room to house the piano and some limited seating. A much better view when a guest first walks into the house. : ) Where you currently have the living room, it will now be somewhat smaller because of losing space to the foyer. Use the old living space for a combination keeping room with breakfast, desk/homework, sitting room space. The remainder of the current living room along with the current kitchen/breakfast will be the new kitchen. In my experience, most people congregate around the kitchen at parties and gatherings. This layout would make the kitchen and keeping room one big space which would be a great area for entertaining. Between the new kitchen and the new dining room (old butlers) will be a wet bar and storage space similar to what you have shown on option B. Be sure to also carve out room for a coat closet, vacuum storage, toys storage, and a designated space where mail/bags/junk, etc can land very close to the garage entry (but be easily hidden by cabinet doors or something if someone comes over). Depending on the pool and patio location, it could be nice to turn the double windows at the end of the of the old butler/new dining into French doors opening onto the patio. It could also be very nice if this was opening to a covered Lanai or screened porch.

I agree with one of the above posters that holiday gatherings are often too hectic to be the best. I alway encourage a non holiday visit because there is not the intense focus on making it into something that it really is not, or making it the "most wonderful time of the year". Blech! I used to get so wrapped up in this nonsense that I, literally, made myself sick and I hated every minute of it. I stopped doing that and it was one of the best things that I have ever done for myself. Last holiday passed almost unnoticed by me and I can live with that. Lars, about the kids going to school.....it is not just the school year that has been disrupted, it is the entire infrastructure of the modern family and the community that they live in and the country that they live in. It amounts to a bit more than a sabbatical when so much shuts down. A sabbatical is usually a deliberate action taken for the benefit of who ever it is that is doing it. This situation is not that. People don't work ,business fails, families fall apart, people lose their homes, their careers and their resources. All of that has dire consequences. You know what is going on, I am sure. Children miss so much when they can't go to school...so very, very much!!!. I have one grandchild who is a senior this year, one going into the third grade and one who was to start kindergarten. For each of these kids it is missing out on all of the extra curricula that they fill their social lives and build their education and their peer group. Many are isolated in their homes and are missing socialization that the kids generally learn from their communities and close families. Their parents have been stretching themselves thin to do their best and to keep on working and bringing in a living. Parents never expected to be both teacher and bread earner and total care giver. That is not the pattern of modern family life. Like it or find fault with it, it is so. Everything has fallen out from under them, suddenly and without warning. It is so stressful, and devastating to many. There is no such thing as a sabbatical for an entire country and its economy and families. This is neither voluntary nor to the benefit of anyone. Your expressed views lead me to think that, perhaps, you are not raising children or grandchildren or supporting a family or investing in their future, as are so many others. I don't mean disrespect. That is just what it sounds like, to me.