I actually like the layouts. Friends of ours have a second home where from the front, it looks like yours - long porch with entrance to the house and the MBR set back with French doors to the porch on the left side. That part of the porch is hardly ever used, and when they're having guests and someone might use it, they just close the drapes to the MBR. Their porch is continuous all around the house. As for the master bath and closet,a I always thought having the entrance to the closet from the at broom made no sense...until I lived in a condo that had it set up that way and I loved it - it was very convenient to go right tp from the shower to the vanity to the closet and back to the vanity. I would personally eliminate the door from the master bath to the laundry, but I also don't see it as a problem if you think it would be useful. Re the coat closet, you might consider moving the powder room to where the vacuum closet is now, and put the coat closet where the powder room is and the broom closet where the coat closet was.

It keeps asking me to sigh in...I don't have a Yahoo Account (and don't want one). I think you will be better off posting the picture in the Message than a link. Besides, you usually get more responses if people don't have to go searching for your layout! If you don't know how to post a picture in your post, check the "Read Me" thread (linked below). Scroll down to the post with the subject "Posting Pictures". You're also probably not receiving emails of follow-up postings, even though you checked the box requesting them. This is b/c you don't have the email option turned on in your profile. See the "Read Me" thread for more information about this as well. See the post w/the subject "Getting Emails Sent To You...3-step Process". Here is a link that might be useful: Read Me If You're New To GW Kitchens!

Hi lascatx! The piano does not fit between the windows or on the opposite wall unless I angle it in the corner which someone mentioned was a no-no for upright pianos. I'm wondering if art and lamp above/on the piano could help with the "all one height along the wall" problem. And then I could move the existing art to the back wall where the mirror is in these pics. The bookcase has been in our foyer right outside this door to this room. I kind of miss it there, so I may move it back. It's not really any farther away if I use it for storage for office items - I haven't been sold on it between the windows and that would be one less piece of brown furniture in here. I definitely gravitate towards blues, so I'd definitely be open to that on the walls...finding the right color is the hard part. The current color is Benjamin Moore November Rain and it isn't terrible in person, but I figured I should explore other options since it needs a fresh coat.

Your original kitchen plan is VERY similar to my current kitchen. Except that our fridge is next to the pantry door, and we have wall oven/microwave where you have the fridge now. And our island is a little longer -- matches same size as its opposite wall, not counting pantry door. Our place (a condo) had no space for an L with island, so our options were more limited. I like having the sink in the island opposite the cooktop because it allows me to face the views/ windows and socialize with those in the living area while i'm prepping/cleaning up. It is true that it can get messy (sink splash) behind the sink, and for that reason we only have 4 stools, two on either side of the sink. But I love having the pantry and fridge together, as it makes pulling together ingredients for a meal easy. Your plan would frustrate me as it would seem you'd have to walk to the pantry... walk all the way to the other side to the fridge... If you move the sink to the L part then it seems a long long way to the fridge. Imagine getting out some veggies from the fridge, walking them ALL the way over to the sink to wash them, then to the island to prep them while you chat with family on the stools. Now it's clean-up time and you've packed away leftovers at the sink / garbage can, but have to walk ALL the way over to the fridge to put them away.... I'm going to also say that our kitchen works because we have ample walk-in pantry space (coffee station and cleaning supplies live in there too) AND also have floor-to-ceiling built-ins along the DR wall for entertaining items, china, tablecloths, seasonal stuff too. Overall I love our kitchen layout as it's tight and super efficient. I don't get a work out making a meal as everything is close by. Making pasta? I fill the pot at the sink, turn around, walk two steps, and put it on the cooktop. Draining the pasta? It's reverse. I prep on the side of the right side of the island across from the fridge/pantry. I pull out hot oven trays and leave them to cool on the left side. I have less comments on the master bath/closet as I dislike double sinks and toilet closets. I would prefer more closet space and less bath space, but that's me. Master closet: you may be different than us, but it was #1 priority for us to have separate closets, having had to share for years. Mine is a walk-in his is a built-in along one wall. You could possibly do a built-in across from the bed and have a space for a t.v. if you want a t.v. in the bedroom. Laundry wise, think about noise, if you do laundry at night. Linen closets are awesome, but you do seem to have enough space in the baths for towels in drawers, and the laundry is generous and not far away. Just think about non-linen items like extra TP, toiletries, maybe cleaning supplies, etc you generally store in the linen closet now (if you do). Where are your cleaning supplies going to go? Vacuum? Mop and other tall/ bulky cleaning tools? We have a very small entry but it works; but it does have a closet. We don't use our DR table all that often so we were fine making the trade-off for a larger kitchen/ smaller DR (in fact we swapped the two spaces in our reno). The space is probably below standards for clearance but we put in comfy DR chairs and mood lighting, and nobody complains.