The information you posted just tells me how much to plant per square foot, it doesn't tell me how many square feet are in my container. Regarding checking out a book on the New Square Foot Gardening book, I have done so in the past. All he really does is specify how many square feet are in his specific containers, not give a general guideline for how many square feet are in containers in general. Essentially all he does is give the dimensions and square footage for his planting system. Since I'm not using his planting boxes, but rather the method itself, this doesn't help me. Thank you for the information and for taking time out of your schedule to post it. Unfortunately I'm aggravated the information given wasn't the information I asked for and I still don't have my original question answered. I'm sorry if this comes off as rude; I'm not trying to instigate a fight. Telling me how much can be planted per square foot gives me good planting guidelines for container gardening, but this information is useless to me if I don't know how many square feet are in each of my containers. Somebody also told me that when it comes to volume (which they said can be applied to my containers) the formula for square footage can't be used with volume because the square footage formula is used for area, not volume. That formula is what ended up confusing me in the first place since it can't be used for volume, since square footage is used for area, not volume. Can you please just tell me how many square feet are in my containers like I asked for in the first place. I apologize if I come off as rude, but it gets extremely frustrating when I ask for specific information and people give me information that is helpful, but not what I asked for. This is the information that was given to me in regards to the square footage of my containers. Unfortunately they converted it using a formula I don't understand. If somebody could please give me clarification as to how they converted the dimensions of my containers from inches to what they gave below (from inches to feet) then I would appreciate it. This makes no sense to me; I'm really really bad with math, when I try to understand it, it just ends up confusing me. If people here are good with math fine. However don't assume that because you're good with math, it should be the strength of everybody else around you. Such is not the case with me. 19" div. by 12" = 1.58' and 14" div. by 12" = 1.16' 1.16' X 1.58' = 1.832 sq. feet. Call it almost 2 sq. feet. You can do the basic math on all of them but all your listed containers are 2 to 4 sq. feet. The last one on your list is 4.28 sq. feet.

we have 3 bedrooms aside from the master that measure 283, 254 and 215 sq. ft. the total sq. ft. is just over 3900. in my case, it is a vacation home (katrina replacement, nearly 18 months later and WE CANT WAIT!) that we are about to break ground on that needs to be able to sleep alot of people, personally i think if it is simply a normal living space without alot of guests in and out, the space is wasted above 200sq ft for 1 individuals non-master bedroom. IN actuality, my teens' bedrooms in our main home are only 150ish sq.ft. each and they have survived nicely. again, it is all personal preference, for us we like the communal space, but huge bedrooms can be very luxurious. GOOD FOR YOU, post pics when you get some. good luck to ya! building a house is such an exciting venture.

The *percentage* of house that is kitchen will vary depending on the size of the house -- and what you consider 'kitchen'. Our house 'lives' single-level -- for us. Finished stairs lead to a full-height attic that can become a second level with the addition of dormers -- for some future owner. Our 2900 sq ft home can become a 6000 sq ft home -- rooms over our finished space and over our attached garage. We built this way because our acre+ is zoned for the larger house, and most of the neighboring homes are at least that size. The 'working' portion of my kitchen is 320 sq ft. Within the room are also a desk and large buffet -- 'kitchen' becomes 370 sq ft. At one end is an eating area -- another 150 sq ft. Between kitchen and garage is a back hall -- 150 sq ft. Include what you will and get different percentages for the house as it is and as it may become. Texas_Gem -- In my area only above-ground HVAC-ed space is counted -- and taxed; no basements, finished or unfinished -- and no attics.

I hear you, mrs pete. How would you change the garage entry/exit not to be through the kitchen. My front door is on the edge of my kitchen right now and I really don't mind. I like that my husband walks right into what we're doing at the end of the day, and we kiss him goodbye as he finishes breakfast. I'm not worried about tracking in mess or dirt from the outside very much. So is there something I'm missing? We might brush shoulders? No big to me. In all seriousness, I'd choose another plan with a better traffic pattern. The problem is that the kitchen is a busy area, and in an ideal situation you'd avoid running traffic through it. Someone walks in while someone else is opening the oven -- an accident occurs. The back door's left open, and it prevents the cook from using the cabinets on the end. The kids hear Dad coming in and run into the kitchen, getting in your way as you cook. It's easy to imagine any number of reasons why you don't want your main entrance funneled through the kitchen. Pictures always help -- first, this is your plan and the red line is the traffic flow -- note that a person coming in through the casual entrance must thread his way through the kitchen, cutting off the cook from the refrigerator and interrupting the cook's work, and even if we're talking momentarily, it's an aggravation that you can avoid: Now, in contrast, here are three kitchens from your plan's "first cousins" -- I'm not saying you should love these kitchens; just look at how much better the traffic pattern is. Note that each of these plans has a casual entrance through the porch, coming by the kitchen, allowing for the same family interactions that you described above -- but in each case, the person entering the house skirts the action /walks by without interrupting /is on the edge of things. No interruption for the cook. Personally, I like the last one best. You caught my attention with fire hazard. I have lived with my washer and dryer this way for a long time now, and I've also lived with a laundry room on the opposite end of the house. I prefer the close by, compact laundry areas. Is it really a fire hazard not to be on the outer wall, though? That's certainly something to consider. Think through it: In an ideal world, your dryer would vent directly to the outside. The connection would be about a foot long and straight. Lint would scoot straight outside. On the other hand, if you have an interior dryer, it must be connected through a longer tube, which means more space for lint to become "hung up"; this means every time you use your dryer, more and more lint is piling up -- and if you don't have it cleaned out every year, that lint can catch a spark as the dryer runs, and it can set your house on fire. The longer tube costs more to install, and you may or may not be able to clean it out yourself. I'm hearing lots of "this is what I've always had" -- I'll echo what CP says: Why go to the trouble of building and moving if you're looking to have what you have now? And beware of confirmation bias. I think you're enamored of this plan; look at it with objective eyes. Breakfast areas are such a joke to me. Why in the world would I want two tables. That's pure opinion. No positive or negative to it. My husband and I are choosing a dining room and a breakfast room because we're planning a retirement home. We want a large space for frequent family dinners, but we don't like the idea of sitting in that big room at a big table with 3/4 of the chairs empty. It would feel unsettling and empty to us. Worse than that, the reality is that I'm younger and in better health than my husband. At some point, I'll be alone in this house, and I really don't want to sit alone in a big dining room to eat my meals.