We put in more than the required amount of outlets. There is at least one circuit per room for its outlets (the lights for the various rooms are shared across a few circuits). We added switch-controlled outlets in the bedrooms and living room (although we have ceiling lights anyway), ran an extra wire to every ceiling box in case a ceiling fan is installed down the road (to separately switch the fan and lights), and used multi-location dimmers just about everywhere. We supplemented our exterior lighting with floodlights and added a few exterior-mounted weatherproof junction boxes so we can add hardwired landscape lighting later. Don't scrimp on the exterior outlets, consider adding some under the eaves (on a switch) for Christmas lighting. Run extra circuits for these. Also, check out http://www.sillites.com/ if you like candles in your windows. Consider, if you'd like, having a photocell added to the north side of your house to have the exterior lights turn on and off at dusk and dawn. We forgot to do this and I always forget to turn off the exterior lights. In our bathrooms we have separately switched wall and ceiling lighting. The sconces on either side of the bathroom mirror are best for getting ready. We added recessed receptacles where our flat screen TVs will be mounted. We also added piping in the walls to pull our own data wiring (cable, phone, ethernet, HDMI, etc). Consider, as some have mentioned above, using double-gang boxes for some of your receptacles, especially on either side of the beds and where TVs, etc, will go in bedrooms. Where we have furniture to hold electronic equipment we've used triple-gang boxes. One thing I would stress is be generous with your circuits. I did all of our wiring here (passed final inspection too!) and I don't think there are more than seven receptacles on any single circuit (but that's just me).

We had a Jotul DV gas insert installed into our prefab fireplace a few months ago. Some impressions that might be useful to you: They start heating gradually and after a little while start to feel like a blast furnace. But it's radiant heat, so that the farther you are from the source the less heat you feel. Therefore, a means of circulating the air in the room is a good idea. We have an old fashioned Hunter ceiling fan that we've owned for over 20 years, and it's still going strong. The nice thing about this fan is that you can "twist" the position of the paddles so that instead of blowing air down, which you want in warm weather, it blows air up. That produces a gentle circulation of air throughout the room and evens out the temperature. The other thing you should definitely consider is to get a remote control thermostat. I think the remotes are better than the ones you install in the wall, because you never know in advance the best position for the remote that will give you the best result. Finally, because of a disappointing experience we have had with the installation of our insert (we're still waiting for a final piece that, fortunately, only affects appearance, not operation or safety), I think it's very, very important to select an installer who can independently demonstrate that he knows everything he needs to know about the fireplace you select. If a GC has expressed doubts about a particular fireplace that you like, it's probably because he doesn't know it and is not sure he can do it. Our insert was a really complicated installation that took over a day. A whole fireplace is likely to be even more demanding. Good luck with your selection.

Thanks goastros! The trees aren't included in the quote but the planters are and so is the fire pit. We met with a few companies but decided to go with Grand Isle Pools. We've been to quite a few of their pools in the area and a couple have been built in our neighborhood by him and all of them are very nice and the owners are all happy. Also we just gelled really well with them and they understood what we wanted and were trying to achieve. A couple of the companies I had come round, which I won't name, were very set on building their idea of the pool not ours which isn't what you want when you're dropping significant sums on a pool. My wife actually knows the owners of Perry pools and I hear they do good work. Have you got any further with your plans? I have one last thing to sort out on the finances which will probably take 1-2 weeks now and then we're all set to start the process! I'll drop a few of the specs in here too: It's 38'x24' free form approx. 25,000 gallons 3.5' - 7' depth 8.5 ton moss rock waterfall with gunite slide 1350 sqft stamped overlay decking (1100 sqft new decking, 250sqft overlay on existing decking). This post was edited by cbink on Thu, Jun 20, 13 at 17:55

I like some your renderings on the right track with the framing ideas Palimp temp fix is lovely - again I'll echo what others have said about fireproof material within certain distances of firebox - likely 6'-12" depending on which plane. The difference with Palimps thought is the proportions and her firebox is seated closer to the floor grounding it. Emma's is a much larger wall expanse with smaller firebox & more free floating - the challenges are, making it a focal point without making it morph into the wall/design that is why I think framing it works - also, I don't know that a mantle is suited here due to the ,what appears to be high traffic area & something protruding from that height may be awkward Of all i like th 15:25 post frame in frame idea - 2nd pic I think a chunky frame right on the opening is in order to beef up the actual firebox - try that sans the tile above mantle - I would try that rendering with the "internal" frame a darker variant helping to ground HTH