I really like the old plan also. I don't see the entrance tho and don't know where the view will be (what room?).

Steph- I think the view is out the kitchen and the entrance is by the laundry. It looks like the garage is on the same side as the laundry, too.

Yes- I should have flipped that pic over. It's also a mirror image, due to a recent change. The garage is against the wall that the laundry is on. The entrance is on the left.

It's amazing how you can have trouble siting a small house on 7 acres! The slope is one problem, and the driveway. This is a flag lot, with the entrance way over on the west side of the property. Therefore, the front door should be on the west or south side. The garage has to go on the south due to the slope, which leaves the west for the entry.

Therein comes another problem. SC is a hot sunny climate. I'd much rather have the screen porch on the east, where it will be cooler in the afternoons. But how can I have the entry on the opposite side you drive in from? I thought about having a circular driveway, so you make a 180 degree turn back towards the house. I've also got another plan with the entry on the west, with a hallway to get you over to the east side and the living room. If I could put the garage someplace else, I could have the entry on the south, actually facing the street (which you can't see anyway).

My original plan was for big wrap-around porches all across the back. It would be great, but then the kitchen would get no direct sunlight, and it would somewhat interfere with the view out the back. I want sunlight streaming into my kitchen in the morning! I have a friend with a similar place only 1-1/2 miles from our place, and he has a porch off the back. You can't see the view from his house at all, but it's great on the porch. By placing my porch off the side, it still has a nice view, but doesn't block the view from the house.

Okay- One more plan. We'll call it Plan C, although it's more like Triple Z or something. It's the same cross gable house, basically. The living room is on the east side, as is the porch. The only tricky thing is getting someone from the front door (on the west side) to the living room. Here we have a hallway, going past a powder room and laundry area. It's kind of an odd spot for the laundry, but we don't do laundry when company visits, and it is fairly handy to the master closet. I picture a stained glass window on the wall by the laundry, so people coming in the door look down the hall to a pretty window.

The master bedroom entrance is kind of in the middle of a hallway, which seems odd at first, but it allows having the bathroom door on the side, which leaves me a TV wall in the bedroom. I also won't get the light in my eyes when my wife gets up to use the bathroom at O-dark-thirty. Another bonus is that the door doesn't take up any room in the bedroom proper.

I managed to fit in a fairly good-sized kitchen, and two sinks. The corner unit marked 'P' will be a pantry. I kept the nook, too.

Like most of my ideas, this plan has some quirks. People by the front door will probably think the door to the master closet is a coat closet- a very big one- LOL! We'd probably lock it if company was coming over. The powder room door and small coat closet by the stairs could have cute signs on them to prevent further confusion. I actually like houses that are unpredictable and a little funky. I can imagine friends visiting for the first time exploring the little house, with a different view around each corner. At this point, I think I'm close enough to call the outside walls a finished design, and still keep playing with the center section. You guys are great- any other comments?

Love the plan. My only question, did the living room shrink a bit? It looks bigger on the last plan.

Okay, so I have one more question (LOL) while I like the porch, could you put it on the other side of the living room, in the corner by the kitchen? I think it would be very nice to have a door from the kitchen out to the porch, too. Perfect for taking a glass of whatever out and enjoying the view, without walking through the living room to get there.

A nice, big, screened porch would be wonderful! Now, I'm living vicariously here, so please tell me you'll at least think about it :)

Good eye, lavender lass! Actually the living room and bedroom are both smaller; about the smallest I can go with this layout. It won't really cost me much to go a couple feet bigger, and it makes everything a lot easier. I just have to keep shrinking it to keep from getting carried away.

I see your point about the porch, and I'd love to have it off the kitchen, but then it will block the morning sun. On the other side, it would block the afternoon sun, but in turn, make the porch unbearable hot all summer. Also, the porch would spoil the view from the living room. The best viewing is in the winter when the leaves are off the trees. I envision sitting around a fireplace, glancing at a light snowfall with the mountains in the distance. That's why I stuck the porch on the side; that way, every room has a good view.

I'll most likely have a deck in between both the kitchen/living room, and kitchen/bedroom. I could put a door on the east side of the kitchen, in the dining area.

... but, all this talk of steep slopes and mountain views, something tells me this is NOT in Florida anymore... so it must be in _____ ?

Trying to imagine sun exposures... which way is true North on your plan?

Anyway, looks like a good "plan for living", and a worthy blow against McMansions, congrats.

While not a steep slope, it certainly isn't Florida! Our property is in the northwest corner of South Carolina, almost to the NC border. The kitchen faces about 15 degrees east of north.

How far are you from Greenville, SC? That's where my dad is from (well, Pelzer, actually) but it's a pretty part of the world. I haven't been there since I was 12, but I remember springtime being just beautiful :)

Decks are a great idea. Maybe the deck can stretch over to the porch...so you can easily get back and forth in nice weather. Also, I'd add those extra feet back on in the living room and bedroom. No reason to be cramped, when a few feet (hopefully) won't make a big difference, at this point.

Also, I remember seeing some beautiful smaller homes, in a magazine, in North Carolina, by the Smokey Mountains (not sure I spelled that right, but I remember they're amazing). Anyway, although the homes weren't large, they had big screened porches with fireplaces. It was so cozy and I thought perfect for fall!

We're exactly 15 miles north of Greenville. They've re-done the entire downtown area, and it's now a destination in and of itself. Very pedestrian-friendly with lots of interesting places to eat and shop. Our actual town is Travelers Rest, which is also enjoying a renovation of the downtown area- what little there is LOL!

A good-sized porch is a must in the southeast. I may put the fireplace (gotta have a fireplace!) on the end wall of the living room, with a fireplace on the porch as well, sharing the same chimney.

How exciting! Choosing your own floor plan.

Can you post pictures of your views. I'd love to see what you'll be looking at...

Oooh, that sounds nice! Two fireplaces...very cozy.

Ironically, my dad now lives in Florida. (LOL) I keep asking him, why doesn't he think about moving back to South Carolina? It's so much nicer in the summer (he's outside of Tampa) and he still has a lot of family living in SC.

Your home is going to be beautiful. I hope you'll post pics of your view :)

I don't have any really good pictures of the view. For some reason, they don't look the same as in person. A lot of trees need to come down for the house and septic field, so that will open things up quite a bit. I can't see cutting down 75 year old trees just so I can see the view, though. The first pic is our view, the second one is our 'driveway'. You can barely see my wife's car down at the road. The house will be another 75' or so further back. The last picture is what the mountains look like with nothing in the way. That's actually near the Wal-Mart parking lot. Our property is about 5 miles closer to the mountains than from where the picture was taken.

Jay, you will have a gorgeous view from any exposure.

Don't give yourself a headache moving stuff around, once you have the features you want flowing right. You can always moderate the heat with a pergola strategically placed around a window, making any plants growing on it either evergreen or deciduous. And I am a firm believer in clerestory windows which will let in a lot of light even on a northern exposure, maintain privacy (not your concern I bet), and keep the sun off the windows most of the time even on the west, since they are up high under the roof like your eyes when wearing a baseball cap.

Probably the placement of a deck/patio between the kitchen and the bedroom L would be nice and better if not western. But according to feng shui, a bedroom on the NW corner is appropriately set.

Like Fixizin, I too would like for you to place NORTH on each drawing. You keep moving the kitchen around, so saying it is NORTH, doesn't assure me I know which plan.

Some of your features can be added at a later date, not in the original construction. It might pay for you to wait on some of the exterior features. Don't become overwhelmed.

Saying a prayer for the quick departure from Florida with a bucket of cash from the sale of your great house there.

Thanks for the advice, ML. In all three floor plans, the kitchen is always facing north. Drawing 2 is upside-down; I really should have fixed that before I posted it. The software I'm using has nothing to do with house designing, and it's poorly suited for it.

The only major change is whether I put the living room on the east or on the west. I've read that bedrooms should be on the east, so you get the morning sun, but we are both such early risers, we never stay in bed until sunrise. We always get up when it's still dark out, even on weekends.

We love porches, and the outdoors in general. Our windows are wide open in weather between 50 and 80+. I see no problem grilling out in the rain, or in sub-freezing temperatures. That, and a great piece of property are what's driving the shape of the house. The house won't be visible from the road, and neighboring houses can barely be seen in the winter, and not at all when the leaves are on the trees.

Beautiful views! I know what you mean about it not looking the same in the pictures, as it does in person. I've tried to take pictures of my place, but it never captures as wide a view, as you see in person :)

I really like your final plan. I hope you get to start building soon. It sounds like a lot of fun!

Jay,

Glad to see you going back to something closer to your earlier plan. A couple of suggestions I have would be to put the w/d back in the master closet utilizing the under stair space and eliminate the door from foyer to master closet. You could then put your garage entry door where you had the utility room, giving you a straight shot to the hallway to the kitchen. It also helps with the too many doors in a small foyer and leaves room for a small guest closet next to the powder room.

Looking good and it is exciting that it is getting closer to reality.

Jill

Jay- How do you post your designs? I would like to post my kitchen/keeping room plan, but I don't have any software. I usually just draw it out on graph paper :)

I draw them at work on a program called Virtual Gibbs. It's a very expensive program for designing and machining precision parts, but not well-suited to house designing. It also costs $16,000! I do a line drawing, print it out, scan it, then download to photobucket, from where I can up load it here.

I have a couple home design programs, such as Google Sketch-up, and Total 3D Home and Landscape, but it always seems like there's ONE little thing I can't get them to do, so I get frustrated and give up.

I spend a LOT of time with the good 'ole graph paper and pencil! Once I get close to a plan I like, I build a model to 1:24 scale out of foamboard from the craft store. I bought 1:24 scale dollhouse furniture on ebay so I can 'play house' and get a 3D visualization. Yes- my wife thinks I'm nuts LOL!

LOL Jay,"I spend a LOT of time with the good 'ole graph paper and pencil! Once I get close to a plan I like, I build a model to 1:24 scale out of foamboard from the craft store. I bought 1:24 scale dollhouse furniture on ebay so I can 'play house' and get a 3D visualization. Yes- my wife thinks I'm nuts LOL!"

My DH would love this. Save his back and mine not to mention fun. I never thought to do this. Much better than paper furniture cut from graph paper.

Chris

Jay- That's cool! My mom would love something like that :)

Maybe I can just scan the graph paper and then upload it to Photobucket? It's worth a try, if I can remember how to scan! LOL

Well- I'm off to SC for a week+! I should be coming home with permits in hand. Luckily, they don't review your plans there, so I can still make changes. I'll report back the 25th- wish me luck!

Jay

Good LUCK Jay. Only one little suggestion is pocket door if possible in master bath.Have fun. I would give you a permit here in a heart beat. Looks good to me. But I am not building inspector.

Sending you good thoughts and Good Luck wishes, Jay!

Well- we're back. No permit in hand, but that was my decision, not theirs. We met with a builder, and hopefully we can afford to have him build the shell. That will save a lot of time, and wear and tear on my old body. As it turns out, we have a lot of decisions yet to make, and we want to be sure of everything before we get our permits. This is to be our last great adventure- no point in making rash decisions!

We did meet with the building department, and they OK'd everything we want to do, so it's simply a matter of completing the paperwork.

To be continued........

Jay, you are so right. No point in blundering onward when you now have the chance to scope everything out. Things such as prevailing winds in the winter/summer. Will you be having a septic system or municipal sewage? Well water or otherwise?
And will you be using any wind power or solar power with panels on your roof?

Watching HGTV last night, HOUSE HUNTERS, somebody was looking at a house which had solar panels on the roof and it halved the heating oil bill for the year. Solar panels is something I want to heat water also. And have them hooked to a storage battery for outdoor lighting.

Glad to hear things are moving forward.

A lot has happened since my last post, and it's been kind of a roller coaster. We got a quote on the shell from the builder we met with, and it was WAY more than we can afford. He builds with ICF, which is far superior to anything else I know of, so I figured it would be high. He did a very detailed quote, so I can see where all the money goes, and I don't feel like he was over-priced; it just adds up to a lot of money.

I spent a week or so moping around, thoroughly depressed. I wrote back to him, explaining my financial position. I said that I'd probably have to DIY much of it, but that I would like to find someone to pour the concrete if I put up my own ICF. Of course, I would also need the excavation and footings done. He wrote back that I can do as much or as little as I want, and he'll do the rest. If I want to place my own ICF, and just hire him to pour the concrete, that's fine with him. He also said that if I buy my own materials, it will be cheaper, because he marks up all materials.

So it looks like it will be doable after all! I should be able to cut the price of the shell in half with my sweat equity, and still have a pro handling the tricky stuff. I like this guy! IF you're not familiar with it, ICF is Insulated Concrete Forms. They stack up like giant foam Lego blocks, then re-bar and concrete is put inside, so you end up with a continuous reinforced concrete wall encased in styrofoam. It's literally bomb-proof, and about R-30 insulation.

I did some crude Sketch-up renderings to get a feel for what it will look like. The first pic is looking at the front door and garage. The second shot is from the opposite corner, showing the covered porch, and the dining nook off the kitchen. I got a little carried away with windows; I think I need to cut back a little! I'm not very good with Sketch-up, but you get the idea.

Looks great Jay. I think windows could be a bit smaller on the one long wall in the kitchen. I had a kitchen with no wall for my china cabinet or anything for that matter and it was frustrating to fit kitchen furniture in. Or maybe make it a shorter window leaving wall space under it. Seems I remember lots of wonderful kitchen pieces you have.

Loving your drawings. Your house is going to be great. There is a house close to us built with the foam blocks filled with cement and rebar.

Hey Jay. Great to hear that your contractor is willing to work with you to make the house doable.

I will refer back to your earlier floor plan where there is a set of stairs going up? What are your plans for UP?

I ask this because you show a difference in the height of roof for the garage. I have a question about making the garage the same height roofline as the rest of the house, so that one day that space might be expanded, or else have full height storage up there.

Also eith your dining nook, would it be possible to put a skylight in that shed roof maybe in the future? I'm also thinking that with your screened porch (not a 4 season room, correct?) You might add a skylight on the northern side of the roof to gain true and year round light into the kitchen.

Is your roof going to be a metal standing seam surface? I get that feeling, but then it is possibly just the software program you are using.

Love it. Cannot wait to actually have you break ground for the construction. Take PICTURES OF THE FIRST DAY...you know, LAYING OUT THE STAKES AND THE LINES, TURNING THE FIRST SHOVELFUL.... it will be a memorable event.

The stairs go down to the basement, not up. I've toyed with having a second floor, and I like the way it looks, but it's just not in the budget. We want all of our needs to be met on one floor for our old age. The basement will be used as extra space, both living and storage. Due to our hill side, a basement makes the most sense. I am going to use attic trusses, so theoretically we could make a small room in the attic, but it would be pretty small.

The screened porch is off of the living room, not the kitchen. I think the LR will have enough light, but we'll see. The roofing will be metal, likely standing seam.

The garage roof is shown lower because the garage will likely be lower, possibly a couple feet. There isn't quite enough slope in the ground to fully bury the basement, so the house will probably sit a little high. The garage will of course be on ground level, so there could be quite a difference in height. I could simply extend the roof of the house over the garage, but it might look funny, since the garage would in effect be much taller. I'll make that decision when the excavation is done so I can visualize just what I'm working with. Sinking the house in deeper would require more site work, and probably retaining walls to keep it all in place- something I'm trying to avoid.

I'll definitely cut down the number of windows. On the east wall of the kitchen, we'll put our small table and chairs, so I'd like a window or two there to catch the morning sun. The pair shown is too close to the floor, though. The living room could certainly have less; I'll probably make the double windows into singles.

These sketches are based on the last floor plan on posted, on October 6. The only change is to swap the place of the powder room and the laundry. I think it's an interesting and unique layout, with the major rooms having windows on 3 sides. I hope it 'lives' as good as it looks!

Jay, I realize that the screened porch is off the LR and it is shown to be like an open covered carport?

The one I meant to have a skylight was the shed-roofed little bumpout which I thought would be your "nook."

I gotcha about the difference in levels of the garage and the main house. If it is much of a difference, you might find it appropriate to select a place for a RAMP. I would think of it some place not obvious from the front entry. If you allow for that now, it will be easier to add it later on. Making very low rise steps now will also be a great idea.

My brother had two knee replacements, and he has a house on "stilts" out over a bayou in Louisiana. When we visited after he replaced the steps lost during Katrina, I was very impressed with what he had built. VERY low rise, easy going steps with a broad flat area, good metal pipe/tubing as a grab rail (fabricated from the aluminum outrigger found from a derelict shrimp boat somewhere), and wide enough to move furniture up/down as well. Your steps would not have to be that far above the ground, but bad knees would appreciate the easy accessability.

Our lot is sloping and we kind of terraced it with house on one, upper, level and garage on the lower level. The house is regular house height but the garage has 14 foot walls.

From the highway a ways off you can see both ends of house and shop and they look to be the same height. Well the roof lines look like they are the same. You can not see from the highway the garage is 5 foot or so lower then the house. WWWAAAHHH I am not awake enough to post this maybe.

Jay- Love the plan and that you're going to be able to afford it! I've seen the ICF system on TV and it seems to work very well :)

Just a few observations, since I just went through this with my mom. If this is your retirement home, think a lot about whether you really want a basement for storage, or the stairs from the garage to the house. These can both become issues, especially if either of you have any mobility problems, down the road.

While I really like your layout, with all the windows, would there be room to build it all on one floor? Maybe build a bigger garage, for storage...and use the area for the stairs for storage, too?

If you could figure out a space for a second bedroom...and turn the powder room into a full bath...you would have space for a den/guest room and may not even need the basement.

Again, just a thought, so if it's not for you, please disregard :)

Due to the lay of the land, the basement is nearly a given. To accommodate the slope, we would either have a crawl space nearly as tall (and expensive) as a basement, or we would build on stilts- something I have considered. The basement is very cheap square footage, and we can put a bedroom and bathroom down there for guests (grandchildren??) Meanwhile, we won't have to heat it unless we're actually using it. I also like the idea of being able to install and maintain the house's various utilities and mechanical systems in the relative comfort of a basement, rather than crawling in the dirt. The hot water heater and A/C/heat system will also reside in the basement. A basement in SC is a very moderate temperature year-round; easy to heat and cool. I have a friend a couple miles away, and his basement ranges from 55 to 75, year-round.

As for stairs and ramps- The front door will probably be a couple steps up as well. It would be easy to build a ramp from the front stoop to the driveway, though, and I could also build a ramp inside the garage if it should prove necessary. There will be stairs from the porch down to the back yard so I can access my various outdoor cooking equipment. The back of the basement will be a walk-out, so I can always drive a vehicle around back to move heavy objects (including people) in and out of the basement. We originally thought about having the garage around back at basement level, but then you would have to climb the stairs every time.

The garage is intentionally small- one car only- my wife's. I don't want a lot of other stuff in there, preferably nothing. We will have a good-sized barn (bigger than the house, actually) for storage and yard equipment. I'm HOPING to get rid of a lot of our 'stuff' with this move, and I find as I've gotten older, the urge to collect 'stuff' is fading. We should have plenty of room for the things we need. I'm still tempted to build a VERY small house, and learn to be happy with it. Depending upon finances, that just might happen!

I love the observations and suggestions! Although I've put a lot of thought into this, it's always wise to get differing viewpoints, and I appreciate them.

You have a barn! Well, that a horse of a different color. LOL You'll have plenty of storage and you won't have to climb stairs :)

The basement makes sense, especially with your situation. It will be cooler in the summer and the fact that you have it open on one side, will make things a lot brighter, too.

I know you love your little kitchen nook, but did you get a price on the bump out? Is it very much more, or will your DIY make up the difference?

You know, a downstairs bedroom suite could make a lot of sense. You'd have plenty of storage and it would be a lot cooler, in the summer. When it's really hot, you could always spend the summer downstairs...kind of like being on vacation :)

Jay, when you say you might just have to build a VERY small house, what do you mean? More of a great room concept? I really like your cross-gable plan, but the light and airy feeling seems to be what you're trying to achieve, most. If that's true, eliminating too many windows is going to jeopardize that. It might not be a bad idea to have a few back up plans, just in case the prices get too expensive. (Been there, done that! LOL)

One other thing, if all you're putting in the garage is one car...and no storage...have you thought about a carport? Would that save any money?

I really like the changes to you kitchen, on the kitchen forum. If they work out, it not only gives you so much more light, but might trim a little cost off the house, too! Congrats :)

Thanks, LL. We're getting there, inch by inch. As for the garage- my wife wants an enclosed garage, attached to the house. SC gets it's share of yucky weather, we're in the middle of the woods, with all kinds of critters, including coyote and bears, and the world is a crazy place, with crazy people. We'll both feel more secure with an enclosed garage.

I agree with her, especially about the bears! We have coyotes and deer, but no bears, thankfully :)

Just wondered if that last floor plan is your final version. Did you save the changes you made on the kitchen forum? Can you post your updated plan?

I really like the porch off the living room. Are you still thinking about putting in the fireplace?

I'm working on a finalized drawing for the whole house- maybe I'll post it tonight. Instead of the dining nook, I added a window seat on the east side of the kitchen. This could be used to seat people on one side of the kitchen table, or as a nice place to curl up with a cup of coffee. I can see me fighting the cat for a spot on a sunny morning LOL! The window seat will be 2' deep, and not part of the roof support, so I can just cantilever the floor beams out to support it. This will make it simpler and cheaper. Under the seat could be a good storage spot, too.

We WILL have a fireplace or wood-burning stove! With 7 acres of firewood, it's a given, plus my wife wants a fireplace more than anything else. I'm planning to put it on the wall between the living room and porch, so there is the potential to have a fireplace on the porch as well, sharing the same chimney. SC has a lot of in-between weather where it is nice to sit outside, but have something to take the chill off.

Jay- I love your window seat idea! That's going to be wonderful :)

So glad you're going to have the fireplace...and one on the screened porch, too. Sounds perfect! Can't wait to see your final plan.

Okay- Here's the latest design. No real radical changes. I got rid of the dining nook, and replaced it with a more usable dining area with a window seat. A couple people could sit on the window seat with the table over there, or it could just be a place to lounge in the morning sun.

I didn't put in a lot of details. There will be a fireplace on the wall between the parlor and the porch. If I can, I'll have inside and outside fireplaces off of the same chimney. There is a door from the foyer into the master closet. Although it seems odd, it offers quick access to the laundry from the MBR, and is another form of egress in case of emergency. The counters on the refrigerator wall are 30" deep. The unit to the right of the fridge is a full height pantry, also 30" deep.

I do have some concerns with the design, since it so much different than a 'normal' house.

Are there too many windows? (17)
Where would I put bookshelves? We have an entire wall of books.
Where would I set up a computer workstation?
Where would we watch TV?

My thought is to fix up the basement, and use it as a family room while we're still able to navigate the stairs. I won't hurt me to have to climb stairs after watching TV! If we ever become incapacitated, we won't much care if the TV is plopped in the middle of the parlor.

Everything else is universal design, with 3' doorways in most places, and adequate room to maneuver a wheelchair, should the need ever arise.

Is it just me, or has photobucket gotten a LOT harder to use?

Jay- I really like the plan. The kitchen window seat is so inviting!

Since you have a basement for bookcases and TV room, what about a flat screen, above the fireplace? Perfect place to watch an evening movie or show, when it's too dark to enjoy the view, outdoors :)

The door to the master closet makes sense, especially as an egress. Also, a quick place to stash your coats, if you decide to hang a few in your closet.

If you decide you need more bookcase space, upstairs, have you thought of higher windows (with room for shelves underneath) on the south side of the living room and bedroom...or even window seats, with shelving on both sides? Just a few possibilties...if you don't want to go to the basement, for a book.

However, if you have your library down there, that would be nice, too :)

This might be a hit and run post having computer problems on and off.

Jay we have lots of windows in the living kitchen dinning area of our house too. We ended up putting TV in front between two windows. Was not as bad as I was afraid it would be.

We also had to put our chairs in front of windows again not as bad as I expected. The biggest thing is you need enough room in the room to be able to not have to push the furniture right against the windows.

I am sure I have posted these pictures before but it might help with your window issues. The chairs in front of the window is the very last picture of the album.

Maybe if your windows are high enough off the floor you could do a wall to wall bookcase under them?? I had to get rid of lots and lots of books when we moved here. I found I did not have room for them. We have a good library in town. I took it down from about 24 foot long book shelf to about 6 foot of books and I am fine with that.Was kind of hard to do but I have not missed any of the books.

I do not think your plan is out of line at all. Love your kitchen. I like it much better with out the eating nook.

Here is a link that might be useful: TV in front of window

The problem I have with books is that they always seem to be dusty, and the shelves tend to get cluttered and disorganized. My collection of books isn't likely to be found at even a big library; I have a lot of technical books about things that interest me, plus obscure first editions and the like. I suppose I could store most of them in the bedroom. The bed will be between the two windows, with a small dresser and TV directly opposite, on the bathroom wall (that's one of the reasons why the bathroom door is around the corner). I could make built-ins on the section of wall, and put our smallish bedroom TV in the built-ins. Today's TV's are so slim, it would fit on a standard bookshelf.

I've thought about putting a TV over the fireplace. There was a thread somewhere on GW about that, and some of them were beautiful, with attractive doors covering the set, or even a painting that slipped out of the way at the push of a button. I'm going to go to great pains to make this a vintage cottage, and there's nothing like a big ol' TV to spoil the impression.

There's also enough room in the dining part of the kitchen to hang a 22" TV in the corner between the window seat and the north wall. That way, we can sit at the table (not shown) in the morning while we have our coffee and read the paper. We both get up WAY before Mother nature, so there won't be anything to see outside the windows. We have a bad habit of carrying our dinner into our current den to watch TV while we eat dinner. This way, we could continue the bad habit without having to leave the kitchen LOL!

That just leaves a computer station. I'm going to switch over to a laptop soon, so I can use it anywhere, but there needs to be a spot for the printer, router, etc. I don't want the computer in the parlor, because it would interfere with a TV watcher, or vice versa. Same goes for the BR, since we often go to bed at different times. I guess I'd set up the peripherals in the basement, and use the laptop in the kitchen much of the time. Our current computer is just as close to the kitchen, and it doesn't cause a problem.

If you have space in the basement, I think a library/office area would be a great idea...even if it's just an alcove off the family room. A place for your books, your printer, your other "stuff" that doesn't fit anywhere else.

I love alcoves and it's the perfect place for not a lot of windows, but lots of mood and task lighting. Maybe a leather chair or two? Could be very masculine, yet still cozy :)

I have my printer and other odd ball computer things in my studio. We are wireless within the house and even the printer can go wireless but I did not bother with that. I just carry the laptop into the room and hook the USB hub into it and print. No big deal to do so.

Our internet came with wireless modem and most newer laptops have wireless built in. I can not tell you how much this wireless in the house has changed the way we live with our computers. It is wonderful. We each have our laptops on the table between us in the living room and use the lap tops in our laps.I use an old silver try for my lap top tray.:^) If you have good batteries you can go out to your porch or into the kitchen or wherever you choose.

I also use a set of head phones if I am going to listen to something on the internet so I do not disturb my DH.

In that big drawer below the printer is a file drawer. All my paper and envelopes and whatever I need is in that drawer. The stand is about 19 by 24 by 26 high.

LOL Printer is hiding under that bit of lace. The other little drawer table holds a burner my calculator and a couple more laptops.I know I NEED to purge these old machines. I just can not get myself to toss them.

So you see this little printer stand or something you might already have to use can be tucked anywhere in your house you have an electrical outlet to plug in. That cord on the table goes to the USB hub and all peripherals are hooked to that. Since we have older lap tops not all have the built in burners so there is an external burner below.

It took me some time to get away from a "desk". I use this table more for working on my mosaics or other projects.

Here is a link that might be useful: Computer station

Jay, love your plan, and especially the window seat.

One question about putting the router in the basement concerns what will happen when you are up on the porch one day using that new laptop. It would really be most advantageous to go wireless. And if you can possibly put your router off one of those TVs, upstairs, maybe the one in the kitchen? then you can with all the windows have a clear shot at the signal.

The walls of your house, will they be the ICF with cement and rebar? Or is that simply your basement and foundation?
I know we have problems with line of sight signal on our wireless router, which is the Linksys N dual system. I've not purchased a booster which connects to the USB port on the laptop, so I can go outdoors with it.

And Shades has the right idea about the printer. I have an All-in-one which could do faxes if I hooked up the phone, but mostly I use it for scanning old photos until I get rid of those old things. Instead of connecting my DH's laptop to this printer, I bought him a "portable" thingy which he keeps near his small desk in an upstairs bedroom here in MA. I don't know where he will locate his computer in AL, since I've moved furniture around....again...and we might need to rethink his setup.

BTW, will you be on a satellite system for TV? And how do you plan to get to the Internet?

The walls might be ICF, in which case, a signal would have a tough time getting through. I don't know that I would want to use the computer on the porch, though. I'm out there to enjoy nature and fresh air, not ignore it!

Not sure yet on TV and cable. The only provider is Charter, and the locals seem to hate it. My friend nearby uses an antenna for TV, and DSL for internet access. He works out of his house, so he has to have good fast service. A TV antenna would work well, since we are only 10 miles from the mountain that the regional antenna farm is on, and I can see it from our property.

You know, these days I cannot figure out how someone manages without cable because of the digital and HD signals. It is a fortunate thing that we are in the city and have TV, Internet, and phone service through Comcast.

I do believe that Consumer Reports (or Consumer Digest) rated various cable companies if you want to check the results. We have been satisfied with our service so far. And I still keep ATT for the cell phone in case the system goes down. I think it is an American tradition to hate the phone company, and that's transferred to the cable company in recent years. I personally love to hate AOL~~~and they deserve it too. :)