First, I'm ONLY thinking about the porch right now. I have several other changes I'm making throughout the house, but right now I'm focused on the porch:

I don't think I like the big screen porch and the little covered /unscreened porch side-by-side.

I'm wondering about making the whole thing screened porch . . . and placing one door between the living and dining areas. Thoughts?

And since we'll have a pool and a hot tub, we'd do a small door from the master bedroom to the porch.

My thoughts:

- This allows for better seating in the living room. That is, the sofa could scoot all the way against the wall rather than leaving room for a walkway to the porch. TV will be placed to the right of the fireplace (in what is now a closet for the bedroom), so backing the sofa up to the wall would make for better viewing.

- Whereas the current plan means you have to go through the living room, turn to the porch, the turn again to reach the back yard, this new plan would allow us to have a "walkway through the middle of the porch . . . and have an outdoor table on one side, a seating area on the other.

- We are big grillers, and a more direct route when carrying plates of food would be welcome. The grill will NOT be inside the screen porch as shown.

- Negative: It does mean the roofline in the back will have to change. We are NOT doing the cathedral ceiling in the bedroom, so I'm wondering about the whole back being under one long, low gable ... instead of two peaks, as it shows now on the rear rendering.

Your thoughts?