3rd Meeting with the Builder

March 22, 2010

Off we go to his office for the big design reveal.

I like it.

We made a few tiny tweaks... like putting a tub/shower combo in the master bath and making a smaller single sink in there. I love the walk-in shower but..... if we don't have the budget to finish out the bathroom in the basement we will have NO TUB. All the little ones CAN shower but they like the tub. Also.... if I want a nice relaxing bath do I really want to (in 10-15 years) go down into stinky teenage land to do it? No. I want to be in my clean and relaxing master bath with an aromatherapy candle and a glass of red and my husband in the next room sprinkling rose petals on the bed.

Also.... closet space for the mud room. He's re-working things to build a closet into the stair-header space with a door behind the mud room door. Does that make any sense?

So, to explain the scan....

1. On the left is the outline of the part of the house that will remain. The outline is the house itself and the porch. The addition will line up with the existing opening between the kitchen and living room.

2. The door will be in the mudroom between the built-in bench and the utility sink. (There are no exterior doors or windows in this rendering for some reason...)

3. There will also be an exterior door (budget-willing) directly into the basement... for messy people and extra storage of outdoor gear. (A lot like how my mom's house works.... shitty boots go in the downstairs door and guests go in the mid-level door.)

4. The pantry is 5.5x5ft. Heaven.

5. The bedroom (for those of you in the know) is about a foot smaller than mom and dad's at the farm.

6. The dining space is about the same dimention as the current living room space (if you include the under-the-stairs space) so we can swap those areas if we want.... I'm thinking it would be nice to have the living area closer to the kitchen and to buffer the three bedrooms from the noise of the tv. (Although seeing those little jammie-clad bodies lined up like logs on the stairs sneaking tv viewing is kinda cute...) So that is something else.

7. The closets strike me as insanely large but I can console myself by storing all the table linens and the vacuum cleaner in there. And the little one has already been dubbed "The Man Cave" and will be Hot's primary storage spot. I look forward to closing that door. Also... those hallway doors will NOT be mirrored.... let us just be clear on that (shuddering... remembering the apartment at CamelToe Hump.....)

8. I fear I've already filled the pantry. I just keep thinking of more and more things to store in there. Of course an entire shelf will be dedicated to pet treats.

9. Thinking of asking about changing the shape of the island. More on that later. Also maybe a central vac.

10. Still planning some sort of retro-fit heating system so the baseboards in the remaining house will go away. The giant walled in chimney/cookstove/dead body will remain. Much sadness. But at least maybe the demo will allow us to see what it looks like... could be a cool brick wall feature or something. Curious minds want to know. Also wonder what is under kitchen flooring. Hoping for good wood under living room (existing) that we can keep.... but that's all for later.

Next up is the basement design (He's designing it even though we can't afford to finish it now). Then will come the picking of the stuff and the packing of demo rooms.