Hmm... and the architects are either all busy doing their paid jobs or for some reason keep missing your dilemma. I've been thinking about it though. I should add that I'm not a pro, but I'm thinking that you could: - move your bathroom towards the front, - turn the office into bedroom 2 and - create an office next to the bathroom - kitchen next to the office - a long wall with wardrobes creating a corridor for the bedroom 2 & 3, the wardrobes on the bedrooms-side and on the living room side of the wall you'd have space for a TV - you could make both bedrooms smaller if you don't need wardrobe space in there. Something like the attached rough sketch:

Louie - pretty well I think. See my latest renditions below. I have been playing around with how to screen off that toilet/shower area from the living room. Not only would it be preferable to keep the toilet out of sight, but it would also be nice if people pop go down and up the stairs to visit the toilet or shower without having to do a short "walk-of-shame" past the potentially occupied living/dining room. I was thinking a of having a partially-drawn pair of curtains or perhaps one of those dangle-y "fly curtain" type things to disrupt the view a bit, but then I thought a set of swinging doors with tinted/diffuse glass in them, because: 1. You can charge in and out of this busy area by just pushing through the set of doors, and letting them swing back in to place behind you (like saloon doors) 2. The glass panes will still allow the person to see if anyone is on the other side, so they don't bowl them over. Will also let natural light in. Also means could do away with the laundry door perhaps, since it will be kind-of redundant (main purpose was to eliminate washing machine noise in the living area) 3. The doors also stop heat from the fireplace drifting up the stairs on cold winter nights when the fire is going. Not a crucial thing at all, but a nice additional benefit Thanks for sharing the floor plans - it's given me a much clearer picture of what you've done with that pole house...looks fantastic! brizcs - great point about the chair by the window, that's really struck a chord with me so I am toying with ways to do this. One idea I had is in the plan below: Rather than put a narrow table hard against the glass, maybe swing the kitchen table 90 degrees, make it longer, and have people sit along the south side looking out the windows most of the time. When it's night time or there are lots of guests or whatever just drag the chairs to the other side and you're back to the conventional set up. If a table where flush against the windows it would mean a lot of direct sunlight on its surface throughout the cooler months, due to the low angle of the sun (glare might become a problem?)

It is awkward and trying to work with the space we were given and the existing windows and on other info makes it very hard. But Houzz is a place to ask for ideas and I love to push the boundaries so that it makes you think about what just might be possible so that you don't end up with another same old same old space. I haven't noticed that Island benches are no longer desired..Anne is using a professional cabinet maker and was looking for inspiration/ideas for when she meets him/her. You might be surprised just how much experience some Houzzers have under their belts

Absunitha, I would love to know what you finally decided. I’ve just noticed you posted this last year. I actually love terracotta tiles. They are a funny fashion. I’m nearly 60 and have watch people embrace them with great enthusiasm, only to pull them all up a few years later, claiming they have no idea why they ever thought to use them. This is usually as people decide to wall to wall carpet everything and so the fashions change again. Tiles of any style are the most durable and easiest to clean. They add colour and texture. I also loved your very comfortably cushioned couch. I thought the blue complemented the the tiles well. I found a picture that proves this, that I’ll include. I also have a design for your living area that you may not have thought of, that would allow for a larger group to gather and watch sport, concerts, or non gender biased movies together. I based my measurements on approximates, by using your tiles as a rough guide.