Miranda You appear to be making all the right choices in life. I will be a little bit presumptuous by offering some advice on helping you to raise your child in touch with nature in this age full of all the electronic lures that keep the kids indoors. or, when outdoors, glued to a small screen, rather than the glory that surrounds them. I am writing a book about landscape architecture and have a section regarding the importance of embracing nature in the preschool years. - which I would like to forward that section to you. However, my computer skills are limited to email and US Mail. I don't even know how to attach a picture to the text. If you would like to receive this draft from my future book, send me your email or postal address, and I'll get it right off to you. My email is cascio.offsite@gmail.com Good luck with your new challenges and opportunities. Joe Cascio

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?)

Your mockup scheme is similar to our master bathroom we just completed - photo below. I know you mentioned storage being a concern - our mirrored cabinet has offered an amazing amount of storage in a very small space and also helps bounce light around. I was worried about black taps etc too so we kept chrome fixtures but added in a matte black candle and black potted orchid to create a similar effect which we can change out later on. Our floor tiles are dark but because they are semi-polished they actually bounce around a lot of light and don't make the room feel dark if that is a concern. We also have a huge fiddle leaf fig in the corner (not pictured) which adds a really nice feel to the space - a plant like that could help bring in the outside greenery in your bathroom. Instead of the storage tower you have to the left of the vanity could you do say some floating wood shelving, possibly with baskets added for more hidden storage? You could also bring in the 60s theme with what you displayed on there eg. photos as you mentioned? In regards to the window - a previous house we lived in had a window at about shoulder height in the shower - as well as letting in heaps of light it was amazing for storing toiletries etc!

Hearty Home. If it ain't broke don't fix it is your best slution. The pressed metal looked the part to moi; subtle character, and not like everyone elses. I've just renovated; all new kitchen has bevelled-edged white subways w' pale grey expoxy grout. Timeless is always timeless. Changing your pressed metal look could make the rest of the kitchen design look odd. I note this article is months old; So now I'm wondering what you did?