I don't often comment but I just had to comment about this subject. I worked in public safety for almost 20 years. For every violent crime you see reported on the news (gun shot, stabbing, carjacking, armed robbery, home invasion, etc.), there are countless others that aren't reported on TV or in the newspaper. And I'm not just talking about in big cities or the 'bad areas of town'. These days, the number of violent crimes are going up at staggering rates and they are affecting EVERY one and at ANY time of the day or night. When I was growing up, my mom used to comfort us when we were scared by telling us that no one would break in while we were at home. She would say, "Those bad men only want to break in when no one's home. They want to get in, steal all the stuff and get out quickly without being noticed. They usually don't want to hurt anyone." Well, that is just not true anymore. These days, people are just flat out cruel and they would just as soon shoot you as to look at you. They WILL come into your home regardless if you are home or not. In fact, they often look for targets who are home so you can lead them to where all your expensive items are and even take them to other locations to get more. With that in mind, here are a few things you can do to avoid being a victim: 1) ALWAYS BE MINDFUL THAT NO ONE IS FOLLOWING YOU...when you leave the bank, ATM, a nice restaurant, the mall, etc. If you EVER even think you are being followed, drive to the closest police station. DO NOT GO HOME!! 2) ALWAYS LOCK YOUR WINDOWS & DOORS...in your home and automobile. 3) LEAVE ON EXTERIOR LIGHTS AT NIGHT. Motion censored and/or timed lights are a great addition to a few that remain on all night. Mix it up to keep from getting in a routine that someone would notice. 4) GET A DOG (or at least have a sign that indicates you own one) 5) INSTALL AN ALARM SYSTEM with a BATTERY BACK-UP and ALWAYS HAVE IT ARMED and MONITORED, NO MATTER WHAT TIME OF THE DAY IT IS!! The sophisticated home invader knows that many people don’t turn alarms on regularly! So if you have it, always use it! By the way, if you don't have a landline and/or you are in a remote location, use a satellite alarm monitoring company. 6) IF YOU ARE A FEMALE LIVING ALONE, BUY SOME MENS BOOTS from a thrift store and set them outside your door to make it look like there is a man living there with you. You can put them beside your imaginary dog's bowl on the porch! :0) 7) ALWAYS FOLLOW YOUR GUT! That first gut instinct is almost always right. Listen to it! Below is an article about a home invasion that happened close to my home very recently. It was in a very affluent area and ended very badly. A 78 y/o grandmother and her disabled granddaughter returned home from running errands and were surprised by burglars as the men were about to leave the home. From the getaway car, one of the suspects fired a single shot from a handgun, striking the disabled woman in the head, killing her. To read more, the article is here: FAYETTE CO GRANDMOTHER PLEADS to FIND SUSPECTS IN FATAL HOME INVASION I hope this info helps at least one person stay safe. Blessings, ~Addy~ P.S. There's some additional safety info in the link below: Here is a link that might be useful: HOME INVASION ROBBERY - Protect Your Family With A Security Plan

The counter space along the wall adjacent to the peninsula doesn't look like it will get much use while prepping/cooking so why not put the wall oven on the end in a tall cabinet. This will provide wonderful storage above the oven for trays/roasting tins/platters and tall pots as well as a few nice size drawers underneath. It leaves you with an 18" landing space, and I really don't think it will cramp your breakfast bar at all. You could place your coffee maker next to the oven and pour your second cup without having to get up (my idea of heaven). I wouldn't worry about having the tall cabinet next to the doorway. I have my fridge in the same spot and it's doesn't feel too narrow You mentioned storing dishes under the oven; I wouldn't sacrifice counter height dish storage for a counter height oven. You'll be bending way over to get dishes many more times a day than you'll be bending over to get into the oven. I'm not sure why you don't like your SIL's super susan, I love mine but I can promise you that you will hate shelves even more. The recycling station isn't a bad idea, but in such a samll kitchen, I think it may take up too much valuable space (unless it went in the peninsula corner) I think you'd be better off leaving the corner unused. You could make the pantry 6" smaller, then shift the fridge down. You now have space for two good sized drawer banks on either side of your cooktop and a big bank of drawers next to the sink. Or if you don't like the idea of a smaller panty, put a pull out cabinet (great for holding spices, oils etc) between the cooktop and corner. Just remember, if you do go with adjacent drawer banks instead of a corner cabinet, you have to have 2" fillers on each side of the corner to give the drawers room to clear the knobs/pulls of the adjacent cabinet. Keep in mind that only one or two 30" induction cooktops will fit in a 30" cabinet (same goes for 36" cooktops in 36" cabinets) and those models just barely fit. You may need to go with a larger cabinet or notch out the sides of a 30" one (not sure how practical that would be with a cooktop though I know it's easily done for a sink). There are some very useful discussions in the appliance forum on how to achieve the minimum necessary clearance under the cooktop too.

Thanks! Owning on Maui is often a challenge, but, yes, it's Maui! Sorry to be slow replying. May I ask what size mini-split I would need? It's 849 sq ft interior, basically a LR/Kitchen (300 sq ft) plus a BR/bath (250 sq ft), connected by a long hallway with louver closets, one with washer/dryer, and a second bathroom. I suppose the outside unit would go into the courtyard off the BR (SE); the lanai off the LR (NW) faces the ocean. We are ground floor on a slight rise. Above is a townhouse-style unit. Our neighbor has been happy with Mitsubishi. His condo is slightly larger than ours and faces due West.

Come back to the forum after 17 days of sick kids to my post garnering more attention. Arg-Thank you for your comments. They were not different from what I expected except that you would go ahead and send those "difficult" clients to the drafter. I am not sure you would enjoy working with me. That is fine, not everyone is a good match. I would expect to be presented new ideas and have my ideas challenged (which you do). But I would also be quick to turn down things that I already decided I didn't want. Since we have had our land for longer than most, I have had a long time to think about so many of the things I wanted/didn't want and how I would like furniture to sit in the room...etc. My husband is quicker to not beat around the bush. But for a female, I am very quick to make decisions. If it isn't how I want it, I know. Virgil-Also well said. Oddly enough, my room locations were very much dictated 1st by the lot. I had a completely different bubble diagram for our original house site. You are right that I have very set ideas about how I want things. I don't want a door in the middle of the wall straight across from my bed for example. Not because I spend all my time laying in bed looking directly ahead of me, but because it is not the more pleasing location. I also am not just looking at the floorplan/2-D spaces. My husband is a big picture guy and think about the details later. I like to think about the details in order to make sure the big picture works. I guarantee you I won't get done with my house and then try to figure out where furniture goes. In fact, the fun of decorating may not happen as so much of that has already been brainstormed. PG-Thanks for your comments. Yes, I was given some great advise and a lot of attempts to fix my plan. Please understand that so many of the fixes were things that I said from the get go wouldn't work. I get the desire to have the master bedroom in the corner. For my lot, it is not the ideal location. Plus, I wouldn't put windows on 2 sides, simply because I don't want windows behind the bed or on the wall straight in front of the bed. And having the bed face the door to the outside is odd (and against fung-shui). While I would never have a corner fireplace in the living room, I really want one in the bedroom. I gave careful thought to furniture layout, etc. But when you look at the fixes, nearly every one changes the fireplace location. I am very glad that you were able to find someone to work with that could help create you vision. CP-First, thank you again for the work you did trying to come up with a solution to my plan. I think we all have preconceived ideas (unless we just got land a month ago and haven't had much time to figure out what we want!). I have saved tons of ideas..so many of them repeat the same thing over and over. When I have saved every bedroom corner fireplace, I probably am not going to switch when the internet forum attacks me for it. If my bathroom is going to cost me $20,000+ not matter how it is arranged, should I really do a freestanding claw foot tub when I don't like the look? Yes, I may be quick to say I don't like something. But it is not because I want to turn ideas down. Rather that I have seen the idea repeatedly and don't prefer it. I think it is really interesting that comments have gone the way of "so and so made a good plan, you should build that". It is not so much that it is a bad plan, just that it is not the right plan for me. Can I take bits and pieces or get new ideas from plans shown..YES. But to be told that I am in the wrong for not going along with a plan is very strange. My husband is not every going to move...so I better darn well like the house. Otherwise, there will be a huge remodel in 20 years! (There probably will be a remodel in 15-20 years as I will be sick of whatever cabinets/counters/finishes I choose whether they are still in style or not!) I posted my plans knowing that they weren't quite right. I really have appreciated all the helpful comments. But man, to weed through some of the other non-sense was very exhausting! If I felt my plan was it, I'm not sure I would've posted. Honestly, yesterday, I did come up with the right plan for me. It can still use some tweaking. But I sent it to my draftsman so he can draw it up. I am literally pinching myself I am so excited. Took me over a year to create the main floor of my dreams. Not the same floorplan regurgitated in 90% of new builds. Every space in it is like a dream. Only one odd thing that I don't love....can you imagine...only one thing that bothers me? I call that a win! Would you believe that the closet entrances are between the bedroom and the bathroom? Not in the bedroom and not in the bathroom. I'm like a gardenweb wish granting genie on that one. Everything is quickly accessible. Even my little laundry space is fantastic...even has a window...and vents directly outside! And my closet, DH closet, the toilet closet, tub, and shower ALL have windows. It's like a dream. I would post it, but it is on my graph paper. I'll wait until the draftsperson draws it up...so I don't get comments that the spaces don't work because my walls aren't drawn in properly. I may start a new thread when I get it back. I know the exterior walls will be neat...just have to get the dormers/roof/materials right. I also need to get the basement floorplan done.