I remember back when... when you told Craftjanjan (aka Janet) that you would tell your Mom about the Coke birdhouse...and then you followed through and had one made!!! (I always say I'm going to do it...and then it goes on my list!!!!) Way to go! This is beautiful! You'll have to post a picture once you put it in your yard! I love it! I love it! I love it! You always do things which inspire me!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing another great project! Bear Hugs! Kirk

wodka - Those are some gorgeous chairs on overstock and some amazing prices. I've marked the page for ideas for a bedroom chair. But the one in my office is where DH comes in to talk with me, ends up reclined back, and falls asleep. Or sometimes I curl up there with a book. I think the style you linked would LOOK great, but I don't think DH would settle in there for very long. teacats - I've been browsing that fabric site. That one you linked reminds me of the fabric on the chairs in front of my fireplace and that might work, especially if I go subtle with the golds, reds, grays. lynnski - I do love my daisy pic. I was kind of wondering if you guys would think the gold and blue/gray mix would work ok. At least if I go that way it's a little different from the rest of my house and that's a good thing. Great idea to take the pic to the shop with me, then I could bring the fabric choices home, too. Thanks for the responses. Now that I've made this post I'm even more anxious to get rid of that burgundy color, it clashes so badly with the floor.

good grief. On an FHA 203b loan, you now have to have 3.5% of your own money; you can get a gift for the closing, or you can ask your sellers to pay closing, but you have to have 3.5% of your own money. All you're doing with your 401k is "borrowing" from yourself; it is your money. Your employer doesn't have a say in it, but you'll have to go through a process to get the funds out, as 401k money can be withdrawn only for certain uses; buying a home is one of the allowable uses. You need to check with the program administrators to find out an estimated time line; don't know how it is now, but several years ago, I had a sale that was put back for several weeks because the committee only met once a month. You might also check on using the tax credit for the down payment; I haven't had to do one like this, but my loan officer tells me it can be done. You'll need to amend your 2008 tax return, which your tax preparer will know how to do, & consult with your loan officer. Best luck, & don't get discouraged by the lectures people sometimes feel obligated or entitled to deliver.

After reading many of these recent comments, meandering here and there as extended threads almost always seem to do, I had to go back to the OP to see what in the world started this thread. It was: "...do you think solely working with a builder would suffice?...I feel like I would be telling an architect exactly what to do as far as design. But I can see where we might need a draftsman to translate our design into a blueprint? Or can the builder fill the role of a draftsman?" It's really the old, often repeated question, "do I really need or have to use an architect, or can I just I just build using my own sketch, which someone translates into dimensioned drawings?..." And the answer, in most U.S. jurisdictions, is yes you can build from your own sketch, assuming you can get design review approval (if required) and a building permit. You may even be able to get financing from your own sketch, or at least from dimensioned drawings of your sketch--depending on the lender and the loan sum to value. And one can usually find an experienced builder who will work with an owner's sketch, and offer to build from it using some sort of construction contract (favorable to the builder's risk, more often than not). There are a number of jurisdictions in the U.S. which do require architectural drawings (by a licensed architect) for design review and/or building permit, particularly for homes over a certain area or storeys, in certain site/soil conditions, or in areas designated for special historical or architectural control, but these are nowhere near the majority of jurisdictions. But at the end of the day, the answer, like so many answers, is really: it depends. It depends on answers to questions like: --Does the site and jurisdiction where you wish to build require documents and calculations from a licensed professional; --Is your budget so limited and critical that a 6%-10% architectural fee is simply impossible; is an initial design consultation of $1K +/- out of the question; --Do you see your house as primarily shelter from the elements and you have no other strong concerns or desires about it; --Do you or anyone in your family have special needs; --Are you a rugged and experienced DIY person who gets personal reward from doing everything yourself; have you ever designed and built a house before; --How concerned are you about a fixed or manageable construction budget, and the level/type of construction expertise and features you will actually receive for your project? There are other important and useful questions, but hopefully the point is clear: using your own sketches for construction of a home depends on the answers to these and other important questions. And since no two of us are alike or in the same circumstances, the answer to using one's own sketch for building is, wait for it...it depends. And like all decisions, there will be a series of consequences which occur based on the decision that each of us may make in this type of situation. PS: And I guess I have to say that CAD, the computer and all of our disruptive technology neither pose any important questions in a situation like this, nor do they provide any particularly useful answers. They are simply a tool, a means to an end, and certainly not the end.