Sure thing Mike. Yesterday in the late evening after a lot of maintenance, work and watering, I realized I wasn't spending enough time enjoying my plants. This morning I took a leisurely stroll and a handful of pics. I've included 5 'indespensible conifers', 5 that I think all collectors should really own and then another ten that currently sit high on my own list. It will undoubtably change over time and as my plants acquire more character. First, five conifers to plant instead of the dreaded 'Lowe's' conifers(arborvitae, picea pungens 'glauca', etc.): Picea omorika 'Pendula Bruns'. Hands down the most interesting, graceful, stately conifers for sale. Not readily available in larger sizes, hopefully this changes as few conifers create such a statement. Only gets better with age. This. particular specimen is growing quite irregularly at an early age. Picea abies 'Gold Drift' and 'The Blues'. This is sort of cheating, two conifers in one. Both are strong weepers and grow about the same rate. The combination of colors simply demanded this sort of marriage. Pinus contorta 'Chief Joseph'. Wonderfully compact and of course, the brightest, best looking gold from about November to April. Picea mariana 'Aureovarigata'. A simply beautiful, large conifer. Three colored effect. Picea engelmannii 'Bush's Lace'. A phenominally beautiful, slightly weeping conifer simply makes most upright blue spruces obsolete. And Ten that really caught my eye or already had my eye. Abies procera 'Blaue Hexe'. A stunningly blue small dwarf. I love it. Pice orientalis 'Iseli Seedling'. Super form and color, even in a lot of sun. Picea sitchensis 'Thomas'. A tiny mound of great colors, especially with new growth. Picea pungens 'Wisconsin Cream'. Great color contrast between old and new growth. Normal habit is of the medium dwarf upright type - a compact wide cone. Picea orientalis 'Nutans'. Great character, this one should be fun to watch. Abies vejari. A rare fir from Mexico, it has stunning new *and* old growth. The new growth borders on teal or aqua-marine. It's the most interesting color in a conifer I have seen. Apparently has great cones as well. Cedrus libani 'Hedgehog'. A cool little hedgehog, small dwarf with huge needles and a very interesting mounding habit. Cedrus libani 'Green Knight'. Very nice color and usually grows irregularly. Great small dwarf. Picea omorika 'Peve Tijn' or 'Tijn'. Great golden/blue/green hues, handles full sun and forms a perfect upright form in great time. Hope you enjoyed! -Will

Can you guys spell, "Medicins Sans Frontiers"? Also, as one who helped a few refugees work toward getting back on their feet, having started over more than 55 years ago with just the clothes on their backs, I'm cognizant of the need of our Church's World Outreach programs. Plus ... if I contribute assets whose value has appreciated directly to them ... there's no capital gains tax to pay ... which, if to go to my estate, or one of my kids, or a charity indirectly, I'd have to pay tax at regular rate on half of the capital gain. Actually, I believe that it's an endowment at age 85 policy ... and, currently having achieved the grand old milestone of 80, I'm looking forward to making it to 85. Sorry to (maybe) disappoint. ole joyful

The fact that elevations are not being considered is a huge red flag. I am a modernist and I could see this being cool in a very modern form, but not so cool if you were going for a federalist style, etc. i think what you have does check some of the boxes (nice spaces for guests) but may be shorting YOU! Do you have any Houzz idea books started that show what style you are looking for? Based on your family guests, I would think that an aging in place specialist could help here too, in order to make things easier for your brother and your parents. as for the kitchen, think about taking something from the fridge, washing it, prepping it, then cooking it. Oh, and then clean up. The natural space for ALL of that activity to happen based on the layout is that space between the sink and the cooktop. Cooks crossing oaths, bumping into one another trying stake claim for the same real estate. It also renders that large expanse on the oven wall unused. for an entertaining and hosting house, there are some good ideas here, but they are not put together all that well and none of the spaces are really dual purpose, making you build ore square footage. lastly the depth and layout, unless this is a flat roof, could drive a behemoth roof structure that will be insane to build and even uglier to reroof! architect... and I'd highly recommend ArchitectRunnerGuy on this site. Cpartist has a great reference list but search for PensicolaPI and his saga on his "original" plan and what happened after he engaged someone with talent. It's recent, relevant and a fun couple of posts. You may see yourself. good luck and just remember it's a heck of a lot cheaper to change things on paper...

How nice that your DH does such nice woodwork! . Kitchen layout - I have some concerns.... Aisles...It looks like you are measuring them correctly for the most part (counter edge-to-counter edge, not cabinet-to-cabinet) - with one notable exception - in front of the refrigerator. If the refrigerator is a counter-depth, be aware that it's depth will be around 31" plus an inch or so behind it for plug, water line, anti-tilt, etc. So, figure 32". That means it will stick out approx 6.5" past the counters. You show an aisle of 52.5" b/w the island an left wall; however, when you factor in the refrigerator, the aisle is only 46" in front of the refrigerator - and you have a seat there. That isn't wide enough. I would eliminate that one seat and give your self more useful work room on that island. (If the refrigerator is a standard depth, then you have even less space - subtract another 5" off the aisle.) . Ovens...You have your wall oven and MW in the middle of your seating area - I wouldn't want someone sitting there, especially if I was trying to use the wall oven. Opening it will send out a blast of heat, you will have to maneuver around someone sitting at the island to be able to put food in or take it out, and, finally, many of us have discovered that the best landing space for a wall oven is actually across from it - which you will not be able to use b/c there will be people and/or stools in the way of using the island as landing space. Do you have any landing space on the left side of the wall oven? I think it says "bookshelf" - so is that a full height bookshelf or just in an upper or base cabinet with counter b/w the cabinets? I'm not convinced the "catchall" counter will be available for use as oven landing space. Ditto, btw, concerning the MW, for the most part. . Island...if you plan to prep on the island, then the island is a major barrier island - it's b/w the refrigerator and the prep space on the opposite side of the island. If you plan to prep on the perimeter b/w the sink and cooktop, then the island is no longer a barrier. The prep sink, in that case, would be OK for a second person prepping (who would still have to deal with the barrier island) - just not for a primary prep area. I would then move the sink as MamaGoose suggests. The other issue with having your primary Prep Zone on the island is the DW - if the door is open while someone is loading or unloading, you won't be able to use a lot of the island for workspace. We have close to 47" b/w our peninsula and our sink wall and that's just enough to pass by an open DW door - but not enough to work opposite it - and you only have 1" more. Oh, and I'd add another 2 or 3 inches to the length of your island You need: 4 seats at 24" linear space each = 96" seats on the short end need 15" of clear leg/knee space as well = 15" 96" + 15" = 111" Your island is 109", only a couple of inches shorter. Will it matter? I don't know...are you a tall or large family? If so, then those couple of inches may very well make a difference. (You don't have to answer that here, just be honest with yourself privately.) I know there has been some discussion in the world of Kitchen Design about changing the guidelines to specify 30" per diner rather than 24"... Bottom Line: I would eliminate the seat in front of the refrigerator and add a couple of inches to the length (toward the FR end) of the island. If you eliminated that seat in front of the refrigerator, you could then get a 30"W x 24"D cabinet there (drawers, of course!) - a nice chunk of cabinet storage that's not broken up or too shallow. It would also then make it easier to access the refrigerator. Do you really need 6 seats? I would hope that when your entire family is present for a meal that you will be using the Dining Room - table seating is much more conducive to family bonding than counter seating (think of a diner with counter seats - they're great for strangers, but not so much for family!) Five seats should be plenty for snacks/quick meals, even when your boys have friends over. . Mudroom...Is it also your Laundry Room? Do you plan to put a door b/w the Laundry Room and the Mudroom to separate the rooms? Personally, I would not want everyone coming in via the Mudroom to see my dirty (or even clean) clothes! Separate rooms would be better. Better yet - can the Laundry Room be moved to wherever the bedrooms are? That's where most laundry comes from, so it makes sense to locate the washer & dryer where the clothes will be coming from/going back to. Does the Mudroom have a "Command/Message Center"? If not, consider one in your "wasted space" area. It would help keep the non-Kitchen clutter out of your Kitchen! Make the Garage/Mudroom door a sliding door (36" wide) Move the door down closer to the cabinets Put in a "Command/Message Center in the corner space you now have. Train/encourage everyone to drop their keys, phones, mail, etc., in the Command Center, not the Kitchen on that "catchall" counter! Note: I'd move both doors in the Mudroom down - they'd still match up and you can fit either cubbies or a closet on the "top" wall of the Mudroom. Is it wide enough? It depends, are you planning to put in a closet or cubbies? If cubbies, I would keep them shallow, no more than 18" deep b/c you need room to maneuver while taking off boots, shoes, etc. A closet will need to be 28" to 30" deep, including walls. There isn't enough room for a closet along the side walls. . Other comments.... Will there be enough room b/w the cooktop and cleanup sink for you to prep (since you said you like to spread out)? Because of the locations of the cooktop, refrigerator, and work side of the island, the most logical place for your Primary Prep Zone is the counterspace b/w the cleanup sink and the cooktop. You will gain more "floor space" and usable workspace if you make the corners 90-degree cutouts instead of diagonals. It will also open up the Kitchen space in general. Open shelves in your "Baking Zone" - with flour flying around, do you really want open shelves? If you are going to have open shelves near the cooktop, be sure you have very good venting - -- A hood at least 6" wider than the cooking surface and at least 24" deep -- A fan at least 600 to 900 cfms (more if you fry/stir fry a lot or grill inside) -- A hood that's vented to the outside -- A hood that is shaped so it adequately captures the grease, smoke, steam, fumes, odors, etc., since you won't have any cabinets flanking the hood to help corralling the grease, steam, etc.