I really like the fairview too, but on my monitor, it looks like the 2nd floor porch is done in a lighter colour. I would do it the same as the rest of the body, otherwise it is going to be emphasized and I think you want it to blend rather than stick out. I would also reconsider the light trim on the porch - could you do a mockup of it all in the fairview?

llucy - Thank you for your kind support!! I felt so much better after reading your post. You are right, having to sacrifice the nook and eat at an island is never something I wanted to do. It would feel like a sacrifice, but if I was getting something otherwise fabulous in return, I would at least consider it. If I could snap my fingers and have the perfect solution, it would be to still have a kitchen table and any island seating would just be 1 or 2 spots for perching, not for dining. So, the U shape really does start to make sense. Thank you for the link to the Houzz ideabook! That really helped me and actually got a few new ideas flowing in my mind. The pantry doors will be changed, so that section can be made to look very different. sena01 - Thank you again for more options! It is so helpful to see things in 3d. The one with the bar table actually looked good - I just can't see needing the duplication of another table. But, it visually made the most sense probably. I'm going to play around with your idea of moving the dining nook! It's something else that I never considered and at first the new kitchen looked quite small, but then I saw the section against the dining room wall, so that might give me enough storage. Thank you again! tracie.erin - Thank you for drawing out this layout idea. It's actually fairly close to an idea proposed by a KD I met with. At the time, DH was not open to losing the U shape, so he kinda nixed it, but I'm going to explore this idea further. I like that I can still keep the kitchen table as the more I think about it, the more that seems important to me. Thanks everyone for your continuing advice and ideas! I can't even tell you how much this is helping me. DH is very busy and doesn't want to be too heavily involved in the details, so it's so valuable to me to get to talk things out with all of you! I'm having a GC over on Monday to discuss. I will report back once I have a better sense of my construction limitations.

For what it's worth, if that sage ever does come up you'll want to think about moving it to a pot of its own. It has very different water requirements than the other herbs in that container and you have a very good chance of overwatering it to death. When I grow herb from seed I generally start them indoors in a small pot and then plant them out when the weather is right. As noted in other posts above, basil like the soil a good deal warmer than parsley and mint. A couple of notes on the soil - it is generally a better idea to use potting soil or potting mix in container because regular garden soil can easily compact in containers and lead to plant roots not getting enough oxygen. Additionally, herbs don't require as much fertilizer as fruiting vegetables and that MG mix might have come with fertilizer premixed into it, in which case you don't need to add any of the Dr. Earth for a good while.

The nursery told me herbs were easy and they preferred dryer soil so I water once a week but even so, ==>>> a newly transplanted plant .. of any kind.. needs enough water .. to settle in.. and get its roots pumping again ... before they will have any kind of drought tolerance ... and.. these are NOT plants the favor lack of water ... and your coir system does favor excessive drying ... if you were growing them indoors.. in a sunny window.. i might also tell you to make sure you dont overwater ... but out in the wind .. in that configuration ... i say .. water more .. i only had one plant over the years in coir ... and it seems to me.. i watered it once or twice a day ... until the water ran out the bottom ... and it still usually ended up drying to the detriment of the plant ... in other words ... what sonni said ... ken ps: what im thinking ... with no pot walls .. the wind is running thru the media ... and drying it from the sides and bottom ... thereby increasing drying ... as compared to a plastic pot with sides and a bottom ...