I think this is the link to my album. Thanks again :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to Album

Yay! Are all your pictures on there or are you still moving them? When I see a thread with an x on one of your old pictures, I'll let you know & see if you can load it again - that is, if you want me to.

I managed to cut and paste a few of Summerfield's plans together. The screened porch with hot tub is not included, but would be off the master bedroom. I've gone back and forth on the mud room (more expense) but I think it's a necessity. Where else am I going to put my husband's everyday tools, the horses' grain, outdoor kitty food, extra pantry storage, winter coats, etc? I can't really run down to the basement for all these things...or at least, I'd rather not :)

So, what do you think? I like the extra counterspace on each side of the farm sink. Great for canning/preserving, if I ever get my garden really producing. Also like the easy access to the back, without letting all the cold, winter air into my sunroom. I know I'd use the mud room a lot more than a formal dining room or downstairs guest bedroom, so I guess it is a good idea! LOL

We will have a basement under the living room/master bedroom...which will have my husband's 'men's town' or rec room. Upstairs will be two bedrooms and hopefully a small bathroom. I need someplace for all the nieces and nephews to stay, in the summer.

{{!gwi}}From Lavender Lass farmhouse pictures

Here is the wood stove that I hope to use in the sunroom. It would be great to have a little fireplace surround like this, too :)

{{gwi:1416730}}From Lavender Lass farmhouse pictures

And a desk like this, with dish storage above, would be wonderful in the sunroom. A place to use the laptop or write a letter, or bring the chair over to the table, for tea.

{{!gwi}}From Lavender Lass farmhouse pictures

Marti- Not all my pictures are there, but I deleted my photobucket account and only kept the pictures I really like. If there's one you like, I'll see if I can find it...or check if it's in my computer pictures album.

Of course, I still have my garden pictures...and I hope to take some more, when I finish weeding. It's finally cooling off enough to do a little work, outside :)

My secretary has the same insert in the desk area. It looks SO GOOD in white. EEEEKKKK I already painted the inside of the shelf area white and it shows off my things so much better than the dark brown wood. YIKES I am feeling a paint job coming on. Course where my secretary is sitting I can not leave the drop down door open. It would be in the way.

I think the french doors will be great into the dinning room for all the reasons you have given. There has been more then one time I have had to run for long curtains and a tension rod to close off a room or two in an extended power outage. I always keep these things handy.

Shades- You should paint your desk. I think it will look beautiful :)

Thanks for the input on the french doors. I think they'll be very practical and pretty! Drapes are a good idea, too.

Update--I showed my mom the changes and she thought the french doors were a great idea. She liked that the dining room could be closed off from the living room and suggested I leave enough space to have the doors, flat against the wall, most of the time. It might mean taking a foot of storage off the kitchen, but with the mud room, that's not a problem.

She thought the mud room was a necessity and I'd be crazy not to add it! LOL She said, do you really want everyone walking through your sunroom in the winter? How are your plants going to like that?

She also LOVED the woodstove in there. She was never a big fan of having it so close to the entrance to the foyer and as she pointed out...if the power goes off in warm weather...do you really want to heat up the kitchen to make a cup of tea? This way, we can open the windows in the sunroom and have the wood stove on, long enough to heat up something or boil water, without heating up the whole house.

Mom's always wonderful about seeing what's right in front of me, when I get too lost in the details. Just thought I'd share that with you, and say I really love my mom and appreciate that's she's such a great mom...and so good with house plans! :)

Lav, some good points. And the plants will love the humidity created by the boiling water.

I think you must take after your mom with being good with house plans. Playing it forward for another generation.

ML- Good point about the humidity!

Thanks, I've learned a lot from my mom. She loves design and decorating and if she hadn't been a teacher, might have been an interior designer or even an architect :)

I certainly agree with her on the mudroom! you NEED that. wet, snowy, muddy shoes, boots - ugh!

I think it's wonderful when a LR or other space (besides bedrooms) can be a quiet place for reading and reflection. The french doors in the DR make that possible so I say go for it. I don't think it matters that you have another set of french doors at the end of the hall. My folks had pocket doors in the doorway to the LR. It was really nice because when they had friends over, they would go in the LR and I could watch TV in the FR and not bother them (back when homes only had one TV). :)

I agree with your mom--the mudroom is a necessity. I wish I had one. :( People come in from the backyard straight into the kitchen eating area. I can't count how many times I've had to grab muddy dogs before they could run into the carpeted areas of the house. Snow gets tracked in, too. Wish I could add a mudroom but it's a walkout basement and the addition would have to be 2 stories--too much $$$.

So glad you have such a great mom! I do too. In fact we just celebrated her 80th birthday yesterday! She looks more like mid-60's and is very active. She's my best friend.

Steph and Flwrs- I think you're right, I do need a mudroom!

Flwrs- Thanks for the 'thumbs up' on the french doors, to the dining room. Can you put a mudroom on the front of the house...maybe more like a vestibule? I saw Bob Vila do that on a split level home and it turned out surprisingly attractive and very practical.

I'm glad you and your mom get along so well, too :)

Everyone- I have a question....do you think I need a door to the outside, from the sunroom? With the mudroom, I don't really need a second door out to the back...and I'm wondering if windows, from the corner over to the woodstove, would look better? Also, that side is pretty close to the horse pasture, so the covered patio (husband's BBQ, etc.) would be off the mudroom, anyway. Probably plants and a little grass, between the sunroom and the pasture.

I know, I really need to take pictures! I'll try to do that this week...it's supposed to cool down to the mid 70s. I really need to have a heavy, long sleeve shirt and big boots to walk back there right now, which is hard to do when it's 90 outside! LOL

I would say yes IF you have a backyard/play equipment/garden back there. If family gathers in the sunroom to visit so they can keep an eye on the kids playing out back, the kids will pop in and out, and parents/grandparents will want direct access to the kids.

But if it will mainly be you & dh just sitting out there, it's probably not necessary - especially if you will normally have to change shoes to go out there. If it's always muddy, or you don't want kids running in & out there, then no.

Marti- It is just the two of us, with few visitors in the winter. In the summer, we do have more family and friends out to visit.

While I would probably go through the mudroom most of the time, my mom pointed out that not everyone might want to do that...and it would be nice (as you said) to be able to get outside, to access the garden. She thinks that it would be smart to have french doors, about where the bench is, next to the woodstove. Not too close to the table or stove, but easy to use...and a great place to put the Christmas tree, in the winter. No kitties climbing it, when we go to bed! LOL

What do you think?

That looks like the best place to me too.

Well, I have another question (big surprise! LOL) and that's if a peninsula would be better than an island, in the kitchen. I was thinking something like this....
{{!gwi}}From Lavender Lass farmhouse pictures

With Laura Calder's kitchen as my inspiration. Bigger window over the sink and the prep/work area on the peninsula. I love her kitchen! :) {{gwi:1547984}}From Lavender Lass farmhouse pictures

Hmmm, that's a toughie. I love the workspace from a peninsula, but love the openness without it.

Marti- That's what I was thinking, too :)

While I like the openness of the island, I think the peninsula divides the rooms up a bit more, which might be nice some times. I also like that I'll be looking at the table and window seat, when I prep...not the laundry room. The last thing is that it will be a little tight, walking behind the stools, with the island/table. I think there will be more room, behind the stools, with the peninsula.

Do you think the wood top is a good idea, like Laura Calder has on her work space? I'm still trying to decide on countertops...it's been my biggest challenge. I'd love to have marble and wood, but I really like the durability of formica/arborite. Maybe blue countertops with the appliances and wood on the peninsula. There might be more room for a little marble slab, than there would be with the work table/island.

Thanks for your input! I really appreciate having someone to talk to and bounce ideas around. How's your plan coming along?

Lav, the only problem I see with the peninsula is that the pathway from the mudroom/utility room forces all traffic to go through the working area of the kitchen. Past the cook standing in front of the stove, past the end of the peninsula where it narrows down and creates an impasse at the spot right where the oven door or microwave must have an open door. And if you bend over a little bit while taking a hot pan out of the oven, you might bump your derriere into the end of the peninsula.

There won't be much visible from the utility area from the dining table. And if there is an island, traffic from the mudroom/utility area has the important option of passing outside the working heart of the kitchen.

If you plan on having a family, I think that an island will be much safer for the kiddies, who will come running in, not wanting to wait to get to the bathroom or the TV or to the after school snack.

I think the chairs or stools for the island will not be a problem because they will stow under the overhang of the island.

Think about it. It is your kitchen, you know what you like, but without another easy pathway AROUND your work space, you'll soon regret the peninsula I'm afraid.

I agree, the peninsula really cuts off the flow between rooms.

and kids will be underfoot in the work area.

Thanks for the helpful responses! I agree that the peninsula will be a little tight, but I'm not liking the island, either. I'd be staring at the wall, while prepping and the stools (when someone is sitting in them) will be a little close to the wall, to easily walk behind.

As much as I like this plan (with French doors into the dining room) I do have some concerns. It all feels a little tight, especially with the traffic that will be going through the kitchen to get to the sun room and outside.

So, I'm reconsidering my alternate floor plan. The big concern I've had is getting the walls opened up so much...but this older part of the house is going to need some structural work, so it might not be a big deal, after all.

Anyway, still a little tight walking by the wood stove, but if I can make the stairs start a little further back...that would take care of a lot of the problem. I'm thinking about having a landing at the top of the stairs and then bend back (with three or four steps) over the hallway, upstairs. I don't have a picture of the upstairs, but just imagine another foot or two, for the entryway to the kitchen.

This would give me room for a larger work island...maybe even with a small prep sink. I've been thinking about using a larger, one bowl farm sink, for the main sink. It would be a good size for washing large cutting boards and big pots and pans!

So, this is my alternate plan, which many of you have already seen, just for comparison. One again, thank you all for the continued help with my plan. You all are such great 'home friends' and I appreciate all the support and advice. Take care and have a great weekend :) {{!gwi}}From Lavender Lass farmhouse pictures

Now you are talking, Lavender.
This is the one I liked the very very best as far as kitchen, dining, pantry, bath and so forth. And the little stove is all cozy in the corner by the vestibule, with an island and good traffic flow. I think it will be a happy plan over the long haul.

Thanks, ML :)

I really do love that little wood stove in the kitchen! It's just so homey and cozy. I can also fit a lot more nieces and nephews at this bigger table.

When they come out, it's either play with the horses and in the garden, during the spring and summer...or bake lots of treats, in the fall and winter. I think the window seat makes a much cozier table, too. I just couldn't fit it into the other plan...so the table was in front of it. I like this better, too.

While there's not much view out the back, there is a lot more light from the south side. With the greenhouse, we can always go 'vacation' in the winter (hehe) and it will feel like summer. Or at least, that's my plan!

This is my pick too.

Thanks, Marti :)

I really like the layout of this plan. Looks very comfortable, practical & homey! The only thing I wondered about is the chimney for your wood burning stove. If you are using triple wall pipe, it will go up through your roof right in the front of your house. Since you have an upstairs, it should go through in the attic space of the top level if you don't mind it showing. If you're doing a gas or electric version it won't make any difference & should work great.

Krayers- You're so good at seeing the obvious! I do have some concerns about the chimney...mainly the cost and how it will look, on the front of the house.

I also realized that as much as I love the big kitchen, I am losing the space (in the other plan's sunroom) for the pretty, shabby chic desk, my small table and chairs and the settee.

So, I've come up with a slight variation...let me know what you all think. In this one (very similar to first plan) I made the entry a bit bigger, between the kitchen and laundry area. The window over the kitchen sink is MUCH bigger and there's a table behind the sunroom settee for plants. Gives me a bit of the Laura Calder kitchen, I've been trying to copy. The sunroom now has a corner banquette for the small table and two chairs, which seems to balance out the seating area and woodstove/hearth area, much better IMHO. Oh, and maybe a little arbor over the corner windows, too. Very nice for climbing roses or wisteria!

My mom keeps saying that it's better to have the greenhouse separate from the sunroom...as the moisture in the greenhouse would not be good for the furniture, while the sunroom would have a few larger plants, but not starts for the garden. I believe ML said pretty much the same thing, at one point :)

Here's the plan... {{!gwi}}From Lavender Lass farmhouse pictures