RTT - house plan roundup and paintings

Hi All,
It's Tuesday so I thought I'd join the Random Thoughts Tuesday bunch. Oh sure, I say join like I'm gracing you with something other than leftover thoughts that won't make a whole post even if they tried. Then again, that is what RTT is all about.

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Yesterday I posted about house plans. How I like to look at them and ruminate on what I would do if I were designing a house. I received a comment from Carl Can:

carl can  May 15, 2012 1:13 AM

I like your blog,and also like the article,and thank you for provide me so much information :)) custom home plans

Awww....Thanks Carl.
Turns out the link that Carl provided was to a house plan site. Awesome!

I wandered through his site looking for a few plans that I think could (Northern speak for might'a'could in Southern speak.) work for JR and I at this point in our lives. Because you know housing needs change as your life changes, right? When the boys were home we needed space, space, and more space. Now? Not so much.

What do we need now?

1. 3 bedrooms - this is mostly for resale value and if I can't have a studio outside of the house (and you know that in Princess MicheleLand, I do have that studio out in the backyard) one bedroom is for the studio and one for guests. 
2. 2+ bathrooms - this should go without saying.
3. Master bedroom suite on the first floor. JR and I aren't getting any younger. Climbing stairs to the bedroom at night gets hard on the ol'knees. And Jan is absolutely right...there needs to be separation between the master bedroom and all the other bedrooms. Personal space is a must. Double sinks in the bath is imperative!
4. Generous kitchen. It doesn't have to be huge but it does have to be largish with a good flow and a decent amount of counter space. I don't really need an island the size of Manhattan but prep space and storage are a must. A walk in pantry would not go amiss.
5. Garage doors that are NOT visible at the front of the house. Seriously, this is not negotiable. There is nothing I hate more than garage door at the front of the house. They are big, boring and totally awful.

Taking this needs into consideration here is the plan that best fits our needs right now at Carl's site. 

The one thing that I would change is to add 2 feet to the master bedroom/front porch. This would add the same 2 feet to the floor above also. By adding this extra space footage to the front porch one would have enough room for a swing, a couple of chairs and a table for setting your drink down. Perfect porch for sitting around and chatting it up with the neighbors or watching the chickens scratch and peck in the yard with the Border Collie keeping watch. Yeah, that works for me.

I'd, also, move the wall between the laundry room and the storage room by a couple of feet. Adding some more room to the laundry room. 

The porch in the back would be great screened in. A pass thru window (if it is screened in you don't need a screen on the window) to the kitchen makes it a semi-outdoor kitchen with the addition of a BBQ and a buffet.

BR 2 in the front of this floor plan would be the studio.(if I couldn't have that out-back studio that is which since I'm dreaming here I would.) Why? Because it has more windows and where it is place it has the potential of having skylights installed. With the added 2 feet of floor space it would be big enough for all my projects and supplies. Plus, the back bedroom would make the best guest ever. Not so cushy that it would encourage guests to stay too long. As Ben Franklin said; guests, like fish begin to smell after three days.

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 I've started 4 new paintings.

2 are done, I think. I've got them hanging in the studio to see how I feel about them.

I think I'm okay with the still life but I'm not as happy with the landscape. I'll fust with it a bit.

The other two are a nude (my first) and a baby gift for a friend. I've only drawn the nude so I can't really show you that one and the gift I am keeping a secret until I give it to her.

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I got my car back from the body shop last week. I can't tell you how happy this makes me. The rental was this big old lady car which a. scared me silly when I got on the freeway and b. was just not me.


Okay, that's enough for me. Go say hi to the other RTT bloggers and Carl.

Love,
M