Here’s the first set of drawings.  We’ve made tremendous progress over the last couple of weeks, but it’s amazing how little the core design concept has changed since this first review meeting in early October.

Before jumping in, it’s worth remembering a few of our goals :

• We want a house that “fits” into the Porter’s Landing neighborhood without looking forced.
• Part of that relates to scale.  We’ve targeted 2,500 square feet.  That’s proven to be one of the more “controversial” aspects of the project.  We just think it’ll live more comfortably, be easier to maintain, easier to heat and a testament to Steve’s remarkable cheapness for everything without a Nikon label.
• First floor living.  Sure, go ahead and laugh.  But after a few years in our Sugarloaf place, we’ve come to appreciate the value of having everything on the first floor.

More of the “Wishlist” is linked to the right.  (And we’ll just add that the time & energy spent on this list has proven invaluable.)

A few things to look for in this first set of drawings :

• All of our important living space is “south facing.”  Bathrooms, mudroom, closets are on the north side.
• We wanted to be able to see the driveway from the kitchen
• A distinct entrance.  No one is ever quite sure which door to use here on Flying Point. Front door?  Through the gate to the more visible back door?  Through the garage?
• The ability to “close off” the mud room from the rest of the entry.
• The office (aka “Flyingpointroad.com World HQ”) that separates the master bedroom and living space.
• The stone terrace.  No more decks.  And given that we’re at Sugarloaf for the major winter holidays, it’s more likely that our Freeport entertaining happens in the Spring and Summer.  This space “stretches” our house.
• The 2nd floor might be “simple,” but both rooms are south facing and have windows on two walls.  Which is nice.

Let us know what you think.