Well, we've now seen our first set of drawings and I've gotta say, this is very exciting. The architect listened closely to our wants and needs, and came back with two suggested designs to achieve all of our goals. One drawing won out over the other, hands down. It is going to look amazing. The master bath, while small by most standards, will include a shower, garden tub, walk in closet and lots of storage. From a lifetime of living in small dwellings and I can attest to the wisdom that it's not how much space you have, but rather it's how well you use it that matters. The bathroom uses the space in a very efficient manner, and manages to leaves a lot of empty space in the center (creating an illusion of space).

In the kitchen we're planning a very open, almost "shotgun" approach which will really look large (despite the fact that the room is just 12' wide). We've even incorporated my boyfriend's beloved salt-water aquarium into the design. I can picture it now, Saturday morning we're sitting at the breakfast table trying to decide the most pressing question of the morning -- should we look outside at the beautiful backyard or should we watch the fish swim in the aquarium...decisions, decisions.

After this first meeting, we had a few tweaks and suggestions, and the the architect is now working on finalizing the drawing. We'll meet again with him soon to get a final go over and then it will be time to bring in an engineer. We'll be converting our old cinderblock/wood pier and beam foundation to a steel frame and that requires a lot of math and geometry -- hence, engineer.

It's exciting to see such big plans unrolling before our eyes. I can't wait to begin the demolition, all the while fantasizing about those relaxing Saturday mornings in the future breakfast room.