The Maine house

Ok, played around a bit.  Added a second floor loft.  The intent is to only be there a few months of the year, but there was a ton of space above the center living area and heat rises, so I figured we might as well utilize an area that will be warm.  And it will give us a higher vantage point when looking out at the ocean and a better chance to spot whales.  I think I'll put some comfy chaises up there and a really good long distance set of binoculars.

Aside from that change, it's pretty much what I'd first done with it.  The original plan was a four bedroom two bath with no master.  At this point in my life, I'm not sharing a bathroom with anyone, like a teenaged kid still living at home in a house full of siblings.  So I converted two bedrooms into one and added a large master bath and walk in closet.  On the other side, since the living space was VERY cramped, I turned one bedroom into a den / study / dining room.  I'm sure the breakfast bar will get the most use, but having that formal dining area will be nice when we have company.  And we do definitely plan on having lots of company up there.  For grandkids for one thing will be taking turns coming up for a week or two at a time.  Then there are the kids, parents, cousins, and so many friends.  A two person breakfast bar just wasn't going to cut it.  So with this change, there's room for four to six people to sit and eat at the table, and if we're really full, put a couple kids at the bar too.  The bathroom and other bedroom were left as is.

Now that I'm thinking of the floor plan and visitors, I'm thinking perhaps in the loft should be a pull out couch.  If we have a pull out in the living room and a pull out in the loft and the bed in the bedroom, we could easily fit six adult visitors, and if we do two couples, we could fit three or four kids in the living space between the couch and pallets on the floor.  Heck, maybe I can even find a couple chairs that pull out into twin beds for the living room too!

With average daytime highs in the 70-80 degree range and lows in the mid 40s to upper 50s, I'm guessing we'll be spending a lot of time outdoors.  I'd love to walk the beach each day.  I'm sure John will be staying on the porch.  Walking isn't really a good idea for him anymore.  But even with company over, we could sit on that porch and enjoy coffee in the mornings and a glass of wine with our dinner each night.  On the nicer, cooler days we could spend all day out there.  We'll pop a couple firewood holders on the front porch and keep them wrapped in a tarp so the firewood stays dry.  A fire on the cooler evenings would be so relaxing!

So anyway, this is the plan that I've got for now.  Nothing big or fancy, but good enough for company to come enjoy and us to have enough room.