Just because you love the way a design element looks doesn't mean it's always going to fit perfectly into how you plan on living in the space. Sometime even the best laid plans still present challenges. In this case, it's was the dormers.
There was no question that we wanted the two 6 foot gable dormers on the front of the house. The house is breathtaking when you pull up the drive. Uncle Howard's Designs a gorgeous dormer. What we wish we had done differently is run a full length shed dormer across the back side of the roof instead of one gable dormer and one shed dormer. Both kinds of dormers are spacious and a must have in any barn house. The shed dormers are less decorative but in many ways more practical. We had a heck of time trying to figure out how to fit our kitchen into the shed dormer and the upstairs bathroom into the gable dormer. If we'd run the shed dormer the whole way it would have been much easier.
It took some time to work out. We went with our original plan and moved the kitchen back downstairs. The bathroom downstairs has the shower for the days when you come in from riding too dirty to tromp through the house. That left just enough room in the gable dormer upstairs for the clawfoot tub and "water closet". The shed dormer is the perfect size for the office upstairs. With some compromise and inventiveness in the end we made it all fit.
