A bathroom and two closets, size small

This isn't a game of sardines, but it might as well have been. Everybody was jamming into the little guest bath on the first floor.

The picture is through the walls: One closet to the main room is on the left; one closet for the guest room is on the right; and the bathroom is on through.

It's tight, but we knew that. Our architect, Dennis, was bedeviled by how much we wanted to pack into such a limited space -- sort of like being drafted as Dolly Parton's dress designer.

At this point, Ref was explaining where the fire-blocks had to go to protect the staircase (just out of the photo, to the left), because if there's one thing you don't want to catch fire, it's the stairs. (Then again, if they do, there's the big "escape" window in the upstairs bedroom -- sort of like Miss Dolly's dress having hooks and a zipper).

Some of the wood you see is pocket-door housings; they came in last week, at least most of them, and they can finally go in. As usual, Ref has some tricks up his sleeve to guarantee they work to their utmost.

In the picture at the left, for example, you see a little space between the very light wood of the door housing and the beam running overhead. The screws that hold the housing in place don't show, but the gap means expansion and contraction -- from changes in moisture or temperature -- won't make the door bind. Clever.