these suggestions are fantastic. thanks so much to everyone.we're meeting the architect on thursday so i'll print this off and some of onq's other posts to bring along.
(bows)
I'm honoured speedy, but complainer makes some sense [as he usually does].
The benefit of making suggestions your own really means not adopting two conflicting aims. You could start this process with the advice notes here perhaps by condensing them by cutting and pasting them into one coherent list. You could list them in order of priority, and then again organise them in order of house level or by room name. Any two conflicting aims [you may also have other sources than AAM] might become more readily apparent if you carry out this exercise.
In terms of complainers advice, you DO need to make the suggestions people have made here your own. The aim of this exercise should be to help develop your own ideas of what YOU want in the house as well as the WOW factors or dream elements you might like. Don't remove things from the list because you think you cannot afford them. Leave them in with a question mark or an asterisk * beside them. They may be too expensive, but an aspiration for a glazed conservatory may indicate an underlying desire that could be satisfied by clear-storey lighting or reflected light from above, or perhaps an internal balcony. Tell your architect your dreams for you house and see what results.
There should be no concern about what your architect will think of the source. Many clients use both plans, pictures and words of advice sourced elsewhere. Many architects [myself included] prefer to see the source text or pictures that the client is using for inspiration rather than the client's interpretation of them.
This proved very important when we were finalising a design for a house once and the client wanted a conservatory like the one they had seen in a book. No matter what permutation we tried, it didn't seem to satisfy. When it was the right size for the house, it was too small. When it was the size preferred it was half as big again as the main kitchen, living, dining space and prohibitively expensive.
When I eventually saw the source picture the problem became apparent. The original was a conservatory to the side of a French Chateau, small by French Chateaux standards, but large by Irish house standards - plus it was a two storey Chateau, and the house was a dormer bungalow. Once the mismatch of size had been identified we worked within the constraints to give give the client the essence of what was required, not a facsimile.
Finally, just a wee word of caution on my posts - while I make every effort to proof read my posts, errors may still get through - usually unintended typos - so if you're looking at using one of my longer, and/or more technical posts, it might be useful for you to print it out and bring it along. Its probably better not to interpret a long piece of text written by another. Any typos in it will be apparent, or should spotted by someone with technical training, and you won't both waste your time mulling over something that your architect should spot straight away that may have been a simple error on my or someone else's part.
Have a good read of the FAQs on the top of the Forum, particularly the "what to ask your architect at your first meeting FAQ" as this may help prepare you.
I hope it all works out well for you and you might let us know how matters progress on your great adventure.
ONQ
All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon as a defence or support - in and of itself - should legal action be taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in Real Life with rights to inspect and issue reports on the matters at hand.