On Fri, 28 Jan 2011 12:27:16 -0800 (PST), Cindy Hamilton
> wrote:

>On Jan 28, 12:52*pm, sf > wrote:
>> On Fri, 28 Jan 2011 06:38:37 -0800 (PST), Cindy Hamilton
>>
>> > wrote:
>> > Is that a complete O, or will there be some kind of gate so
>> > landscapers can bring in a bobcat or something?
>>
>> Dreams are not perfect. *The garage can be a pass through, there can
>> be a breezeway with gates or maybe the gardener will fly over the roof
>> with his lawnmower.
>
>Huh. I always take that kind of thing into account during my "I won
>the lottery" fantasies. Probably comes from all of the DIY projects
>we've done over the years.
>
>"Ok, we'll have a tankless water heater under the kitchen, and another
>one under the bathroom..." Although I often plan the house with a
>"core" of mechanicals; back-to-back kitchen and bathrooms to minimize
>the plumbing runs. (Then I add a bath by the back door, and all
>that engineering goes out the window.) I spend as much time thinking
>about structure as I do about finishes (wood and stone, mostly).
>
>Cindy Hamilton

With the true Spanish homes with atrium there are no lawns, not in the
atrium nor around the entire house. In the US southwest the McMansion
idiots struggle with growing patches of various grasses, none of which
are native to that biome.