Pony wall end

Birch plywood, Ipé corner, glued together, oil-rubbed, clamped to 2x structure squeezing Liquid Nails that was spread with a notch trowel.

Cut and loop carpet

Nominal installed cost = $6.00 per sq.ft. (by contractor)
However, considering just net area = $7.50 per sq.ft. (ouch!)
Reason = seamlessness between rooms and hallway + remnants

Baseboard for carpet

Washer/dryer connections

Washer/ dryer here must angle in from hallway left corner first (or last corner out when removing). The space on the right is then barely enough to pass through to work on the connections -- except for the exhaust duct, which is one-arm reachable with the appliance in place.

Very tight, but worked out fine in a space that's 35"x35" clear. New hoses, gaskets, connectors = $63.

Woven wood shades

Natural bamboo in a tight weave pattern provides decent light blockage without fabric liner. The optional top-down mechanism doesn't increase retracted thickness as I had feared. It's just another pulley side-by-side with the primary pulley.
I cannot recommend this company because they had to remake one that was too short, then the replacement didn't match the others in color and texture. It's such a different batch after only three weeks.

Separation door

Solid core metal clad pre-hung "exterior" door with double bore, weatherstripping, sweep, and aluminum threshold (removed for interior installation) replaced old bedroom door. Cost $117 plus tax from Home Depot.

Solid bamboo floor

About $2.08 per sq.ft. from Costco. This is not the same material installed in the laundry nook. Price compares favorably to the $4.25 in 2004. Click thumbnails below to enlarge.

Laundry nook

Dryer can tap into natural gas (upper left on side wall) or 240V 30AMP electrical (upper right).

Exhaust duct would turn 90° behind dryer, 45° into floor (visible in photo), 90° below joists, then straight, then a slight curve to wall terminal exiting to the side yard.

Hopefully this laundry nook is spacious enough for most stacked washer-dryers, and with side space for storage.

Click on photo to backtrack to the post on the Watts Intelliflow.

Skylight shade

Purchased parts include pleated Redi Shade (folded paper), sliding screen door replacement hardware, and easy-slide pads. The wood is from scraps. String is fish line. Total cost = $22.The control mechanism is like that of a drafting table parallel arm. A line runs taut through rollers in a figure-eight pattern. The metal drop handle keeps it from tipping over while opening and closing (done with a hollow bamboo pole).