Since I'm thinking of rebuilding the house from an old save anyway...
What can be built where in the house? (I've got Lakeview Manor, if that makes a difference.)
I built all the crafting wings, only to discover that not only can I put an entire smithy (forge, grindstone, armor workbench, tanning rack, and smelter) in the basement, the basement seems to be the only place I can put the forge. (Never mind that putting a forge and smelter indoors with no possible ventilation seems like a really bad idea...) So the armory seems like kind of a waste now. It would have been really helpful if the Homestead wiki page had mentioned that.
If I put all the forge stuff in the cellar, in order to have a complete collection of crafting stations I'd just need an enchanting table and an alchemy lab. I don't really care whether those are in dedicated wings or in the corner of the kitchen or main hall or whatever. (Enchanting table closer to the forge might be nice, but it's not a big deal.) What are my options? And are there non-cosmetic advantages to building the dedicated wings? A fancier enchanting table might be neat, but isn't a huge consideration. Did I read somewhere that the alchemy tower respawns some ingredients?
I do want to be sure I've got enough beds for me, my two kids, my steward, and possibly a follower. I think I can do that if I build the master bedroom for myself upstairs, single beds for the kids on the other side of the main hall, and designate the small house as servant's quarters. (Whether the NPCs actually follow that is another matter.) But some people are saying the kids need the downstairs bedroom wing? Is that still true? (I'm playing on the PC if that makes any difference.) I haven't tried it yet because (as I posted in another thread) I seem to have hit a bug with furnishing the place.