Definitely provide updates and images from start to finish> You can enter the coop contest next year! Keep records on prices/expenses as well, so if someone is looking to build something similar, they will know how much they will be set back money wiseAbsolutely!
I live in Austin, TX (a fairly chicken-friendly town). The city code stipulates that I cannot keep a noisy animal and outlines setback guidelines. Beyond that, I can have as many as six goats (as long as they are female or neutered males), as many chickens as are housed appropriately, and miniature livestock! It's a cool town. I doubt that my neighbors care if I have chickens. However, I am hoping to house the chickens in an pristine enough fashion that they are unlikely to know they are there. Frankly, the city code does not even preclude a rooster as long as it is not noisy. I went on a coop tour where the chicken owner simply kept their French Copper Maran rooster in the laundry room at night, returning him to his harem each morning!
I had a cooler place to put the coop, a niche in my yard bordered by the house, neighbor's fence, and the fence separating my front and back yard. Sandwiched against my foundation and and cemented fence posts, it would have been pretty impenetrable with very little investment in materials and labor. Even cooler, a doorway added to the base of the fence separating my yards would have given the chickens access to the vegetable garden whenever I opened it. Furthermore, I could have watched the chickens out one window,... but it wasn't within code as it would have been closer than 50ft to my neighbor's residence (and threatened the mental stability of their chicken-hungry dogs). I doubt my neighbors care or have a clue what the city code states, but was not willing to risk having to move it. I have been contemplating automatic feeders/waterers, but I am a dork that likes feeding things. I get a twisted sense of accomplishment when I set down the freshly prepared dog bowls for the night. If all else in my day has gone awry, at least I am still the hero that fixed their world. However, I may need automatic options to give me the freedom to disappear for a few days without having to rely on a pet sitter. As to convenience... The proposed hen house location put it 20ft off my back patio within easy reach of the hose faucet. Even more convenient, the rainwater collection barrels are right there with spigots on the bottom. My plan is to store the feed in the blind corner created between the two external nest box quads on adjacent walls. The compost is 40ft away from the run door. I have a fairly big yard by Austin standards (0.8 acre), but liked the idea of having the chickens close by. The proximity of the coop is part of the reason for incorporating a variety of eye-candy features beyond efficiency. Thanks for the personal experience on the fence height. I would love to give the chickens free-range time if it is possible. The fence between my yard and the chicken-eating dogs is 6' high privacy. However, the back fence is four foot cyclone to allow maximum visibility of the huge green space behind me. I am concerned that the wide open space and feed that some people put out for the deer might tempt my chickens to roam. (You are not supposed to feed the deer inside the city limits, but people do...causing the population of my backyard deer to be about 30!) For the record, I am not that organized. I am just frugal and lazy enough to realize that some exhaustive planning is saves me quite a bit of expense, time, and labor. Furthermore, the planning can be done as a pretense for productivity while I watch TV (It's a recorded episode of "The Good Wife" right now). Labor, time, and money are not as easy to come by. Besides, it has long been established that the significant other and I may both have English as a first language, but cannot understand each other. One too many trips to a hardware store picking up an item that met all the criteria given in the description,but was not the RIGHT item... has impressed on both of us the importance of detailed blueprints/sketches to forestall any homicidal tendencies. Everybody's suggestions have already impacted my design significantly. Dutch doors have been added to the back wall of the coop. The nest boxes are now modular in nature. The hen house floor is no longer iron grates, but solid with deep litter ABOVE it. I am going to incorporate trapdoor and temporary fence panel closing off the run beneath the hen house to create a coop-within-a-coop for non-contagious isolation purposes (brooder area, new introductions, injuries,etc). Now that the deep litter method is being employed in the hen house, I am going to raise the floor and the overall coop height. My original intention was to keep it completely out of my neighbor's view by making it the same height as the privacy fence. In my new arrangement, the roof will be visible over the fence. However, the boyfriend (whose a foot taller) will also be able to stand upright in the run and the wheelbarrow can be pushed right beneath the hen house floor to sweep it out. It's quite a bit of work, but I am not planning for this to be done until spring, ....just in time for baby chicks. If you are interested, I will try to take pictures of the process, finished product, and features unique to my design. I cannot tell you how invaluable the collective wisdom has been thus far and really appreciate y'all taking the time to offer feedback on my hare-brained ideas.
When do you think you will start? I'm excited for you! Getting your first chickens is a wonderful experience, and one that can not be forgotten. I remember the day we went to pick up our first 4 chickens (don't even want to know how many we have now 
). I was sweating because I was so excited. Now it's become a saying in our family: "Sweating like chicken day". 
If you need any help deciding breeds, THAT I am good at I like friendly, productive and beautiful chickens. Lots of eye candy 
