I would strongly advise you to stay in the house. I'm a firm believer that the spouse who wants out of the marriage should be the one to look for a new place to live. Now I understand that for financial reasons, this isn't always possible, but if you can afford to take on the mortgage yourself, you should not be the one to leave. Most lawyers will offer similar advice, especially considering the possible impact that leaving the family house might have on future child custody/placement matters.
The WAS doesn't get to write the rules or create a master plan by him/herself for the dissolution of a marriage/family.
Ideally, you and your wife can stay in the house together, so that she can more readily observe the changes you're making, the GALing you're performing, etc. The idea of moving into a separate room is a really good one.
