My words are nebulous, yes -- I think so too. Thats one of the reasons I was trying to find out what sort of words *are* useful. Heres what I am starting with: (These panoramas are distorted; the sidewalk is essentially flat.) Zone 7, Shenandoah Valley Virginia town. 70' x 40with a gentle slope from sidewalk down to house. Mature maple. Somewhat overgrown boxwood foundation planting. Short white picket fence (neighbors) on SE property line with 4 deep "little-of-this, little-of-that" perennial border on our side (which doesnt appeal to us). Mature dogwood between maple and house (enjoyed from side screened porch.)Our basement is presently nice and dry, and we want to keep it that way. I agree that the backyard is traditionally the place for seclusion in these parts. In our case the backyard seems less suitable than the front yard. Its noisier (due to an alley) and more overlooked by neighbors (due to the slope) despite mature hedges, and is dominated by what I call the LOOMING deck. The deck is often heavily shaded by the house and we only enjoy it a few months a year. The back is a great open place for the kids (almost 5 and 7) to play; they dont seem put off by the alley or the spectre of the looming deck. By contrast, the front faces a quiet dead-end street and has good south-southeast exposure. Both my husband and I work at home. When an minor remodeling is complete, my office window will face the front yard. The land slopes up slightly from the house so the yard is very visible from inside. We leave the front door open on sunny days in all seasons and let the light (and summer air) pour into the stair hall. We carry lawn chairs out there to sit in the dappled summer shade and warm winter sun. We'd like it to belong to us and not to the street. Amazon, much of the above I didnt know 19 months ago when we moved here from the New Hampshire woods. I think there were some good reasons to wait to plant. If we had done what we were inclined to do our first summer here (find a place to park the car!) we would be regretting it now. And though of course only a mature garden will fully meet my needs as you said, gottagarden, theres a reward in waiting and watching it grow. Ink, I do have a taste for woodlands. I used to live in a woodland, and now I spend an hour a day walking in woods not far from town. Thats how I get my "fix;" but here in town I feel I want something different: some formal lines, an obvious geometry, a few clipped shapes. The house seems suited to that, too. I close my eyes with the sun on my face and imagine Im on a narrow, low-walled terrace in Italy with my back to a vine-covered wall, facing an intimate enclosed garden punctuated by cypresses and great mounds of evergreen, and with just a glimpse of a distant view. I dont have the right climate or environs for that dream, but it gives you another idea of my taste. Though I like flowers, I really want the green and some hardscape and texture, scent, a beautiful artifact of some sort, and the red flittings of cardinals (the birds, I mean, not the red-hatted kind). Ive already put a lot of consideration into some things: the circulation, sitting terrace, etc. But perhaps I should put that aside for the moment and free up my mind to consider alternate possibilities. Please feel free to comment on anything.

While I think that the "FAQ" as outlined by swanoir was presented tongue in cheek ('the humus'), many of the subsequent comments and/or links to threads that could/should be included in a FAQ were presented in a more serious tone. And maybe they do make sense as a foundation to a real LD forum FAQ. But I've also sensed something else in these comments that may contribute to the apparent lack of communication between new posters seeking advice and those that regularly frequent this forum and offer it. And that is that the long checklist provided by Miss R must be (or should be) answered in detail before posting. Well, of course not! But it is definitely something worth reviewing and giving some thought to. This checklist, or something very similar, is what most designers utilize when first meeting with a prospective client. It gives them a feeling for what the client wants to do with the property, how they intend to use it, what they hope to get out of it and how much effort (time/$$) are they are intending to put into it. Hopefully, reviewing an outline or checklist such as this could help to refine and focus some of those blank slate questions and even educate those new posters totally unfamiliar with the process the degree of complexity, the number of variables and exactly what is involved in the formulation of a landscape design. Even DIY landscape texts intended for the homeowner with no previous design or landscaping experience offer similar checklists to get one started thinking about the process. Obviously, this is overkill for those questions that are more issue-specific, but I think very appropriate for those that are much broader and far less focused.

@millworkman -- well I certainly can ask them, and would expect them to be helpful. But that wasn't my question. Perhaps it wasn't clear -- since the kitchen is probably the most utilized room in the house, I'm wondering whether someone with a specific expertise in kitchen design is an advisable extra expense. While my architect and BGCH can certainly provide me with some examples of best practices, I'm wondering how many folks who are in the process of a custom build have found the added expense of a KD to be money well spent. I can get my annual "female" exam from my primary care physican -- who is certainly capable -- but the OB/GYN is most up to date on the latest research with regard to that topic. In some instances the PCP is just fine, but sometimes one might have reason to see an expert.

Now trying to be helpful: A wall color that complements the brown fixtures would be the biggest and easiest change. If you look at images of spa bathrooms (on Houzz or elsewhere) you will see many with large windows and beautiful views. That is not easily achieved in an average home setting, certainly not in mine, but a color that suggests the outdoors is a step in that direction. I think that a spring green might work well with the brown, and greens are generally favorable to wood tones as well. Keep in mind that most colors look more intense once they are on the walls, so choose one that is less saturated than the effect you want. Both of your ideas for flooring would also help. And if I had that vanity top -- actually, I do have that vanity top -- I would change it. For my own house I'm leaning toward white, but it will be with white fixtures. The vanity light fixture is about as far out of fashion as possible. I know this because I have one just like it. The light that you have in storage might work well with your plan, but the foremost question is whether it will emit enough light. Although "Hollywood" fixtures are unfashionable, they do light the room evenly.