Santa, keep in mind that is is perception which determines an impression. Most people who see it will never have the experience of actually using your front walk approach. While it may physically work, visually, its curb appeal value is questionable. A sense of spaciousness is not created just by there being space at a given point, but by it appearing that that the space exists before one arrives ... that as one lays out the path of travel in their mind, they have certainty that there is room for it. One needs to see where one is going before one gets there. If you've ever driven a tallish van into a parking garage you could get the sense that the top of the vehicle might be scraped by the garage ceiling. If you get out of the vehicle and eyeball the clearance, it's apparent that there is plenty. Nevertheless, the feeling of looming decapitation follows the search for a parking place. Because the walk at your house is not any wider than the necessary minimum, the "S" curve, and it's being planted on both sides ... instead of a feeling of spaciousness there is a feeling of "be careful you step." It doesn't help that flanking the walk -- instead of smooth, guiding lines and shapes -- there is a hectic mix of sharp angles and odd shapes greeting the first time visitor. ...Very odd shapes. It's incomprehensible to me, really, how such a bed shape could come to be if not entirely by accident. It does not look as if someone intentionally created this bed as a whole, but rather that it is left over pieces created in isolation of each other piece. Interestingly enough, the house itself gives the impression of being, at minimum, quite comfortable inside ... possibly even luxurious. But the approach to the front door looks out of sync with these concepts. (edited to add word) This post was edited by Yardvaark on Mon, Jul 28, 14 at 0:34

I had never heard of it either, but that's definitely what it is. It did show signs of yellowing after two sprayings, but due to the heat I've been pulling the remainder rather than damaging the fescue turf with excessive herbicide treatments.

I would do the easiest first, which is check your plumbing to see if there is a leak to the drain. The valve may be leaking from trash in it, even though it is closed. Second, I would check for leaks in everything above ground. Just a drip would drop the pond that much. Then, I would physically separate everything above ground from the pond. That will tell you if it is the pond or the plumbing. Take the pump, etc, out of the pond and set the pump in a tub above ground and run all the system see if the water in the tub drops. If it is the pond, there has to be a hole somewhere. If it is the pond, look at the trouble spots, where connections are made or pots and rocks are set. I would then drop the water in the pond, say to half depth and see if the water still drops. That will tell you where to look for the leak. Be sure and look at the most simple, practical thing first.

I like your Houzz inspiration. I think it looks good because they've used a wide crown molding to minimize the blank space of the soffit. Would that work on the sink wall soffit too? Then I'd use a chimney hood with a wide chimney. Some are just too long and skinny, and that's going to be accentuated by your tall and narrow cabinets--three in a row! I'd also bring the window treatment up to the crown as shown in the photo, though I bet your soffit interferes with that. Or I'd add the large top molding on the window as shown in the photo with the red range. You want to create the illusion of taller windows. I think all that brings a cohesive look to the soffits, windows, cabinets, and hood. I wonder if someone with great spatial abilities could find a way to make both walls look like they were designed as a whole. The Home Decor forum might be helpful with that, but maybe moreso the Remodeling and Building a Home forums, which have some really talented posters. Post everywhere! You've been struggling with this a long time!