From how you put your message....I take it you have bought an empty lot and find out that it has lots of weeds that you are responsible for seeing they don't encroach on neighbors and/or don't grow so high to be an unsightly mess to the neighborhood. Howcum I have no sympathy for you....you bought the property to do something with I take it....and the weeds are taking over. Thankfully, jurisdictions have laws and rules against letting property owners treat land just as they please....otherwise, we'd all be inundated with neighbors who could care less about their's and their neighbors properties. High weeds breed insects and may contain noxious types that people find their allergies acting up and can make a neighborhood look too country. Chances are if you didn't keep the weeds down there would be lots of complaints from neighbors. Thank your lucky stars you have laws that control such nuisances.

It seems there are two completely different trains of thought going on here: one being the creation of a 5 acre garden with potted trees, shrubs, perennials, and lots of water for the first couple of years; the other being the purchase and spread of lots of seed to let nature do it's work in time. Somewhere in between is the restoration idea that lazygardens suggests, which is a good one IF the land is significantly degraded (I would not consider "creosote bushes and empty desert trails" to be necessarily degraded). To make a long story short, you need to think more about your goal... is it restoration? erosion control? beautification? providing wildlife habitat? If the creosote is all that would grow there naturally to begin with, why put up the struggle? After you've answered these questions you can begin to look at species, although I would recommend using seed mixes appropriate to the area and whatever thrives you can always plant more of.

First of all congratulations on the completion of your build. I agree with the PP, take your time. I completely remember the excitement and wanting to do everything right away. We moved into our custom built home 3 years ago. We are just now getting to the point where the key homes feel complete: family room, library, kitchen, dining, master suite. I haven't even touched the basement or secondary bedrooms yet. The few items I rushed to purchase in the first 6 months are the only ones that I regret. The idea of an interior designer is a good one. Most will give you an overall plan and you can purchase pieces over time. Here are my ideas: Do not touch the formal dining right now. Iwould focus on the family room. I'm not sure a sectional will work bc you have traffic coming into the family room for all sides. I would probably do a sofa facing the fireplace and chaise along the window wall. Do you really want a rug under you kitchen table? For your family room, start with the rug and then pull your colors from there. I think 9x12 would be a good size. Your home is quite traditional but it seems like you lean towards a transitional style. I second some of the vendors suggested so far: crate and barrel room and board west elm Mitchell Gold Lee industries Oly studio Ethan Allen Ballard design Also, look at vintage/antique pieces. Especially for case goods like end tables, sideboards. 20K is a good budget. Personally, I tend to mix high and low. If you have a few key splurge pieces, it will raise the whole room to higher level. Good luck and enjoy the process!

Well your choices are really to either put more subpanels (moving some circuits from the existing panel to the subpanel to make room for the feeder breaker) or replace one of the existing ones with more spaces available. You may wish to consult an electrician, especially to check over the existing harry homeowner work. By the way, there's nothing wrong with a subpanel not having a main breaker inside it (provided it is in the same structure). The feeder breaker in the panel it is fed from protects the wiring/panel. This is why they make main lug style panels to begin with.