This beauty did flower for me this year, it literally stopped me in my tracks. As far as color, this picture was taken last week and looks identical as of this morning. The leaves emerge a dark color with a green tint when they first bud out in the spring, similar to my albizia summer chocolate. But after that they are all dark all summer. One of my favorites!

...WOW... Stephania... fantastic photos...! It is inspiring to see how Bromeliads can be displayed with such impact, on mass. The photos reminded me of your article on the Royal Flora 2006 display, and I see that NNTBG supplied & landscaped that display. The way they use layers & the vertical space is brilliant. I am particuarly interested to know how they make up the vertical walls, and columns of Neoregelias. I see they are still kept in their pots. So I wonder how are they mounted...? I assume they must be easy to remove, and replace as required. Do you have any photos showing how this "stacking" technique is achieved...? Or can you explain how they do it...?

mimi, the big old fashioned bulbs are my favorite, too. The LEDs I got were supposed to be like these, and yes, they are the same size and shape, but the color...eeek! I wonder too if I will ever get used to them. A few years ago, before I ever payed attention to types of lighting, I would sometimes see commercial places with LED lights on their trees, and I always wondered what was wrong with the lights (they were always the clear white), especially when I would see them next to the usual kind. bungalow, if many people don't like the LEDs, maybe we will have to go through another Dark Ages until the technology catches up:-) I am thinking I am going to be doing without house holidy lights this year, too. I just can't bring myself to plug these in. For the inside I have an old aluminum tree with a color wheel, (I don't even want to know how much of an electric hog the wheel is, but I don't leave it on long) so I didn't have to worry about lights inside before, but this year I had really wanted to purchase a more traditional tree loaded with lights. That will not be happening, LOL. alex, that's a wonderful way of thinking, comparing it to moonlight on snow. Unfortunately, I am not there yet, and wonder if I will ever be. It snows where I live :-) I too wish manufacturers would improve things, but, I am not terribly hopeful at this point. I hear about the wonderful things that have been done to fluorescent lighting, too, and I do use it in some areas of my home, but I don't find it to be a wonderful light colorwise, even with the updated fixtures. One of my friends has replaced all the bulbs in her home with CFLs, and it looks strange and cold and eerie like an imaginary doctor's office (she decorated in all neutrals, that may be part of the problem, not sure if colors work better under fluorescent?). I pay attention to lighting in stores where they want the items to look good, and while they use lots of fluorescent, they also have a very heavy hand with the halogens. Which come with their own problems. reno, as it stands, I would rather not have lights than the LED lights too. But I am going to be seeing them more and more on other people's homes and now I am going to dislike holiday displays, something which I have never done...I even liked those tiny yards full of every holiday creature in molded plastic. Now I am picturing the same thing but with LEDs. Horror film stuff indeed! Amy, how do you like your cabinet lights now that they are alternated? Is the color more palatable? Did you get used to it? joanie, interesting on the warm white lights having phosphors. I wonder how long that would last. Fluorscent bulbs that try and mimic incandescent warmth claim a phosphor coating, too. Supposedly it does not last the life of the bulb. Sheesh I am going to need a scientist and a decorator just to change my lightbulbs from now on. ttodd, sounds like you've gotten used to it, which is probably what we will all have to do. I wonder if kids react in the same way, or if they love the LED light displays as much as we loved the incandescents. *sigh* At forty I wasn't ready to be an old fogey longing for the yesteryears, yet, here I sit. susieq, what will you do when the incadescents are eliminated? Actually, I have no idea if ALL incandescents will be gone...and if so when...I mean even though T9s are much better in fluorescents you can still buy the old T12s of humming buzzing fame. I am just in a quagmire here because I want very much to use less energy, reduce my carbon footprint, etc, and yet gosh I hate the way some of it looks. carrie, what color are your lights? What is the brand? I am still sad, but at least I know I'm not alone in my dislike of the LEDs. I would still love to hear from someone who LIKES them, and know what brand they bought, what colors or clear, ect. Thanks for all your responses... Joanna

I think it's a balance between what you really love and location. Yes, in general I do think you need to take location into account, but can adapt what you love to fit. It sounds to me like you like modern or mid-century, which are similar in their lines. Since your neighbors are coastal and bungalow, I think mid-century would fit in better with the neighborhood style than straight-up modern. To me, mid-century can be light (whites and creams), grays, earth tones and even that pop of color you mention, so you have a lot to play with. When you see inspiration pictures, what are you drawn towards in general? Light colors or darker? Without knowing your answer yet, I would probably do a blend of mid-tone warm gray (main body, LRV in the 30s or 40s) and off-white (trim) on the exterior with a pop of color or wood door, just based on the house design and neighborhood. But there are several directions you could go...