Roorezzi, Your husband has a good idea. It'd be really tempting to try dwarf Ginkgo trees (I think they'll stay under six feet max; aka dwarf Maidenhair) in pots --maybe three of those, one on each side of the garage and then one placed on that far back corner of the house (can be seen in the first photo; it'd make visual sense when first driving up to your home or viewing from the street). Nice, quiet, but giving a strong foundational presence; using larger sized planters, possibly those whiskey or wine barrels which are cut in half for containers (search for and invest in ones that are supposed to hold up to the elements longer for your area). I think they would last and last. Then, for side notes, accent plants in pots of a little bit smaller size could be added strategically for a sweet, seasonal, and cheerful welcome. You could still hang planters, too; if wanted....even by standing shepherd hooks on either side of the front door porch, if you were thinking about a good balance that would also direct-the-eye. I haven't grown any Ginkgo, ever, and I am certainly the opposite of expert. But they're so pretty, unexpected, and adaptable...rumored as bug/disease resistance; that's why I said it'd be tempting to try, though betting it'd be way, way too much heat/humidity here. Also, I think it's the male trees which are more desirable for purchase. Not sure of the exact lowest cold hardy zone but thinking it is okay for within yours. Click Here for a nice general idea article written about Ginkgo (sometimes spelled "Ginko" --without the second use of the letter 'g'). And if it were possible, I'd plant a Celestial Dogwood tree or two or three (just kidding about that, lol!)---planted in a large bedding away from being too close to your home but still super sweetly anchoring the left side of house in the front yard area---all because of their beauty! It's a hybrid, supposedly better at resisting bug/disease than regular Dogwood. Keep in mind with me being the opposite of expert, I'm not sure of their cold hardy zone, just know it's too hot for too long for a Celestial to survive in this part of Florida. Gosh, Roorezzi, they're so pretty! Good luck to you...everything looks really nice in the photos...especially the cute puppy, lol ... :o)

1 Aesculus californicus 2 A mistletoe, probably Arceuthobium campylopodum 3 " 4 ? 5 ? 6 ? 7 Pearly everlasting, Anaphalis margaritacea 8 Mullein, Verbascum thapse 9 Hard to tell what's going on there 10 Cocklebur, Xanthium strumarium 11 " 12 " 13 Manzanita, Arctostaphylos sp. 14 " 15 Agave americana 16 California lace lichen, Ramalina menziesii 17 Coffeeberry (maybe), Rhamnus californicus 18 " 19 " 20 ? 21 Baccharis pilularis consanguinea, Coyote brush 22 " 23 Quercus, probably Q. agrifolia, Coast Live Oak 24 Pinus seedling, probably P. radiata 25 " 26 Baccharis piluaris consanguinea, female flowers Joe

What a great kitchen! The main piece of advice I would offer is this: get rid of excess plastic containers. I had zillions of rubbermaid containers that didn't nest at all. I thought I needed every shape and size out there, so I bought far more than I could ever use. After we renovated our kitchen, I gave myself one drawer for plastic stuff. That's it. Now, it's a big drawer, but I have a family of nine people, so we still need quite a bit. First, I tossed or gave away that which would not nest. I standardized on 8" squares that fit into one another. I bought 6 of these and I've never needed more. All the lids are the same size. I have deep rectangular rubbermaid containers for holding flour and sugar in my baking cabinet. I have round containers for lunch boxes: my husband takes leftovers for lunch every day and reheats them in these lightweight containers that are as sturdy as regular rubbermaid. In this drawer I also store two rubbermaid butter dishes, three nesting funnels, 2 two-quart plastic pitchers, 2 small mixing bowls and 2 large mixing bowls, plus about 12 measuing cups from 4-cup to 1/4-cup in size. The key for my kitchen is that any plastic container we have is in this drawer. So I've gone from cupboards and drawers of plastic containers and measuring supplies to one single drawer. I will add that I have a plastic pasta scoop and larger colander that I store under the prep sink. I never save even the nicest of plastic containers that food might come in. If we ever need more, I can use a storage container from another part of the house, wash it out, then put it back when I'm done (like when I need to bring 60 cupcakes to school). I've also done the same sort of thing for lunch boxe supplies and ingredients. I have a baking center, which is to the right of the oven. My baking center is really just an upper cabinet with wire storage things inside that make it easy to cram a lot of stuff in a 30" wide cabinet. I do store extra baking mixes and flour/sugar in my lazy susan cabinet. I don't have a pantry. All of our health food is in another cabinet, near the blender where we make our protein shakes. I bought white plastic wirer coated shelves at the container store to stack dishes and baking goods in those cupboards. And also these tall, narrow two shelf units that fit under my sinks which sit next to the plumbing. They aren't really deep but just hold the basics in view (stuff tends to migrate to the back of the sink cabinet). I also got rid of excess pots and pans. I figured that if my pots and pans couldn't fit into one base cabinet, that I would have a hard time keeping tabs on those as well. My baking pans and cutting boards store vertically in a cabinet designed to hold tall thin items. You have so much wonderful space. If you can be judicious with how you plan your storage, you will find that you can even keep major seasonal items in your pantries as well, or gift wrap, etc. In fact, it looks like you could even put a desk in one of your pantries. Lucky you!

Yes, a picture of the room would help, and/or info on your kitchen cabinet color, countertop color, backsplash, etc. -- anything else in the room that would influence the wall color decision.