I'm excited to see that you've received so much wonderful advice, Greenhaven. When I mentioned a cottage garden I was thinking of my version of it, which includes much more than roses and other flowers. For instance, against a bare all of the house I planted four junipers, with each pair having a lavender crape myrtle between it. There's also a privacy fence that's a hedge of closely planted junipers. They do as well in the heat as they do in the cold. If I lived in your zone I would design the area a a "winter" garden first, i.e. plant it so that it looks beautiful for that long time of the year when many things are dormant. As mentioned above, the typical yews and junipers might just be the best way to go. When those things are in place, you can design around them with softer elements for spring and summer interest. I think evergreens would form a very pleasing backdrop given the color of your house. Different bulbs that would give interest for several months in the spring would be lovely, and I wouldn't grow only tulips. Irises and daffodils grown in groups would look beautiful against a backdrop of evergreens. The suggestion of Awakening instead of New Dawn is a good one. A climber will be there for a long time and this rose has a much more old-fashioned look to it, in my opinion, although I understand it does have vicious thorns. It will be fun to see what you decide to do and I hope you post pictures of the process and the final result. Ingrid

Kevin, that type of lamp and the colors in it look great in your room. This is some advice I was given previously regarding bedside lamps: When you are sitting in bed, the bottom of the shade should be just above your shoulder to create the perfect reading light. You probably already know this, but I am editing to post additional information I was given: Shade height should be about 3/4 the height of the base. Reading lamps need a wider shade to provide plenty of light. Be sure you have 2-3 inch separation from bulb to shade, especially for higher wattage bulbs. Be sure the top opening is wide enough to vent the heat. Compact Fluorescent bulbs are great for most lamps because they burn cooler, but you may need larger harp since CFL's are taller than standard light bulbs. The best way to determine the bottom diameter of the shade for your table lamp is to measure the lamp height from the bottom edge of the table lamp base to the top of the lamp stem, (just below the socket cap) The shade you choose for your lamp should have a bottom diameter that is within 2âÂÂ, plus or minus, the measured height of your lamp. For example if your lamp height (measured from the bottom of the lamp to just below the socket) is 14â tall, the shade you select (depending on your preference for a small, medium, or larger looking shade) should have a bottom diameter of 12âÂÂ, 13âÂÂ, 14âÂÂ, 15â or 16âÂÂ. Round lamp base - round or hexagonal shade Square or angular base - square shade Mix opposites to make a contemporary statement By the way, I forgot to mention that your nightstand is just beautiful. This post was edited by walnutcreek on Sun, Apr 28, 13 at 15:55

I used to sell vacums at Sears way back in the 90s. At that time the best vac on the market for most of America was the Kenmore canister with the powerhead. It was a really good machine. Then, Sears, tried to sell the Miele vac alongside the Kenmore. The comparison put the Miele at a disadvantage. It did not have a powerhead with a rotating brush for carpet. It seemed so lame alongside the powerful Kenmore canister. If I am remembering wrong and you know differently, please feel free to correct me. But, I do remember it being the Miele vac. It has been some time ago. I know it was a European vac. At that time it was still popular to have wall to wall installed carpet. This was. just before the trend went to eliminating carpet and going to hard floors. In my mind it is one of the best hygienic things that America has done. That carpet is just so very dirty and unsanitary. If you had the hardloors this Meile may have been a good choice. But, it you still had old fashioned carpet, it was not of much use at all. From what I am seeing it appears that Miele now has a powered cleaning head. Back at that time there was no way that it was going to clean up carpet. It is that rotating power brush that lifts debris off of the surface of the carpet, not the suction. People would come in all the time looking for something with a strong suction to clean pet fur from carpet. Suction was not going to do it. It needs to be mechanically lifted from the surface before it can be sucked up into the bag. That is why you have to clean the rotating brush so often, because fibers get wrapped around it. I just use an inexpensive and multipurpose shop vac now for any cleaning need. I only wish that it had a more secure attachment to hold the hose and wands together. I have found that the blower end of the shop vac is immensely helpful when cleaning out the car and garage. You can blow debris from places more easily that you can suck it up and it gets into every small crevice. I will open the door and use it much like one would use a leaf blower to blow the dirt right out the door. I do this in the house, the porch, the car, anywhere where I can get a good aim to direct the debris in one direction. It is, by far, the best way to clean the interior of the car. I don't have any carpet and that makes it so easy to clean. Getting rid of the carpets is the best thing I have done in my house. I don't know anything about Kenmore vacs now. That was some time ago, but I do know that they were pretty darned good machines. I always had one and my daughter has one that is probably about 12 years old and doing just fine. They were/are very versitile

I read repeatedly (from blogs, decorators, magazines, etc.) that every room needs something black. I've seen it said that black grounds the room. Whatever. I would have to see the rest of the room before saying yes/no to black. Our rooms have light colored upholstered pieces and med. wood floors. I use aqua/green/blue accents. A black piece just never looks right (to me) in our rooms. In the great room, we have a dark brown leather chair. I have a dark vintage leather case (kind of like a suitcase) on top of a cabinet in the room, a floor-lamp and a table lamp with dark bases. So you get my drift, adding in some dark pieces for contrast, but doesn't have to be black. That's what works for our house, at least. I would wait and decide on a new sofa before painting any of your present pieces. The only thing I see about your present console is it looks a tad country to me and perhaps the rest of the room isn't? By seeing just that wall I can envision a console that is a bit sleeker, yes, maybe darker in color. But I'm not sure as I don't know what the furniture in the room looks like. Great painting!! Buying one thing almost always leads to future purchases!!