Buford, that is quite a transformation! I think you definitely got your money's worth! And Steve, that's funny.....but I can see a number of front yards in our neighbourhood with just that scenario. Maybe not with roses, but other plants. I have thought of the idea of a landscape designer to have a look at our place. It's a difficult location, it's on a slope, and the grade is steep in some places. But what has stopped me so far? 1. My yard is a sanctuary where I keep myself involved and busy. I always have to have a project active at all times. For example, I just completed an arbour early this year. Installed flagstone paving. Put in a shed. Cleared some climbers. Got rid of topiary dwarf cedars. Etc. Next projects - putting in paving behind the garage, installing water reservoirs, reroof the green house. Those are the things I enjoy and those are the projects that keep me going. I simply can't fathom the idea of having someone else take the pleasure of the thinking and conceiving and labour for me. It's like a child paying someone else big bucks to snatch the candies out of his/her very own hands! 2. My yard is a laboratory of continuous experimentation. I am a restless gardener. I find myself constantly doing "something" to the yard - including ripping up something and implementing somethng new in it's place. I can't imagine paying thousands of dollars to have someone else design and landscape the property - because I know that in the years to come, I will find myself systematically dimantling the very work that I paid big bucks for. 3. I am a plantaholic - a plant hoarder. My backyard is more of an arboretum than a garden. I will probably go into deep depression if any landscape designer should come up with a scheme that is going to mean losing some of the plants. On the other hand, I have many friends who simply are not into the kind of gardening stuff that I do. For them, the somewhat haphazard style of our property is simply not their cup of tea. They want something that looks good, without having to take the time out of their busy schedule to either design or implement landscape plans. Almost all who have used landscape designers and landscape contractors have been happy with the result. The only thing they uniformly find hard to swallow is the cost involved in getting a landscape scheme designed and implemented. And lets give kudos to the landscape designers - good designers can make a huge difference to the final outcome. Think of all the factors that they have to consider - color, texture, line, form and scales, and the principles of unity, balance, transition, rhythm, proportion, etc. And then they have to unify function with style. I have been reading Robin Willams' books on garden design, but I still have difficulty looking 10 feet beyond my immediate surrounding - let alone come up with a master scheme for the whole yard!

I was the daughter, wife, sister and Aunt of police officers. Of course, from being the child of a police officer and then marrying one, I had very intimate knowledge of the many difficult tasks and sometimes terrible emotional trials they experience, in their line of work. I saw first hand all the support and comfort they are able to bring people in times of extreme stress and tragedy. But I also learned of the (fortunately low ratio of) police officers who use their authority to flaunt their arrogant, condescending, bullying attitudes towards anyone they consider inferior. It's a shame when the wonderful, dedicated officers are affected by the terrible reputation the bad ones have in society, much like the majority of wonderful Catholic priests suffer from the terrible reputation of the rotten ones. Too bad that both vocations seem to have so much difficulty bringing culpability to the bad ones and getting rid of them.

Thanks for posting the Holland story, Morz8. I first read it when DGS was diagnosed as a GERD baby. It was a help to me as I was figuring out how to help DS and DIL, who were overwhelmed by the situation at first. Especially as they live out-of-state. It is such a gentle lesson, but difficult - how to accept the unacceptable, and how to adjust gracefully to that which cannot be changed, and how to find the good in what appears so bleak. I haven't checked any boxes because I would have to check all of them. That's how touching these stories are! As Current Resident said, this is the internet at its best. Every person has a story. Even if you think you don't have a story, you do. I agree wholeheartedly that travel to a new place is a great way to challenge oneself, to find even a mild adventure, and to experience a change in perspective that can never be taken away. I remember what it was like returning to the States after my first year overseas in Israel and Jordan (some years before the 1967 war that changed my life), Israel then a second-world country, and Jordan almost third-world. I remember walking into my beloved Marshall Field's in the Chicago Loop and being bowled over, almost sick to my stomach at the vast amount of gorgeous stuff available there. I had totally adjusted to "poverty", small plain stores with not much in them, nothing remotely resembling a supermarket anywhere, few people owned their own cars, there was no tv, as neither country had television then, and on and on. But people lived with so much energy and happiness, with appreciation for the details of life and with plans for the future, just as we do. I did not understand how my values had changed until I got home. I was seeing the world with diffferent eyes now; this is what happens when you go to a different (and sometimes more difficult) place - your humanity expands.

Agree the entire thing feels heavy and massive for the look you want. I think the best thing for you to consider, is a skilled interior designer in your area. A clear idea of what you want in a feel for the house. Do some very significant research on both, knowing that a good designer will have the trades necessary at her finger tips. A "community" of ideas here, can get you thinking to be sure, but in the end, you will benefit greatly from a one on one situation.. Consider every aspect, such as do you even want the bar area, or do you need something else? Even dedicated wine storage or something? Your best plan, is a PLAN with one on one help. Take your time, and do your homework. Start with that "inspiration" idea book. And the PRO on site. To design and decorate in haste, is to REPENT at leisure : ) Do it once to love it.