I do not have Tequila Sunrise. I do have Paradise Island, and here are the pictures in historical order. 2012May07 not long after it arrived here 2012June24 It was changing color since I had it in the shade of a Japanese maple. If it were in a spot with morning light even in our higher zone number, it would have remained bright of leaf a bit longer anyway. In 2012, everything happened early, even the bloom is in June here. 2012Oct12 showing a new flush of growth comes in the bright leaf color even this late after a long hard growing season 2013May24 now it is in the sun but I move it to shade in the afternoon to keep the leaves from bleaching out to parchment 2013July29 turned green but with lighter midleaf, still pretty to me. It is sending up flower scapes in late July this year 2013Aug12 blooming and turned color 2013Sept18 through blooming, color stable 2013Oct10 looking pretty good late in the season. 2014Apr02 this spring fully leafed out by April Hope this helps you decide. It is a lovely plant.

Mark and Emily, I'm glad you enjoyed the photos! I keep coming back to look, too. :) Joan, this was on the top of my bucket list for a long time and I'm so glad to have crossed it off. Well, until the next trip, heehee. You will love it! The condos were surprisingly affordable, too, so definitely look into those if you go as most are walking distance to beaches. Even in August there were no big crowds anywhere, which was an unexpected bonus. K, we had a fabulous time--thank you again for all the great tips! Palm, I think we missed the peak of plumeria blooms by a few weeks, so maybe around mid-July?

In the 2/22 13:39 post, you show a "barrier island"...the island is b/w the refrigerator & cooktop. You can put an island in there if you really, really want one (i.e., an island for the sake of an island or b/c "everyone else has one" or "it's the 'hot' thing right now") but your kitchen really cannot support an island along w/cabinets on both walls...at least not one that's, to me, useful. It shouldn't block anything and it should be big enough to be worth having to go around. (I'm not sure that a 36" x 30" island adds enough space to justify creating a barrier in your kitchen.) You're also probably going to have to add another 6" b/w the sink and DW, 12" isn't really a lot when they're angled toward each other. Is that a raised counter on the peninsula? Where does the "barrel arch" lead? How about this instead? No sink or cooktop in the island...they're a bad idea anyway (functionally, safety-wise/splashing, & aesthetically (hood hanging over peninsula) or sink in-your-face when seated.) Note that I extended the wall to allow your cooktop & hood to be against a wall rather than in open air. The 2 seats on the other side of that wall should probably be eliminated, but if you expand the overhang to 18" or 24" against the wall, it may be useful...but most people won't want to face a wall...it might be usable during parties when people can turn the stool to the side or completely around to face the living area. I did add a seat on the short end of the peninsula so if you eliminate the 2 on the left, you've really only lost 1 seat. Microwave: Ideal location is in the peninsula...near the refrigerator (since most MW'd food comes from the refrigerator or freezer) plus it's on the periphery of the kitchen so snackers can access it (like MW popcorn) w/o interfering with anyone working in the kitchen. This layout gives you... A lot of counter space A nice uninterrupted expanse of peninsula counter for projects (baking, crafts, school, etc.) A protected cooking area The Mechanical Room (or whatever it is) also protects the ovens somewhat The sink is easily accessible to the dining areas for cleanup Lots of space for dish, glass, and flatware storage around the sink & DW. That dish/glass/flatware storage is also accessible to the dining area. The 21" cabinet to the right of the sink could be a trash pullout. Or, you could expand it to 24" and have a trash/recycling center (4 bins). That would reduce space on the left by 3", but it may be worth it if you have a lot of trash or recyclables. You might consider either a pot filler or a prep sink on the cooktop wall. I'd prefer a prep sink as it allows someone to be cleaning up at the main/cleanup sink while someone else uses the prep sink for, well, prepping! The vent hood covers both the 36" cooktop & 15" induction top. Like the MW in the...

Westsider, Thanks for jumping in here !! Your place sounds great. I sure wish I was on your family list. ;) I also appreciate all of your comments. You have given me a lot to think about. More below to you (and anyone else who wants to comment)... I really appreciate everyone who is helping me with all of these ideas. Our builder said last week "That new layout looks good, sometimes it takes another set of eyes to see something, especially after you look at something for so long". That's what you guys are doing for me ... being my extra set of eyes and helping me think what is important to different groups of people. Good news from the builder ... he said yes to the bumpout behind the lower cabinets over the stairs ! That makes design #05 (a few posts up) officially ok from the builder. 1. have 2 or 3 outside beach showers ... do you mean hot & cold showers or just cold for rinsing sand off from beach ? We have planned 1 cold on the walk over the dunes and 1 hot & cold enclosed shower. 2, 3, 4. do you have some ideas for layout in these areas ? Would love to see what you are thinking. 5. weddings are probably not too frequent 6. Grilling - this is an issue. We will not be able to control if people ignore with portable grill, but rules will not allow a built in grill or homeowner provided grill on the deck. We have plans for the ground floor grilling area to be a fun gathering place though with a tiki bar, picnic tables, pingpong and foosball, horseshoes, in addition to the grills. Two grills is great idea !! Good idea also to plan storage for grill tools and mitts near the grills. 9. Will review to make sure stuff stored on high shelves is rarely used stuff. Looking like some of the high shelves will even be empty. Who knows - once it is unpacked, stuff has a way of filling the available space. LOL !! 10. Lot is 50 x 150 ocean front. With 7 foot setbacks for each side of lot, neighbor houses are 14 feet away from each other. 11. two washers & dryers - yep ! 12. elevators - will ask about property insurance - a neighbor has an automatic gate operator (which cost a lot extra) and had problems with renters messing up his door and lots of service calls, so he eventually disconnected his auto opener. We know now to not spend extra for the auto opener. 13. your property taxes are outrageous !! Luckily, we are on flat rate here ... approx 1% of home value. lakehouse, leaving now to go meet a friend for movie, but will check out your plans later. Looks like you are remodeling kitchen for a lakehouse you already own ? Thanks !! Keep the comments coming on all areas of the home !