I remember how difficult it is to get started when you have a bare, flat yard. I kept staring out the windows, trying to imagine what I could plant where. It helps if you have someone stand outside while you look out the windows. Have your helper walk around from place to place, waving his/her arms, and maybe even holding a broom up overhead. Try to imagine your helper is a bush or a tree. When your helper gets to a spot that looks good from the inside, make a note of the position, or have your helper plant a garden stake (much easier to move than a tree!) Then go stand outside, or across the street, and see if that really is a good place for a tree. Use pots of annuals which you can move around until you find a space placement that suits you. THEN dig a bed. You can always set out empty boxes, or laundry baskets or even chairs to find spots for a shrub. Anything of a similar size that's easily movable will do. Here are some general principals I've found helpful. If the front is your main entrance, plant things that you will be happy to see when you come home. Start planting close to the walk and steps. This will encourage you to expand. Take it slow. I read once that you should live in a house though one set of seasons before you do any major changes. I translated that into planting annuals at first...which will have to be redone anyway. Fall is really the best time to plant trees and shrubs, as then they will get lots of rain. And, they will be cheaper at the 'year end' sales. Plant evergreens and long season perennials in the front as you and the neighbors will be looking at this area every day. Don't be afraid to take out something you don't like. Try to transplant it, or give it away. If it lives, fine, but you don't have to put up with something you don't like. Bare ground will make you feel better than a plant that irriates you. Don't plant acid loving plants close to the foundation of the house or near the cement path or sidewalk. They won't thrive. I figured this out after losing a row of azaleas, one by one. You can buy spray paint that is specially made to be sprayed holding the can upside down, so you can mark the edges of the beds. Just make sure that it isn't 'clear' paint. (Yes, it does come that way - a friend did this!) Or take a container of flour out and use that to mark plant placement or bed edges if you want a very temporary marking. The front yard is your house's public face and a place to show off your gardening skills. Rather than screening off the street, plant so that people driving or walking by will have something pleasant to look at and your visitors will find inviting. And for safety reasons, you don't want to 'hide' your house. Burglars go for entrances that are screened off from the view of the neighbors. Re paths: Make sure you leave good access to the utility boxes. Make sure you can get a lawnmower and wheelbarrow everywhere they'll need to go. You won't want low branching trees too near paths, either. If you don't have a pleasant view out the windows, one small patch of bright color will draw your eye away from the eyesore. Try a few pots of color, just set out on the ground, and see how they draw your attention. You do want to 'hide' the foundation of the house with taller, more solid shrubs. This will help transition the house into the lot, and help it look 'planted' rather than just 'plopped' onto the lot. Place lower plants further away from the house, along the path and sidewalk. You don't have to have ANY lawn in the front, but you don't have to take it all out at once, either. Have fun! Daphne in Tacoma

Wow... a Sentria for free! Lucky you! And... Congrats! I don't know where you can go to find the manual, but Kirby's are pretty much all the same. It should be fairly obvious how to insert the handle and twist the bag on... are you having problems attaching the carpet nozzle to the power plant?

Omigod that photo of Santorini is gorgeous. What a great inspiration, and what a great idea--I think I'll look for places, too, instead of just pictures of kitchens for inspiration! And I really love that iridescent blue tile. A few thoughts: - Have you considered blue appliances? Or (this would be cheaper) a blue range with the other appliances being stainless or black (whatever you think looks good in context)? Fratelli Onofri has a blue 36" range (the Royal Chiantishire)--it's dark blue--and there are others in dark and/or light blue by, e.g., Aga (the Legacy), Lacanche, the Cornu Fe at Williams Sonoma, and of course special-order colors from Viking and so on. Here's the blue Fratelli: http://fratelliappliances.com/products.php?catid=1&pid=5 It's dark, so potentially a nice contrast with white cabinets and light blue accents (the tile). It's definitely DARK, though, so you may want to order color samples from Eurochef at that link(they send them for free). The Aga Legacy in blue is also dark, and about $2000+ more expensive than the fratelli. Prices just go up from there, but so do your options in terms of what shade of blue. - You'll also want some pops of gold here and there--something that makes you think of the sunset. Brushed brass fixtures, maybe? Or a few golden tiles in the backsplash? - I assume white cabinets is what you're considering. I wonder if there's a way to incorporate the curves in some of those Santorini roofs--perhaps in the style of the door, maybe a half-circle arch motif or something? - Others have already suggested blue counters. That would be GORGEOUS with white cabinets. - What kind of floor do you have? Could you do... let's see... very dark wood, like espresso, to look like earth, the surface of those mountains? Or maybe, depending how it looks with the blues you choose and the white, a Mediterranean-looking floor of terra cotta tiles with painted accent tiles? If you like the dark color idea, either wood or cork or linoleum could work . I mean real, non-vinyl linoleum--it's matte, not shiny, and comes in several nice shades of dark brown, all with swirling like you see in cork, so it looks very natural... for example, look at the walnut and wine barrel here: http://www.forboflooringna.com/Residential/Products/Marmoleum-sheet-tile/Neutral-Color-Collaborators/

I think the dining room rug is a little dark but I would make your other changes before replacing it - maybe it'll look okay once you've done everything else. You could also try removing it for a while and see if you like the area lightened up. If you do, you could look for a lighter rug or just leave it out. And I would also center it under the table if you can. I hate to say it but I think the new curtains might be a tiny bit too short but I am no curtain expert and don't have any in my house. I think I like the Accessible Beige or Agreeable Grey mentioned above better than Maison Blanche or Antique White, but that boils down to personal preference. I just sampled Antique White in my own house and it looks more tan/yellow than I prefer and reminds me a little of your current wall color.