My Romantic Four Seasons garden, (to be viewed with the same by Vivaldi): Winter, the entry walkway is in bloom with rows of Sweet Alyssium, and Paperwhite Narcissi, both sides of the sidewalk. In California this serves as a "winter snow-white" theme,in an area where snow never falls. The white Noisettte "Nastarana" and two "Westside Road Cream Tea" roses bloom through December. Dwarf Myrtle along the sidewalks share their fragrance with us when their foliage brushes against skirts and pant legs. Spring: fragrant purple violets, their green heart shaped foliage forms pretty clumps, forget-me-nots will come into bloom with Nicotiana mutabilis, and purple and white sweet peas, Sweet William, that I grew from seed this winter is already blooming. I have great masses of blue flowers that I forget the name of, their tasty black seeds are used on breads in the Middle east. Purple and white Petunias bloom beside "Mlle.Cecille Brunner". Summer: most of my roses are Old Garden Tea and Noisette roses and are pink and or white, so I'm adding dozens of purple Verbena among the roses, peach hued foxgoves and sky blue delphinium for color variation. I plan to plant a row of Pernetiana roses mingled with blue and purple delphinium and Monkshood. For fragrance I have Confederate jasmine, and Poets jasmine, wisteria, honeysuckle, Mexican mock orange vine and lavenders in every part of the property. I'm drawing up plans for a citrus tree to head a fan shaped herb garden and to provide shade for it. I love citrus because it has evergreen foliage and ornamental fruit in winter. I plan to have as many herbs as possible: bee balm, thyme in many forms, basil, lads love, tansy, spearmint and strawberries in crockery pots, English, Spanish and French lavender, parsley in abundance, lemon verbena, purple sage, chamomile, yarrow and an espaliered nobilis bay tree in a pot. Luxrosa

You and everyone else on the forum knows all about my structures and statues so I won't bore you with them too much. I do love arches and they don't have to be elaborate. Changing the elevation in a garden really makes it more satisfying and interesting. I love to create a vignette. Flora sits beneath her pergola/temple the vision of the goddess of flowers and the beds surround her in circles. It's just the way I look at things. I guess most of the statuary has a classical look that fits with what I consider a romantic garden. I would very much like to recreate that circle of arches that is in Mottisfont. We saw it this past June. There is no more room within the garden proper. We have a very ambitious plan of planting ramblers to tumble down a bank above the road to our water tank. There is a spot in that area where we could perhaps do it.

It depends. I have seen both approaches (matching and not matching int/ext and in either, you can have successful or catastrophic results they could be boring and matchy-matchy or they just do not belong. Just talking about exteriors only, have you seen what they did in the Louvre? It goes from French/renaissance/baroque to CONTEMPORARY! And I think that was VERY successful. I have seen in the prettiest city of the Caribbean, Cartagena, now UNESCOÂs World Heritage Patrimony, most of them original "Spanish Colonial Style" and some NEW houses with the "SC Style" exterior (by city ordinances) and in the interior they either match the exterior using ancient techniques and use furniture with the same style or they go eclectic and sometimes contemporary. I live in a very traditional city in the Midwest. Most subdivisions here have covenants and they establish steep roof pitches and lots of brick or stone. Most of these houses are New American and some are "old world style" and I have seen a few interior decorations in a more contemporary or eclectic style. Very, very few people here dare to build a contemporary exterior house, some go Prairie style and they call that "contemporary". After all of this My opinion is that although you could be successful  if you get skilled guidance- building your DH choice house and going a bit different in the interior IÂd say: PLEASE DO NOT DO THAT!!! The house that you like is a lot Nicer. It is a less "dated" house and a less limiting house. Also, in the event that you need to sell the house for any reason, it will be easier to sell. Because this is your forever home I highly advise you to convince your DH of how important this is for you. You see, the thing is that if you are not happy, chances are that in a few years you would want another house (believe me on this one). I am pretty sure your DH wouldnÂt want that. There is something with guys and lodge/lumber cabin style houses; my DH likes them. But most guys actually do not fall in love with the houses, the just like them so I bet he will get over it, while in the other hand, you will not get over it. If your hubby has common sense he most know that if the wife is happy everybody in the house is happy!!! In my experience, I really think this is a battle that you have to choose. Please, do not allow your DH to make a mistake selecting that house. Good luck

The house is in New Brunswick, Canada about 400 miles north of me but there are a few of these near me as well. I could drive 400 miles in a north easterly direction and still be in Texas! I've made that drive [edited to add: I can't tell east from west, apparently; I've driven north westerly lol], and the historic architecture is mostly Victorian, Craftsman, and a few small Tudors. Lots of folk Victorian around here. Which is pretty, no doubt. It was just surprising to me; I expected more "Texas ranch," whatever that was, lol. [Edit #2: I could be in another country if I drove 700 miles down, and through, Brownsville. :-D Okay, okay, I could go to Mexico via Laredo at 250 miles, but 700 is so much more impressive.]