This is a very common theme. I sound like a broken record, half of the time. Managing help is the biggest obstacle in going from ideas to reality. Most of us enjoy designing, selling, and interacting with clients. Quite honestly, it is theeasy part. The hard part is getting things built because it requires people and equipment. That is the comodity that is not a dime a dozen. Those that can do it are in the drivers seat. They are in control of buying and marking up materials, providing and making money on labor, and have to deal with all of the other contractors, utilities, physical surprises on the site,... All of the greatest designers in the world are worthless if the design can not get built. The idea of hiring a contractor as a sub usually comes with a number of assumptions. The first being that they are eager to work and will welcome work from a designer because it will help their business. The second is that even though these people are tough people managers, they will eagerly do everything your way. The third is that because the job is yours, the contractor understands and accepts that you are going to make the money on the marked up material and he will make the money on getting the work done. The fourth is that you understand that #3 won't be acceptable, but that the client will be eager to pay a mark up on the whole job for the priveledge of having you do the design work. The fifth is that subbing a contractor to manage the part of the job that you can not manage makes you an effective manager of the job. Before you get into the head of the contractor, what do we hear over and over again on this and other forums from homeowners that want to hire a contractor? They don't return my phone calls. They don't seem interested in my project. Now, try to get into the head of the contractor. He has experience doing this kind of work and the ability to get it done. Although maybe not specifically trained in design, he has done installation for years and can put together at least a reasonable designed landscape that he is in total control of. He can plan to use materials that are readily available, efficient to install (if he has his crew does the same type of work over and over it is faster), he knows what plants he can effectively mark up and have a good survival rate, he can control the sequence and timing of everything on the job in conjunction with his other jobs. Now compare that to having to be respond to a designer who is going to inherently interfere with timing, technique, material procurement, and profit. Why would a contractor want to do that? Now get in the head of the client. If someone before you, as the client, can show you a portfolio of built work that he (he or she) has taken from design to construction for the previous clients and will design your project, price it, supervise it, and see it through completion you will feel pretty secure that the process will move smoothly. The cost of the job is materials, labor, and profit for the contractor who is also the designer. Because the design work is often the marketing tool for a design/build contractor, the design cost is only for the design since the job is already managed in house and therefore substantially less than if done by an independent designer. As a client, do you honestly believe that you would rather have an independent designer add to the cost of the construction cost and add another level of management between you and the contractor? Most hate the process of selecting and hiring a designer and do not wish to go through it all over again when it comes time to hire a contractor. If all things are equal, they are much more likely to hire one person that they can deal with from start to finish, they would like to do it as cost efficiently as possible, and they would like to avoid any unknown variables (such as a subcontractor). Those are my observations. Many of which a lot of people will disagree with. It is just one view from a person that has been in many different roles in this business.

Wow, so many terriffic idea's!! I'm really loving the black and white parkay floor! I really like that Boutiqueie thing since this is a "Market" and not a normal store. Inside we'll have dairy, breads, dried fruits and nuts and coffee, homemade goodies (lemon tyme tea bread is a specialty of mine) and really good coffee. Just a couple of tables for the men to sit at and drink their coffee while the women shop. There will also be the fruits and veggies, candles, aprons and garden hats. I'll manage to throw in a straw bale here and there to keep it "Outside-ish". I need it to be welcoming and not stand offish. I want people to be able to come in and relax and take time looking and not be intiimidated by a "too ritzy" decor. I also don't want that "country as cornbread" look either. It's Texas and we have enough of that! Please keep posting with any ideas. I love it!!

Hi, My son is 8, soon to be 9. His room is a little outer space, a little Star Wars, and a little Lego. It sounds like you want more of a true Star War's theme, but I'll describe our room in case it gives you some ideas. My son wanted his room to look like the inside of a space ship, but I didn't want plain gray, so I used a muted blue-gray. I used the darkest color on the strip to paint two "portholes", a small one near his bed and a huge one on a empty wall. (Remember the scenes from Star Wars where Darth Vador and the Emperor watching the battle from a floor-to-ceiling round window?) I painted space scenes (planets, stars, a rocket ship) in the portholes. (Okay, they aren't "professional", but he doesn't mind. He's 8.) Along the top of one wall, about 18 inches from the ceiling, we installed plexiglass shelving held up by silver, industrial-looking brackets. He keeps his Star Wars Lego collection on that shelf. I sewed a few NASA patches onto a plain navy valance for his window covering. I also framed 3 large space-themed posters for his wall. We found that some of the best accessories were in the teen-decor sections b/c that modern, industrial look lends itself well to a spaceship. We still need to install his headboard. I bought a piece of silver pegboard to mount on the wall behind his bed. I'm also on the lookout for a small curio shelf that I could spraypaint silver or black to hold his lego Star Wars people. Have fun with your room! Nin

Hi Mike, thanks for sharing your "Jurassic Park" in the PNW -- that one must keep you busy to allot of love and attention to not feed on any unexpected visitor or friends. (LOL haha). Beautiful; and the rest of the pics was a nice shot of spring explosions to boot, since the ground hog didn't see his shadow -- spring is coming early. We have sunny day in Seattle (WOW). Motivated me to get out after all your pics to get some work done. Cheers,