I don't disagree with your example of billowing wildflower meadow and Japanese garden, Audric, but ornamentation can be out of place and reflect clashing styles, IMO. A formal Versailles-type parterre garden would look amiss with Western wagon wheels or a Henry Moore sculpture as its focal point. These days, with the "outdoor room" trend still very much desired, it isn't unusual to see landscapes and gardens with different theme "rooms," not unlike the variety of exotic decors one might see at a honeymoon hotel with a "Lunar Landing Suite," a "Hawaiian Paradise Suite," and a "Sheik's Harem Suite." :) So, why not a wildflower meadow that segues into a wildflower meadow... I'm being cheeky, I hope you realize. The whole list of landscape principles being debated includes "flow," "unity" and "rhythm" among its fundamentals. These refer to a continuing, recognizable theme throughout the garden that tie one end to the other without abrupt shifts that would jar the eye and sensibility. In interior decorating, this might mean using the same color carpet and wall coloring throughout a house so the eye doesn't have to shift gears when gazing from one room to another, particularly in a more-or-less open floorplan. In a garden, one could ostensibly use different styles or themes in each garden room, shifting from Japanese-style woodland scene or rock garden to French parterre, by including similar continuity -- perhaps in the materials and plantings in and alongside the path that leads the stroller from one garden to the next, and in repetition of certain plant materials, or at least their textures, colors and forms. Consider some of the world's best botanical gardens which display examples of many habitats from far-flung parts of the globe. They manage to tie all these disparate "looks" together by creating a flowing campus that encompasses and displays each habitat separately, yet as part of a whole. Maybe a mixed-style garden could be pulled off in the same way, though on a much smaller scale size-wise. Done right, you could have a true work of art. Done wrong, you'd end up with Graceland. (Cue: Google search of Elvis Presley's mansion...) ;)

10 years of LOVE of your backsplash (2022) is worth the cost. And, really, anything you do, if you are going to live there 10 years, it is okay if it says 2012. Because, it will have been... Also, I'd post and get inspiration on this topic in the Kitchens forum.

I LOVE that poster! I am so used to seeing all of the classic actual photos and the poster is such a fresh take on the movie. Only you know how much DH actually "cares" what is in the room. My DH has a way of drastically changing his opinion of something the first time he hears someone else comment favorably on it. I learned long ago to ignore his thoughts on any decorative matter...in fact, the more he dislikes something, the more I usually know I'm on the right track, lol. I ignore his input and in the end, he is always very happy with the end product. I think this poster would be quite a conversation piece. I can't imagine how it would look in your living room as I have zero ability to visualize anything from a written description. As for whether it would look cheap, I wouldn't worry about that. It is either going to enhance the overall look of the room or it isn't. That would be my main concern.

teacats, you might be right, but i'm hoping to ease it into the rest of the decor. we don't want to remove it. we just had it installed 5 years ago at a cost of nearly $20,000! when we added a second floor we decided to heat our house in as environmentally friendly a way as we could reasonably do, and this was our choice. it weighs 7000# and is kind of like a big dog: warm and friendly, and we all like to cozy up to it and have the fire going, and it makes great bread in the oven!! (it's a very efficient and clean-burning wood stove. you just build one fire in it a day, the whole thing heats up, and warmth radiates from it for the next 24 hours.) unfortunately, i did not give any thought to the visual impact it would have on the rooms. it's actually a very handsome thing, the picture may not do it justice. it is, however, pretty starkly modern, when i lean toward classic features in the rest of the house. that's why i'm considering soapstone in the kitchen and other LR fireplace, to kind of tie things together. i just don't know if the use of dark soapstone (black, really) would stop me from using the colors i like in the living room, which are greens and blues and pinks. soapstone seems a little serious for that. or am i wrong? as i said, i'm pretty clueless about decorating! thanks, debbie