Other than the zone issue, the boxwoods may work as far as growing in that spot. It doesn't look like full sun to me for some reason, but that could just be seasonal due to the grass looking good. Given the narrowness of the strip, you do need something you can keep clipped and that doesn't grow excessively in each season. I actually have an even narrower bed along a sidewalk in the back yard where I have just removed all the deciduous shrubs and most of the perennials and made it almost all columnar and dwarf conifers, and that is not only because I have succumbed to a conifer obsession this year. They are simply more practical as they won't reach out and try to knock my long-suffering DH off his motorcycle as he takes it out. Conifers would be another option that might work for this strip of yours, although depending on whether it is sun or part shade your selection would be much different. From a landscaping point of view, however, it is beyond odd that you've chosen to landscape the one spot on this property that does not need it. This wall is, as has been pointed out, perfectly attractive without any landscaping other than grass and will only become uglier with an unimaginative and poorly designed planting. The back wall, on the other hand, and the surrounding area which leaves you bare to the scrutiny of your neighbours at all times, are screaming out for plant cover. The fact that you've already torn out the sod is not an irretrievable error, and you need not compound it by going ahead with the second error of continuing with a bad plan. You can put sod back down or reseed (though to explain this to DH/DW might not be the easiest thing in the world). And the thing is that boxwood will still leave you with a large surface of dirt underneath them, which will spill onto the walkway and grow weeds like crazy. If you go ahead with this planting, you should still look into groundcovers. Ask at your local nursery what they are (nursery/garden centre, not home depot). Or search these forums for the word "groundcover."

We also have the Bosch/Kenmore. We love it. Amazingly quiet, does a wonderful job with the dishes. The Kenmore clone had a blend of features from the Bosch line for less. For example in the Kenmore model the top rack can be raised or lowered, so if you want to put a tall item in either top or bottom rack, you can adjust the rack to accommodate it. Heck, I wash smaller pots in the top rack all the time. It's that good. The Kenmore also has the feature which lets you wash only the top rack. One "ugly." The tines in the Kenmore racks do not quite seem tall enough to hold some kinds of bowls (both very round bowls and very wide "pasta" coup style bowls from France. I guess those Germans like their bowls squarish or something). They tip over and fall into each other because they don't seat in far enough. This can limit the amount of dishes I can fit in the dishwasher. I don't know if the Bosch rack in the full on Bosch machine are different, but worth checking out. The machine comes with an insane map of how to fit a crazy amount of dishes inside which, I confess, I haven't spent much time fiddling with. We've had ours for two years. Or neighbor has had the Bosch badged bottom of the line for five, both run quiet as can be without a single issue. Good luck! Lenvt

I'd save a lot of money and just have the door replaced for starters. It's best to have a handyman take a look at the current door and doorframe to make sure they can just hang a new door to swap it out for the old boring one. It's not always possible to do this, and it's actually really expensive in labor if the doorframe needs to be redone. My DH fretted over a $25 difference in door styles, only to find out that it was $800 in labor if they had to rebuild the doorframe, exclusive of the door! We were lucky; they could re-use the old frame so it was just a couple of hundred $$ in labor. A RE agent who I asked to tour my house and give her opinions on what work was worth doing and what wasn't, had suggested the new door. We were surprised what a difference it made to a rather plain little cottage. The asymmetry in the front windows doesn't bother me, but I agree the garage door is very plain. But I'd do the front door first, then you can pick a coordinating style for the garage door.

I got something different each time I counted the squares, so I gave up)) Just posting another idea, assuming that you have 90" on the bedroom wall and 11' b/w the exterior wall and the laundry. I'm thinking 12" angled shelves b/w the exterior wall and the range and 6" open shelves for cutting boards on the other side. If o/h is 1" that would give you 47" b/w the peninsula and the exterior wall. The cab in the corner faces the laundry. On the peninsula, next to the corner open shelf for trays, cooking sheets, then drawers, I think the trash can be under the sink. You can have a 12" pull out for pantry storage next to the fridge, but it will probably be cheaper to have a broom closet there. On the other side, MW is on an upper shelf. I have pantry and a drop zone (hoping that door swing direction can be changed), where you now have the sink+DW.