kate, you may want to also post in the home decorating forum as you may get more traffic there! Here is a link that might be useful: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/decor/

buehl, hello and I'm glad you weren't hurt when the chair broke. From what I hear this is getting to be more of a problem with chairs from non-American sources when the wood hasn't cured properly before it was used for furniture. Although it sounds as if this was not the cause of the problem in your case. I've benefited greatly many times from your advice in the kitchen forum and I hope what I'm passing on is helpful for your situation. We just had a discussion with our KD about doing a built in TV/media console in our great room. Our kitchen perimeter is white Brookhaven and we also had white Brookhave bookcases built in for the great room that is part of the same space as the kitchen. When we discussed the TV/media console with the KD I said I envisioned it as matching the bookcases and the kitchen that are all part of the same space. He was very tactful but let me know that he felt that matching the TV/media console with the bookcases would be too much matching. If I can translate his suggestion for your space this is what I think he would say: match the china cabinet with your kitchen (this would be the equivalent of my bookcases matching my kitchen) and then do your dining table and chairs a coordinating but different wood finish. Your kitchen is really very lovely and I can envision the china cabinet in the long view through your kitchen in the same finish as your kitchen cabinets but with your table and chairs as a lively accent in between. Good luck with your choices.

Hello Eweandbee - I just started growing Strawberry Hill and BB this past spring. SH is in the ground but BB came as band and he's still in a pot. Here are photos that might help you with the color question. Strawberry Hill - with some orange shading in the center OpenSH with yellow stamens A bud of Benjamin Britten which looks cerise in this photo (according to my computer). I agree with Malorena that BB has some orange blended into its version of red when it opens, but SH does as well. I've heard that BB can get as tall as in 5-6 ft in California but I've seen Facebook photos from the U. K. of SH at 8ft tall on an obelisk. So you might think about whether these two should be placed together given given their proportional differences. If you'd still like to pursue planting them together, if you have the 2015 DA U. S. catalog, on page 95 there's a garden design plan showing BB planted next to The Mayflower (a pink rose) together. It's a matter of personal taste but I think the DA folks would approve of what you'd like to do in terms of colors. Good luck! Ann

Cool project! I had a client who wanted to do an authentic Victorian in Denver. She invested in local color consultants. It made all the difference. When the home was done people commented on what a great remodel we had done. Um no... this is a brand new home! If you have color consultants in your area, I would highly recommend it for this project.