Nandina, thank you. And thank you for your previous comments and insights. This was very difficult for me. I simply could NOT visualize how it would look when done, so I spent many weeks agonizing over what it would look like. I love the result! We are mostly DIYers, but yes, this was a project that we did not even consider doing ourselves. To clarify - the engineer was used for consultation, he recommended a wall of this sort. The wall was actually done by a landscaping company (with experience in flood protection). A few points that are not apparent from the pictures I posted - there are two places, in addition to the front walk and the back yard patio where they put steps in. This provides us access to the other regions of the yard, and looks very nice. The other point is that in one back corner, the wall is about four feet high. This was astonishing to us that it needed to be that high! Now we are protected from any flood up to one foot less than the biggest flood in the valley (1997). If we have one of 1997's magnitude, we would have to sandbag BUT a wall two sandbags high would be sufficient. Prior to this wall, we would have had to build a dike that came up to where we are not PLUS the two more sandbags! What a difference. We just pray that we don't have a flood of that size again. Of course, now they are saying we are heading into a drought .... Brent, thank you. Like you, I was very unsure how it would look. No I don't have picture of during, and I really can't say how much dirt except a lot. And a lot of big equipment driving around tearing up our lawn. In addition to the wall, we had our propane tank and our electrical panel moved to higher ground - more big equipment. At one point I said to DH, let's just tear out ALL the lawn and start over! We did sod the areas that were destroyed (seeding large areas of lawn with three dogs doesn't work particularly well). laceyvail, thank you for the compliments. Two matched trees does make it look more formal I agree. The crabapples, however, were chosen very carefully. I am very familiar with the trees that do well in our area and chose these not soley for their spring blossoms (which I do adore). This variety (Red Splendor) has burgundy leaves, thus providing interest throughout the summer. It is also somewhat resistant to foliar disease, which is not really a major problem for us anyway. In the 11 years I've lived in the area, only one summer did the crabs have serious problems. And then of course the red berried provide interest in the late summer, fall, and into winter and are the primary reason these trees were chosen. Red Splendor holds its fruit into the winter, providing food for birds. The waxwings and pileated woodpeckers love the fruit and they provide ample winter interest in those trees until the fruit is gone! Most of my plant choices (not all, but most) are made with consideration of bird/butterfly/hummingbird food or shelter. Ah well, others definitely would have made different choices there!

My parents house used to have basement access through the garage only. Reminds me of a renovated home I was in. Once in the beautifully redone basement, including a chef's kitchen (the owner was a chef) stairs led up to a 20x20 family room with a wall of glass doors to the backyard. But I couldn't figure out where the room was. Till I realized it was originally the double garage, which on the outside still had double doors to the front. The conversion violated zoning, so was camouflaged.

Rrah - The entrance from the outside would be in addition to the interior entrance.. We were looking for a separate exterior entrance so when storing things that we don't want to track through the house we could just access from exterior.. Also we thought it would be easier to bring in/out any furniture when we do finish the basement down the road.. Trying to plan for the future.. So when you think about contractors and workers going down to work in basement I just figured it would be easier and cleaner to just have an exterior entrance to basement.. Kirkhall - Thanks for the input.. I wasn't even thinking about snow.. I know for rain the architect said we would have to put a drain at the base of the stairs and he mentioned in the fall about leaves and debris and making sure nothing blocks the drain but I wasn't even thinking about snow..

Does the front door open against the wall with the radiator? For the entryway--would picture ledges fit on the wall behind the open door? You could put up 2 or 3 picture ledges and get your gallery wall--with the ability to change out pictures as you like. Or put the gallery wall right behind the open door. Just get a door stop that sticks out far enough to keep the door handle from hitting the art work. As for personal pictures, consider the picture wall a work in progress. Start taking pictures. Ask your parents and your BF's parents for some pictures. IKEA makes a ton of inexpensive frames, and cheap frames are also available at stores like Michael's and Hobby Lobby. I would want some place to drop my keys as I came in. If a table won't work there, what about a wall-mounted shelf or two, possibly over the radiator? Then a shoe-storage unit, or put the shoes in one of the closets. They make really low pile rugs that might fit under your door. I could see a small runner in front of the door, which would help define the space. As for rugs in the dining room, if you are in an apartment with another apartment below you, I'd bet your downstairs neighbors would really appreciate a rug under those chairs. Check on the fiber content of the rug before you buy it, to make sure it is easy to clean. Patterned rugs hide stains better than solid color rugs, which is something else to keep in mind.