O.K. Just my advice don't give up on those lil' bitty seedling's!! I know my weather is a bit warmer than your's..But you'll definitly get there!! I work so much I tend to pass by my WS little sprout's well at least I check em' every day when I can... way to soon then they get to be biggie sprouts! I actually had an amaranthus, and a nicotania attempt to bloom in my zippie baggie's before I could get them out of said baggies, and I sowed those seeds in mid-feb so don't worry.. They'll take off before ya know it!!! Just my 2 cent's worth.. 'Happy Gardening' Barb

I thought my budget was reasonable too, but most of the sofas I see in that price range just look really cheap and poorly made. I have seen some that are good quality, but are very modern looking with the square arms and block feet. Do you think I could do a more modern sofa with my chairs (which are being scratched to death by the cat even as we speak)? Thanks for the options dee and yayagal. Those are lovely, but I should have mentioned that I have a real aversion to leather - not sure why. I should also mention that I'm in a small city in Canada so furniture prices are (I seem to be finding out) quite a bit higher. Here are links to a mid-priced brand of sofa many retailers carry here. If anyone has an inclination, have a look and see if there is anything that would go with my chairs. Here is a link that might be useful: van gogh sofas

Thanks to natal for bringing this thread to my attention. I'll repost my pics here (assuming mine is the porch you're talking about! I think I'm the only one around who has posted yellow chairs. ;-)) ... New porch furniture: Old porch furniture:

Thank you! Cooperbailey and amcofar, your kitchens are beautiful -- mine is, I hope, going in the same cottagey direction. When I looked at the backsplash slideshow I realized that I needed to worry less about the white and offwhite as long as the overall mood/feel stays the same (e.g., don't mix cottagey stuff with high tech).