lisa, I love the lights that suzie posted, too. I think though, I'm not chic enough lol. What about these? Any votes? No bling, but I think it works with the table... http://www.lampsplus.com/products/Franklin-Iron-Works-42-and-three-quarter-inch-Wide-Island-Chandelier__p7862.html http://www.lampsplus.com/products/Belcaro-Collection-25-and-one-half-inch-Wide-Six-Light-Chandelier__87940.html http://www.lampsplus.com/products/Fredrick-Ramond-Bella-Donna-6-Light-Chandelier__k5233.html http://www.lampsplus.com/products/Marquette-Collection-Six-Light-Chandelier__98202.html http://www.lampsplus.com/products/Kelham-Hall-Collection-27-inch-Wide-5-Light-Chandelier__k5010.html Maybe too whimpy? http://www.lampsplus.com/products/Treville-Collection-Six-Light-Island-Chandelier__02042.html Sorry, I don't know how to embed photos directly from websites... Thanks

Looking out my kitchen window is a stucco house similar to yours. If you were looking for the trim to be darker than the body then consider something opposite of what you currently have. The body of the home in the color of your trim and the trim in the body? Does that make sense? The house I am speaking of that I can see out my window has a bone color on the body and a darker tan on the trim. The trim color could be almost like Lindy's 15:43 house above,with a lighter body. ....OR I can crawl back under my rock :)

zipdee: I'm late to this thread, but love what you've done so far--the steps, the original door, etc. I also have a Northern Exposure and heavy shade tree in front and had some similar problems. We relandscaped last fall after our remodel and I'm really happy how it turned out and get lots of compliments from our neighbors. I drew everything out on graph paper ahead of time to better visualize how it would all look together taking into consideration walkways, planter beds, drainage and lighting--plants were last. Some things we did which you might want to consider were to curve the walkway and extend it to the side of the house where we added a gate and bike shed to store the kids' bikes (noticed you had several on your side porch) and also curve and widen the front planter beds. I was really nervous about the wider beds at first in case they did not look good, but I find it allows for tiered plantings and also brings the front part of the beds into more sun so I have more planting options. I also tried for advice on the landscaping forum and concur what has already been said above. What we ended up doing was working with the owner of a nursery and she was very helpful with plant selection and even made a home visit to help with placement. I find that using proper soil ammendments, plant food and Vitamin B1 directly after planting make a huge difference. I learned so much from her, just watching her work and now I feel more confident to do my own selection and placement. I just finished my spring overhaul (taking out what didn't survive the winter and filling in the blank spots). What I've learned is that good gardens (like good decor) do not happen overnight--it's an evolutionary process so don't be afraid to experiment and that is how you will find what plants look good and grown well in your space. Hardscape, drainage, lighting, etc. are more expensive and permanent, though, so it pays to think carefully what your needs are. I do think azaleas with a good acidic soil ammendment are pretty fool proof, though. Her fee was something like $200 and money well spent, though the landscaping forum will make you think you need a landscape architect or you'll mess up. Some of the plants that do well in our shady area are: azaleas, camellias, mother fern, Japanese maple, violas (spring/summer), cyclamens (winter) and purple palace; though your best bet is to go around your neighborhood and see what plants work well in your neighbors' yards since climate varies. I also used a bit of strategically placed ornamental stone. It looks like you are off to a very good start.

mindshift, I used Paint.net too! Great little program, and it's free. I just layered a snip of the ebony picture on top of the house for the garage doors, then used the color picker to select the color to draw lines for the beams. Not as nice as your rendering, but you can still see if the color works for the house.