Kate, Love the idea you are working with there, but I think you might find everything is planted too close together. By the 3rd year, they are all going to be growing into and on top of each other--especially those 3 Knock Outs. They can get quite large. As for the pillar, if you want it there, I'd recommend Eden climber (pink and white)or Viking Queen (pink). If you keep wrapping and tying them around the pillar with some regularity, they won't take up a lot of room--but they may use up a lot of the space in that particular bed by their third year. A purple clematis would look good with either one. Note: Your clematis will have some trouble clinging to that pillar (at least mine does). The tubing is a bit wide. What my clematis do is climb up the rose that is wrapped around the pillar. I think you have 3 choices for that bed. 1) Plant 3 Knock Outs and that is it. 2) Plant climbing rose/clematis pillar and maybe a couple smaller low-growing roses or other plants only. 3)PLant Julia Child, Caramel Antike and Lucille Ball, plus maybe 1 or 2 more similar to them only. In your eagerness, I think you are trying to do too many things at once in a somewhat limited area. Decide which one combination you want and move the others somewhere else. Three KOs there by the street would be very showy for the neighbors and anyone passing by, but I have a weakness for pillar roses, so . . . . By the way, the climbing roses I mentioned have pretty good disease resistance. Decision, decisions, decisions. Good luck. LOL Kate

mariofo no it isn't crema marfil, it is a natural stone called pearl honed. The picture actually shows the tile to be a shade lighter than what it is in person. The tile place is recommending a color called straw which is a little dark. I wan't to keep the backsplash on the light side and was looking for a color a little lighter that doesn't have a grey or pink cast to them. How did you do the test the day before on extra tiles, did you mix and put some on the tile??

Hi there. This was a really hard one for me to comment on because I have such an opposite kitchen with light cabinets. I think you need to choose your direction. Your kitchen can be a contemporary or traditional kitchen depending on a few choices. What is the dominant style in the rest of your house? Your kitchen should reflect your general style If you like contemporary style, then you already have a lot of the elements but need a few focal points. Your kitchen is almost identical to my friends kitchen except that her husband chose smaller metal tiles (And yes-her husband chose everything too. It must be a man gene that likes this particular combination). Their kitchen was really stunning when it all came together. They had several large pieces of art with stark white walls. One of the pieces of art was a huge painting in blue with koi. The other art were 3 pieces of 3 foot long ceramic bars hung vertically on the wall. They did not try to fill the space with lots of little things but instead used very large pieces that were a focal point of the kitchen. You could also go a more traditional route but will likely need to change your backsplash to have it really meld. A glass tile backsplash would be really pretty and might still be okay with the husband? How about a lighted pot rack over the island with baskets, pots and herbs hanging? (see below) Fabric around the windows, baskets on the ledge, chandelier shades, cushion fabric, new knobs, rugs etc would add more visual interest. I think your kitchen has a lot of potential, you just need to make it yours! I am really glad my husband could care less about decorating.

Quandries, seemed to have disappeared ;-(. It's so frustrating when so many of us here have offered their time to help, including myself spending time doing mockups, and then the original poster just disappears. It would be nice to know the direction they are going in, and for them to at least give a simple thanks to the large number of people here who took the time to offer suggestions and photos, even if the person goes in another direction. It's just manners. It seems to be the same pattern. Someone loves something, posts it here to get confirmation that their choice is a good one, doesn't receive that confirmation, and then they just disappear. I just did another two mockups for someone, and all I got was "can you do it another way for me", without even a simple thanks for the two I did. That's so rude! I just should keep my big mouth shut I know, but maybe I'm too sensitive for my own good, but this behavior bothers me. Really makes me not want to spend time doing artwork to help. I just feel badly for the people especially if I feel their choice isn't a good one, as these choices can cost thousands and I would hate to have someone make a mistake because they couldn't visualize the elements together, when I have the ability to help them to do that. End of rant...OK, I feel much better now ;-).