MeMo I was thinking the same thing. A different paint color to give it a bit more cottage charm and stand out a bit more. Yes,the earth tones are nice, I love earth tones, but on the outside it tends to blend in with the ah...earth. I like the idea of a path perhaps flagstone going from the sidewalk right up to the front door. I also like the idea of the plants around the patio for privacy and a bit of a grassy area where you have the hose but I also think that if you did a path going up to the front door that a small plot of grass an the otherside would be nice as well. I would then fill in with flowers, shrubs, and roses all along the edge of the yard in curving beds with low plants along the path way on either side. If you are afraid of plants swallowing up the house keep the taller plants to the right and a bit in front of the patio and med.and small along the front yard. A fence and arbor are also a good idea like moonphase said. Oh and if your not going with the tropical cottage look then I would (if it were me) take out the palm and in the space between your front windows (hidden behind the palm) put a trellis with a climbing rose up it. Even if you are going with the tropical look I would take it out as it is low and blocking the house. Put in maybe some taller palms if you want a tree there. Meghan

Looks like your tree is ready for the natural sunlight now. Move it in at night if your temps get below 40. Flowering usually takes place when the plant is ready...You can try to coax it along with a fertilizer which is high in the middle number like 10-50-10. Your pot looks plenty big enough to me. Can it be to hot for a plumeria? I don't know about that. Where mine are it gets pretty darn hot in the summer! What can you do with the light in the winter? turn that sucker off and save some money. The plumeria have a natural dormant stage in the winter and will resume growth in the summer. Are you expecting flowering to soon? Heck no, I want all mine to bloom like yesterday!! If I missed something..sorry, someone else will more than likely help you out. Best of luck with your plumeria! John

I think I'd keep searching through magazines and clip out the photos that catch your eye. The house you have linked is gorgeous! Here's a few quick decorating articles. Fresh Farmhouse Style Farmhouse Decor Country Style Some fabulous Farmhouse kitchens in this gallery...Wow! David Smith Designs

I have been thinking a lot about your room, coming back and looking at the various pix, etc. It is hard because without measurements of everything, I can make suggestions that will end up not working because of size. What I want to say first is that I think you are working against the room. You have the bulkiest pieces in the most closed off part of the space, and then you essentially don't use the end by the entry at all. Here is what I am getting from reading: You hate looking from the kitchen or while you are eating and seeing the toy jumble. You like to sit and look at the fire. The TV doesn't get used much (also judging by the furniture placements you have) and eventually is moving downstairs. You don't entertain a lot, so the use of the room should be geared toward your family. So, without knowing what the measurements really are (and being deceived by the monitor perspective), here is what I am thinking. I want to create essentially two areas, not three: I would move the bookcase to the window wall at the front of the room, where the armoire was originally. That will become the "kid" end of the room. Situate the kids larger toy pieces in that area ( the kitchen set, the easel, etc.). If you can get a rug for the area to define that play space, that would be great. Move the piano back to the wall opposite the fireplace, pushed toward the front entry end of the room. Take the tv armoire and put it on the wall where the bookcase was, pushed closer toward the dining area. This will become more of a decorative piece, where you can put some accessories like a big plate on a stand, or a grouping of vases or candlesticks, one of your plants, and some art hung on the wall above it. It will feel like a bridge piece between the dining and seating areas. Now here is where things get changed the most. Take the couch and angle it across the back corner of the room, where the kids' play kitchen, etc are now. Angle the long side of the rug to match the couch. This should end up (I think) kind of following the same angle as the flooring change from the kitchen to the eating area as well. If you can do it, either hang a couple of the plants you have behind the couch, or find some kind of table or old low bookcase to set plants on back there, which will soften the corner. Place one chair to the left of the couch, tucked in between the window and stove area, and the other chair (probably the leather one) on the other side, angled out from the wall where the tv has been moved. Get the small cabinet that is on the floor up at the other end of the room holding plants and use that as a side table by the leather chair, with a lamp if possible. Another small table and lamp between the couch and the chair near the woodstove would be nice. A large round ottoman rather than a coffeetable, that could be additional seating and moved around the room if needed. You should have enough room beside the piano to add another chair, which could face the couch but also be used to sit and watch the fire. A floor lamp between the chair and the piano would be nice to bring some light to that side of the room and also make the music easier to see. I would also wonder if your dining table shouldn't be turned the other way, to parallel the longer wall and also stop working against the angle of the floor there. Once you get everything in place, then you can work on hanging art or family pix, etc. I think by using the one end of the room for a family seating area, and the other end for the kids, you will make better use of the total space, rather than trying to jam the seating into the middle of the room. Also, the fireplace becomes more of a whole-room piece, feeling like it is part of the dining and seating and music areas, rather than blocked off by furniture. You won't have to sit and look at the kids' stuff when you dine or even sit on the couch - it will be off at a different spot and the seating won't be facing it. One other thing - what is on the wall behind the woodstove? I think that is something you need to address, because it really doesn't fit with the style you are trying to achieve in the space. It feels very much like something you would see in a kid's room. If it is wallpaper or fabric, I would take it down and think about perhaps doing some kind of wall treatment Maybe a faux stone or faux paint to look like stone, that picks up on whatever material the stove sits on - can't tell for sure from the pix what that is. Or even just an accent paint color in that space. I think you have a lot of nice things, and a bright and cheery room to work with. You also have my Poang chair (in a different finish and covering), which I think is one of the most comfy chairs ever! Do what you can do now, and enjoy what you have.