We live on a clay hill, and I had almost given up on planting anything until I got daylilies. I have one raised bed formed with landscape timbers 53' long, and the daylilies in that bed are doing great. You do have to water them more often in the hot summer months than if they are in the ground. I use soaker hoses (covered with mulch) in that bed. The bed is high enough so that I can sit on the edge and keep it weeded and groomed easily. I just poke my finger in the soil, and if it is dry, then I turn on the hoses. Not one of the plants has had rust, which is unusual for southeast Texas. Now that we are currently struggling with black gumbo soil to prepare a large bed for my dl seedlings, I am all for raised beds in the future. I read an interesting post in Accessible Gardens by "Anerobic" where beds were created by forming a cylinder of turkey wire (4' height), piled up with leaves, and topped with top soil. After it settles to 3', he cuts the wire off at the top, making it accessible for handicapped gardeners. It's a very interesting post, and I'm thinking seriously about doing something similar from now on. I'm not sure about the wire, but I have acres of leaves to rake every fall. I plan to pile them up along the fence, top them with soil, and when the bed settles, am going to plant some DLs there to see how they do. A word of caution: if you use landscape timbers, concrete blocks, or whatever, be sure you bury the first course lower than the grass. Otherwise, the grass will slip under the edge and grow up into the bed. I had to learn that the hard way! BTW, a daylily grower told me that Hi-Yield Grass Killer, combined with the spreader/sticker oil, is safe to use around and over daylilies to kill unwanted grass. It won't affect nut grass, however. (The Grass Killer is very pricey - about $40-$50 a pint!) We just sprayed it around our field bed this week for the first time, but have been too busy to evaluate the results yet. They also make Killzall (sp?) - but it is NOT safe around plants. We only used it for killing the grass in our new bed. Nancy

I like the kitchen -- you must love to cook! The ss appliances pics I assume are the ones going in the kitchen. Where is the stove and vent going? on the island or back wall. What is the island used for--eating? cooking (if stove is there), prepping? schoolwork (kids) will it have barstools? pot rack above it? just asking cuz the pendants you're hanging over the island are gorgeous and will be THE focus of the kitchen when looking into it at first glance. (LOVE them) so where is this other lamp going ?? like 10' back towards the family room (behind the picture taker? just my $.02---- in one long room like that, the light fixtures are a major focal point and you put different types/eras/etc sooooooo opposites.. YIKES. no one will notice anything in the rooms. Stay away from that glass bulb chandelier - clear glass = bright lights in eyes (plus it is a center point ) and the other chandelier --noooooooo so wrong era, will fight the kitchen ones.

"But I choose to trust the professionals we've hired, which itself was a careful process based on client experience from people we trust." I would suggest with all due respect that unless the projects of the people you trust were extremely close to the scope of your upcoming project, there is no way to be sure that your highly individualized project will progress in a similar fashion. I would certainly make sure to have enough in the budget for overages, and perhaps plan the project in stages so that the $250,000 cap is not reached before completion. If I wanted more data to consider for a project like this, with the aesthetic you want, I would research online local Scandinavian design projects, and also contact the owners/managers of companies such as Reside in Boston, who are familiar not only with modern Scandinavian design but also local architecture. You are getting the all too typical lowball quotes that rely on change orders to bring the total up to reality numbers. It’s what some contractors are forced into doing, because if they were honest about real costs, they don’t get hired. The cheap guy gets the contract. And the change orders begin. This. I wish more people understood this. My husband is a builder, and it's not unusual after providing a comprehensive quote/estimate to not get the job. The builders who do get hired for these project end up either charging more, or cutting considerable corners to stay within the original estimate.

Thanks @deegw, you hit the mark! I think the rug will provide balance but will not compromise the space of entry way. Also just for clarification, although on the photo the door looks like it will hit the mirror as it swings open, it doesn’t. Also the height of the door is 8ft, the light fixture is way off from the door . Thank you so much for all your great ideas, specially to deegw, your suggestion will ultimately solve my dilemma 🥰