Does it really matter how people get into gardening? If they are making an effort, more power to them. I'd much rather see that than yet more landscaping/lawn care businesses dumping chemicals on lawns and chemical-filled RED mulch around trees and shrubs and against houses!! I moved to Maryland from Texas almost 4 years ago. After having my beautiful antique roses die when I moved from San Antonio to San Angelo TX (yeah, expensive hard lesson there), I didn't do much at all with gardening, mostly because we were in a rental house and were in the middle of a drought. After we moved to MD, I waited until we knew that we would be staying in this house for longer than our military tour of three years. Last year, I decided I wanted some flowers and planted a couple of roses and a hydrangea. After moving the hydrangea to a shadier spot and moving a couple of the roses to a sunnier spot, everything did well, which encouraged me to keep digging... Our town has a freecycle group, and I got some plants from a very active member of the local garden club, who has encouraged my efforts from day one. The club's motto is basically 'your $10 membership fee should get you $300 worth of plants the first year'. The members are generous with their extras and well informed, such a great resource to a military transplant like me!. Gardenweb's Mid-Atlantic forum is a terrific group as well, they had their spring swap this past weekend and I came home with a ton of plants. They prefer that we use Latin names, but more to limit confusion than because they're snobby. Instead of railing about how horrible the situation is, how about doing something about it in your area? *Talk to the manager at HD/Lowe's/wherever about ordering plants that will actually do well in the area. *Is there a local garden club?? Is it full of stuffy snobs comparing their umpty-year gardens or is it active and welcoming to new gardeners? Is there a 'garden open house' where new gardeners can go to see local neighborhood gardens and get their questions answered? *Is there a gardenweb (or other online)forum for the area? *Are there any plant swaps in the area? Would it be possible to have a plant sale with a portion of the sales going to beautify a local building with plants that will grow well so new folks can see natives in a local setting? *Is there a freecycle group in your area? Post some plant 'offers' and get people involved! Just like with cooking or sewing or any other craft, a skill must be LEARNED. Give people a chance to learn the skill by starting with the easy stuff. You don't expect a new baker to start out with a wedding cake or a person new to sewing to start out with a double wedding quilt. Be reasonable and make the effort to HELP new gardeners, not bash them down. Lynne

Actually, the quintessential steampunk piece is a modern computer decked out to look like a 19th century device. I met a guy profiled in the Boston Globe who has a steampunk house, and whose kitchen was featured here once. He was selling a cast iron Victorian stove that had been outfitted with a barely-discernable electric cooktop. It's not so much working Rube Goldberg contraptions as it is window dressing on modern technology. I think of it as a stage set in search of a story. Let's say Steampunk is a definite one month from now, as the project that follows the next one. For the very next one to start this weekend, I'm thinking Hollywood Regency, based on an unscientific review of the preference lists people have posted so far. I would sort of like to do the setup for Steampunk, so if you'd rather I not do two in a row, I can happily defer to pal on the HR project. Thoughts?

My thinking syncs with Pal's that a decorator will use his/her own home to try things out, and that's what I figured about this little home -- a decorator at play. I loved the exuberant living room, and thought the sun room was chic. The bedrooms didn't thrill me but had some clever aspects to make note of. The kitchen looked great IMO, especially after seeing so many inadequate kitchens with drab 1950s-1970s materials in our price range. The front landscaping & deck are quite attractive too. Really, very nice for the price/size/location. The disconnect between outside and inside is part of the charm for me, and I think my DIL would love the interior. It's a young person's style. I think the Happy Couple found a home to bid on, but I might point this one out to them anyway, just for fun & just in case.

Pricklypear, you are singlehandedly keeping this thread alive. I like your Pacific Northwest design aesthetically, but from what I've gleaned from my Seattle friends and family, I'd worry that the blues and grays would be depressing in the long wet winters, even with the wood to warm it up. The backsplash is beautiful and pairs well with the bluestone. I love the fish fossil tile. All the blues in this one seem to work really well together, even though they are all slightly different. The granite is beautiful. And more white appliances! I didn't see many stainless appliances in this thread--lots of white and colors. Does stainless not say "beach"? Do you still have some more in the works, or should we start a discussion about starting up a new topic?