Viola - I do use the door every once in a while. The basement stairs are right there so if we bring in something large to store in the basement we will use that door to make life easier. However; the tip for the light is great. Looking at the house everyday; I actually forgot it was there. I will take that down. We also will be changing that door. No storm and it will be painted the same color as the siding. Karin - Your right. I'm actually starting the garden bed first because when we pull up those front hedges and expose the front of our house I would like to have something nice for my neighbors to see. I would like to extend the garden. Unfortunately I have to hold off till my loving husband excepts the face that he will need to bust up that old walkway/sidewalk thing. For now my new garden bed actually meets up to the walkway in a to be continued state.

thank you so much,, YUCK i don't care for that at all. We are not doing the brick, we are using castle rock similar to the stone that sprice5105 used under her porch, but i still don't think i care for the red. Our roof is black/ gray// any other ideas. Our current home is a cactus green w/ white which i love. I will be using some accent color, in the gables but OH I DON"T KNOW NOW. What to do ? What is your favorite house color.

I remember these photos too. Isn't the room on the right a dining room? I agree with oopsie, put the sofa between the two rooms and a sofa table to divide them. I'd definitely add more table lamps and an area rug for each room. If you don't use the other room as a DR, then you can do what I did with the large space in the back of our LR. We added a round area rug with a "game" table in the middle. It's not really a game table, but a small wooden dinette with two chairs, and I use that table all the time for projects.

I think your inspiration photo is close to an actual photoshop of your space, should you go with a granite slab counter. The difference is that the top of your cabinets has a rounded arch at the top of each door, the inspiration pic has straight lines. You mention you might go with granite tile, then the tile/beadboard combo would make the space quite busy looking so I'd go with tile only backsplash, in that instance. If I were you, I'd post a picture of your actual finished counter before deciding on the backsplash. Your inspiration pic is very pretty but the more I look at it, the more I find it busy looking, with all the vertical lines popping at me.