Have to agree that the look isn't pleasing in the above design suggestion. Sorry to be blunt but it's boring and does little to catch the eye. Depending on the sun exposure, Euphorbia polychroma would provide contrast to the spirea and is zero maintenance. Stokesia would also serve a similar function and demands as little attention as the Euphorbia--absolutely none. For more zero-care color contrast, Heuchera/coral bells 'Palace Purple' comes to mind. Throw in a shorter ornamental grass--Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hameln' comes to mind--and you'd solve the entire problem corner. I don't think a trellis under the A/C unit would do anything other than detract from the plants if you select the right combination of different colors & textures.

The floor to ceiling shower doors are for steam showers, and the setup for a steam shower is different than a regular shower. The vapor or moisture barriers are different for a steam shower than for a regular shower. A steam shower needs to have a sloped ceiling to drain the condensate. The ceiling needs to be tiled. You are not supposed to use Hydroban in a steam shower, but you can use Kerdie or Redgard in the steam setup. Hydroban will let the vapor through which is why you don't want to use it for steam showers. The Kerdie and the Redgard will not. Hydroban is a moisture barrier and Kerdie and Redgard are vapor barriers. Installers need to know the difference. Beyond that I don't know. Maybe an expert will chime in about what I just wrote. I am only a DYI and have never done a steam shower. I would do a porcelain tile in the surround if it was me. Marble absorbs moisture. Porcelain is so durable and can be beautiful! DON'T put the rainshower in the attic, your pipes will freeze like Raehelen said. And like Raehelen also said, I would use a movable bench. But that is just my choice. I want the flexability in my shower which will be the same size as yours. I will be using a Kohler shower pan that is 36x60" sized. Here is a rainhead shower that I am installing, in the link below. It is in the wall, and I can't wait. Noopd put it in his shower and that is where I first saw it. See the link below where I asked some questions regarding my shower plans and refer to Noopd's shower. There are pictures too. One last point about the the rainhead shower by Hansgrohe, a friend of mine that works for Ferguson's just got back from an educational workshop at Hansgrohe in GA. She got to try out the shower head and Loved it. I bought my plumbing supplies from my friend at Ferguson's. I wanted the convenience, and to support her and the local economy. I have not been disappointed. I have bought a few things on line and that has worked well too. Ferguson's doesn't sell Toto for instance, so I ordered my toilet online. The down side to online ordering is the return if needed. Edited to say that in the link provided, it states that I will be using a smaller shower pan than I actually ended up with. But that might be clarified further down in the thread. You'll have to look :) Here is a link that might be useful: Mongoct, Noopd, or Others, Please Advise Me on My Shower Plan This post was edited by enduring on Tue, Nov 12, 13 at 7:59

I just want to thank everyone for the help and advice. Dh and I have decided to go ahead with the full re-model. We won't be changing the layout but we are going to replace flooring, cabs and counters. I've decided NOT to use the maple slab from my barn. I'm going with granite all around. I REALLY want to remove the soffits but I took a peek today and there is duct work through out! I'm really having a hard time with this.. just looking at them makes me want to cry. I just don't know what to do to make them blend in. They aren't just typical soffits that are near flush with the cabs.. they come out almost 2 feet from the wall, and 10 inches from the cabinets. They also have some funny angles that might make crown molding around the cabinets look odd? I'm going to post over on the kitchen forums to try to get more feedback on the soffits. Thanks again.. you all helped me with the motivation to for the 'real' makeover!

Hi, first of all I love your house and furniture. I like the first option better but how about this (I don't know if it works): put the couch under the window facing the dining room and put the console where the couch was originally. Possibly a big ottoman (rectangular) between the coffee table and the dining room (so you can sit and chat with the couch but not block the view of the dining), put the chair in the first option angled facing the console. I assume that's your front door, moving the console leaves that walkway more available. I would put something else there, a narrow table or chest of some type. Either art or mirror can go there or on console. Bring in some more green and I like the round mirror. Mariana