"maybe someone needs highspeed instead of whining" Be nice. Despite what you might think from watching television ads, high speed internet is really NOT available in every part of the country. Besides, a little empathy never hurt anyone. Freely admitting that I am not a professional landscaper and without knowing how big the space is, my first suggestion to the OP would be to go through and remove at least half of the garden ornaments. I'm not saying you should get rid of them, just thin them out and store them for a couple of months, and if you get to missing the swinging fairies or the verdigris hummingbird, switch them out. Or perhaps you could designate one set for spring/summer (fairies, hummingbirds and dragonflies, etc.), and one for fall/winter. My personal thought on garden ornaments smaller than a breadbox is that tucked in here and there, they make a nice little surprise. Ideally, you wouldn't be able to see more than one at a time from any vantage point; allow your visitors to discover them individually as they walk back with you to enjoy a cool drink on that wonderful blue bench. I'd also paint the all the white trellis either a warm brown to match the arch or the sameblue/green as the trellis in the third picture. To me, the white seems a little "loud" for such a small space. I agree with ajwillys, I'd move the birdbath to the area within sight of the bench (as much as possible keeping hidden from the rest of the garden), and let that be the focal point of your secret garden. Have a few interesteing things to see along the way, but save the big guns for the end of the trail. Altorama, I LOVE those pink roses, both the short one in front and the taller one in back. Kudos to your green thumb. If the taller rose is not actually growing in that terra cotta pot, I think I'd move that out first. Replace it with the tall blue urn that's back by the bench. Okay, I guess I'm done. Just remember, less is more. (says the woman with a 9 foot bottle tree) I can guarantee that all my free advise is worth every penny you paid for it. ;^)

My ex didn't want me to get this birdbath and it is one of the things that was the final straw in our marriage. Actually the other thing was three round bales of hay. That was nine years ago. When I had this birdbath on the other side of my creek before I moved the garden over here, I had Ranuculas around it which looked really pretty. When I get my new bare root roses through the mail, the roses get put in the bird bath prior to planting. All the large rainfall last Summer killed my perianals around the birdbath. I will have to get some more My girls put this statue in the birdbath some years ago, the lady is nursing a baby and I thought it was appropiate. Too bad about her neck or head and I haven't repaired it yet.

Our yard is divided into garden "rooms" and each has something of a focal point, not always intentional. The front entry "room" has a neat chair, the patio "room" has the pond, the gully "room" has a pergola, the back has the arches. When you have beautiful surrounding scenery, creating paths that lead to special vistas with sitting areas to enjoy the vista or view is a useful strategy. mary_lu nice garden! peachymomo you are working at it, it looks good. In time it will be as you envision it. Good things don't happen all at once. :)

Hi Kat, I'm mixing satin nickel exposed hinges, pulls, knobs and latches on my white, unbeaded inset cabs. Although I don't find the latches hard to open at all, I've only used them on some of the cab doors, not all. I initially expected my hardware would be darker, maybe even black wrought iron. But my ID who, thankfully, tends to counterbalance my more dramatic design instincts, convinced me to go with satin nickel instead. (The last comment, btw, is not a negative judgment against those who use black, orb, dark hardware with white cabinetry! I still love the look, even if it won't be happening in my own kitchen.) The one deviation in hardware I did not expect was the pendant lighting fixture. Although everything else is in an either a stainless, brushed or satin nickel finish, the pendant is an antique bronze. Interestingly enough, it works! The soapstone countertop is just that, without an integrated backsplash running up the wall. Instead, the backsplash is a contrasting white marble mosaic. I love your shell tiles! Noticed them when you posted them the other day. I think they are fantastic and can certainly go with your b/w kitchen. I probably would suggest a non-intrusive, low-profile backsplash such as white subways if you are going to use those shell tiles as accents. As for the knobs from Anthropologie, are you talking about the flower petals or the clock timers? FWIW, if you're thinking of the former, it might very well work but I'm less convinced about the latter. Sounds like it's time to start ordering your hardware samples, maybe? As for the lighting fixtures, I like them all but probably like the globe (#3) the best. Why couldn't it go with your kitchen? Especially at this point where you still have plenty of room to shape the final vision of the remodel? That last point leads to this one: Welcome to the "TKO (totally kitchen obsessed) and ODD (overwhelmed with design decisions) Club"! Design/construction professionals tend to agree that kitchens can be the most complex of remodels in the entire house/apartment, etc. I daresay most of us here will spend tons of our time second-guessing ourselves throughout this remodel process which is most times fun, but also frequently quite grueling. And, from what I'm seeing with my own remodel and that of others, the second guessing is likely to continue even after the kitchen is completed! Up until the point of actually making a decision, oftentimes the design possibilities are endless and seemingly equally attractive. But once you've pulled the trigger on a particular choice, you can find yourself immediately wondering if you've done the right thing. Fuhgeddaboutit! That's natural! LOL! I also encourage you to stray from the standard b/w SGG/Peacock model that so many of us love and try to adopt and adapt. It's not necessarily a "mish mosh" when you bring your own personality and preferences into the model. As you've already noted, that's just making it YOUR kitchen! Plus, once you stabilize and implement the major design elements, you'll find that most of the secondary, tertiary choices are ones that are more easily reversible, tweakable, etc. All that said, and if you haven't done it already, why don't you take the the "Sweeby Test?" Your systematic consideration of those questions can help you enormously in figuring out which of the myriad paths you should take when encountering the myriad of design decisions you will have to make with your kitchen remodel. BTW, I love your plans. I have every confidence you're going to have a winner of a kitchen. Good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: The Sweeby Test