I think 2 Miss Bateman will look great on that small a fence area. They may look lonesome the first couple years but not very :) This is how she looked the first couple years when she first began blooming in spring. The pic is labeled Henryi. She was supposed to be our 5th one.... She kept blooming a month ahead of our other Henryi. She is the first clematis to bloom here. Foliage and blooms were a little different than our Henryi. Finally identified her as Miss Bateman. She is the only clematis blooming for us right now. Henryi gets to be huge here. You may want to do more checking about him. I've seen reports that he isn't very vigorous. That always surprises me. I don't doubt the accuracy of the reports. I just can't imagine the monster being a wimp. that is our first (planted in 1999). I put a wire hoop on the fence to let him get taller. I don't want to let him spread much in that spot. He will shade too many roses. That is of the same one (taken with the camera held at arm's length over my head). You can see some white blooms in the background by the gate. Two more Henryi are planted on either side of Ernest Markham. They and Ernest are overwhelming the climbers Dublin Bay and Fourth of July. That is the only spot available to let clematis go crazy and climb to the eaves. Deb loves it. You can see some white blooms. There are more high and right. That was a pic of Ernest and I left them out. That Henryi gets 10+ feet tall. He is just unreal for us. I don't spend a lot of time caring for clematis. I am a rose guy. The clematis were Deb's idea. Most of the time I spend with them is keeping them from wrecking the roses. Pink Fantasy is going to be moved. This is her 4th year and she needs more room. There just isn't any room between Miss Bateman and Niobe. She grew a bit taller than the fence last year and I didn't have room to wind the vines along the fence. She does not want to stay 4 feet wide. I'll be moving her over on the west fence between Gillian Blades and Polish Spirit. Deb loves her. I like the clear pink of Hagley Hybrid blooms more than (what I call) the muddy pink of Pink Fantasy. I can only imagine how large she will get this year. Had to toss that one in with HH in the upper right :) Yard photos That link will open a new browser, there are some yard pics in that section of our floribunda album if you want to see some overall ones.

There are plastic fabrics made by Agribon that offer cold protection down to about 8 degrees. There are several differnet thicknesses, and that 8 degree range is the thickest of all. Because the fabric must not be in direct contact with the leaves of the plants, you would need make some kind of half hoop tent or other raised trusses to help hold the cloth away from the plants. Beans, can dry off the vine, and beets can survive a some frost as they will only lose foliage. If the beans arent ready to be dried as seeds, you can always salvage any that are now big enough. You would be surprised as to the size of the beans inside some pods. Pole beans are easy to find as seeds, there are many, and Vermont Bean has more varieties than most bean varieties than any other seed dealer. Buttercup squash will probably not make it, but if the plastic fabric cloth helps to keep some warmth in, it may give you a little extra time. Buttercup not even ripe now, would need at least another 30 days to ripen to hard green color. Over nights are usually when frosts hit, and even in Z5, they are usually only a few nights in a row, then most of the time it gets a bit warmer again, especially during the daytime. Any coverings you plan to use must also allow light through as well as water, so a plain cloth sheet may not be appropriate. The site below offers huge rolls of Agribon, but you should also be able to find smaller sizes. It also is reusable for several years, provided its folded and kept dry after use. I have several thicknesses here, and covered a whole peach/plum tree when it blossomed and we had a sudden frost in full bloom. Only lost a few of the flowers and leaves to frost, but that was because it was just draped over the 25 foot tall tree (try doing that without a ladder in the late afternoon!). Root crops should be fine. Because this product is a non woven plastic, I use an impulse heater to bond two sheets togther to make a larger size or double up on the thickness if necessary. Hope you get well soon! Here is a link that might be useful: Agribon plastic fabrics

Wall color is really hard to say without seeing it, but my inclination would be to put more brown into the wall color. I like light and reflective backsplashes (comes from years of dark under counter spaces with no lights, I'm sure, but why not take advantage of natural lighting even if you can supplement it?). I would not do all cream though. With the light cabinets and mostly light granite, I would want some color without too much competition with the granite. Again, without seeing it, I would be thinking of starting my search with some coppery/bronze tones (metallic or glass) either as accents or possible the whole thing (especially with glass -- if you like that look). You seem to have something simple in mind, and I think that is good. Don't do the random accents, mosaics or such that can get busy or spotty looking and compete with the granite. I had a hard time finding something simple but not too plain to go with my marble. Don't be afraid to think outside the box or search for different combinations. I wound up combining subways from one dealer with accent pieces I found at two different stores. I have two pencil liners on either side of a third (color bordering metallic). It came about after getting sample pieces of a number of different accents and sitting on the floor laying them out to compare and then starting to combine different options. If you aren't finding what you want, see if you can create it.

I would open the wood walls over the doorways, but leave the walls in. I might possibly widen the doorways, but otherwise leave the wood up where you were thinking of putting sheetrock. By making the doorways taller, you will have more light and air passing back and forth and you will see your kitchen light fixture better. I like the tall cab and would not remove it. I don't see a great improvement to see the entire run of counters and sink. I'd possibly open the doorway up to the cab/counter depth, but not all the way to the bs. The view you want to be focused on is still to the window, not your kitchen electrics and faucet. I'd do the beam or a T molding like you would transition a floor where the ceilings meet. I love open floor plans, but don't think that opening up in the way you proposed will gain you an advantage.