Even as a little girl, I liked Rose of Sharon, because Sharon was the name of my sister that passed away. My dad was Herbie, and my Mom was Juanita...doubt I'd find any flowers with THOSE names!!

When I see families like that I get all choked up with awe. They are just so few and far between. I wish I had known how to train our kids that way. I just kept correcting them all the time, instead of teaching them ahead of time how to behave in various situations. Our son and DDIL have always done that with their 2 boys. They are always a delight to have around. They have always been so use to being taught what is right, that when a new situation comes up and they aren't sure, they ask a parent what is the right way to do it. They love to learn new things. It's so nice to have kind and enjoyable neighbors. Thank you for sharing.

Woo Hoo Caroline!! So happy for you. Need to find your door thread to see which door you decided on. It is always so good when things fall together. Such a relief. I know you have been working on a few house issues for quite awhile.

Pottery Barn has sofas with indoor-outdoor Sunbrella fabric, https://www.potterybarn.com/shop/new/sunbrella-feature I second those who've suggested starting good habits while kids are young -- teach them from the start how to treat furniture and the family belongings properly. And this is the time to start with rules like "no food or drinks in the living/family room"; and yes, it's perfectly fair to have one rule for the adults and another for the kids. Or you can limit what kind of food and drinks to allow kids -- when mine were young, it was water or apple juice only for them in the living room, no milk or grape/orange juice. Also, they grow fast : ) , so you don't really have to decorate around them too much (round ottomans vs. wood rectangular coffee table). I'd decorate for the room and with what you like. Buy quality the first time around. The arched fronts might be fairly easily removable. And I'd almost be tempted to have the builder drywall over the shelving above the arches.