Without looking at the pictures I know exactly who you are writing about. When he first started, it was with the car half buried in the front yard, which was an attractive traffic stopper. Now he has created an "amusement" park atmosphere around his house that just looks kind of weird. I guess if I lived in the neighborhood, I wouldn't be too happy about it either. When I'm in the area I make a point of driving by it just to see if he has managed to add another snowmobile with a mannequin on it or to see what the mannequin sitting on the tractor is dressed like (he changes the clothes to coincide with coming holidays). There is another guy on North Humboldt Ave. in Milwaukee who started out with the car half in and out of the ground. His was kind of cool because the headlights came on at night. Now he has another car in the front yard (which is pretty small to begin with). It is lookin' a little cluttered. One of my favorite houses is on 43rd and ... I think it is Cold Spring ... in Milwaukee. I swear (but don't know for certain) the people were hounded by building inspection to paint their small ranch house so in protest they painted it purple with huge flowers on the sides.

Gosh, how beautiful. Just went through a few but put in favorites to refer back to. Beautiful gardens and will take days to look and drool over them all. Thanks Barb

Yeah...definitely some eye candy there...gonna save some of those pics, that is one my favorite blogs. I'm not to wild about the rooms that some people refer to as "timeless" when it seems like they tried to cram as many things in the room that didn't match or have anything to tie the elements together...maybe I need to get in touch with my schizo side more...LOL. She sure doesn't like MCM though...a shame really as it does have great value. That kitchen with the Swedish table is really beautiful...and give me that Marie Antoinette room any day...breathless!!! Thanks for posting Teacats, truly enjoyable viewing. I have a book called "The Great Lady Decorators" which covers the decor of ladies like Elsie de Wolfe and Nancy Lancaster...it is a great investment...so wonderful to look at, including tons of pictures like the ones on the Cote de Texas site. ...and now back to my not so extravagantly decorated home...LOL

Yes, my ceilings are 8 feet. I would have to leave off the glass part at the top. We are opeing up the wall which is where the penninsula will be, then a few feet out from the penninsula my ceilings raise to 16 feet in the living room with 2 skylights in the celing and lots of natural light. I really thought this would prevent the darks wood from becoming to heavy, also combining it with the lighter elemtns it helps brighten things up. I do want to put in handscraped hickory hardwood floors. This would be throughout the kitchen, dining room, and living room. I like the tile but I want the flow of having the floors all the same. I knew there would be people who don't like this kitchen. It's definitely not for eveyone, and I respect that. It makes a very strong statement. You can correct me on the eclectic if you like. I call that mixing the different elements, details, finishes, and embellishments. I do agree it's tuscan, antique looking. I am worried about using it in "my smaller space" That is why I posted here to get ideas. I appreciate all suggestions and all thoughts negative or positive. I do think not having enough space is a huge concern. One reason I thought this style would work is because we are opening this space up and removing a wall. Our living room is large. There are only two of us living here. Empty nesters. I can't see the expense of expanding. Not in this econmic climate and the area I live in. I was hoping by opening up the space it would give us a nice entertaining area. It is a load bearing wall so a support column is needed at the end of the penninsula. For this reason I really can't have an island. I am limited, I do have to be realistic. That's not always easy!