OK Christine Now we know what is important. More about the plants, then about Hubby or his big beautiful truck. Les P.S Then there was the time my wife came home to find a police car in the front flower bed -- thank goodness nothing was planted in it at the moment.

Cooper, thanks! Those bowls are hand turned wood from Vermont. We used to drive by their outlet store on the way to and from DD's piano camp every summer. Bella, best years and debbbi, the FLOR is pretty amazing actually. I think the best part is that you can pull pieces, clean them, move them around....very kid/pet friendly. Before I even attached them with the sticky dots, I had the squares laid out and they did not move. I was amazed. The rubber backing and the weight of them (they are heavy) combines to create a stable situation. Parma, I think you're right about the red and too many flat surfaces. That's an interesting point...will have to remember that. It would have worked but this just feels more balanced. The funny thing is, there is no red in the carpet at all and yet it works... Ingrid, I think you're right about the painting. I think red on the floor would have drowned out the faux-Matisse. Debbi, the bookcase decision received a lot of input from this board, too! I was looking at different wood colors and just threw out red on a lark. A few people here nibbled but it was DH who made the decision, actually. The adjacent kitchen cabinets (like 2 feet away adjacent!) are espresso, so red was the "only" choice. :-) Jenny, I have to say that pink is not usually my first choice color, but I was looking for something that would work with chocolate or vanilla! It's from Pot Luck Studios. (Another outlet purchase.) Susan, those bookcases are used. A lot! Cookbooks, paint fandecks, camera gear, binoculars for birdwatching, and general stashing of things. This little brown loveseat has sort of become my home office! Fly, you're so right about the pillow! Too bad my dogger likes to snuggle on that one. It is not long for this world. There is also a painting on the other side of the room, something I bought in Florida, which has all the colors of the FLOR in it. It is amazing. Here's a little cropped version from a photo of the old house. Lousy pic, but you get the idea... As for the edges, they feel pretty good. The rug is next to the sunporch door and that's the door we use to put the dog out umpteen times a day. So, we will know very soon if the edges are as strong as they feel. I will say the rug feels complete. I don;t have a sense that it should be bound. Sable, thanks so much for what I consider high praise! I am always striving for a more contemporary look ad keep getting dragged back by all my traditional stuff. I had thought I might "start over" in this new place, but the economy said No. Mona, you are sweet to say that! :-) I do feel really at home in this space, so I guess it is all working. CT, the funny thing about those chairs is that they're a leftover from the Florida decor. I am in New England now and wasn't sure they would stay pale blue. (The piping is parrot green...eeek!) But the rug somehow makes them work and now I can keep them as they are. I suppose that means I should consider replacing the 15 y.o. tab top curtains on tensions rods, huh?! ;-)

This is a great thread. We're not remodeling but building a new house, and man, can I relate to a lot of these. ...you know every lighting fixture, faucet, sink, appliance by memory because you have endlessly researched each one. you freak out your own GC because you can discuss minute details about your house/kitchen from memory down to the 1/8". you have more e-mails from your GC/subs than you do from your friends. you wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat about some critical detail and then go downstairs to e-mail your GC about it right at the moment before you forget.

Thanks for all the inspirations, guys! JoeMoose - you're so polite to your roses, maybe I should try asking them nicely to put out some more blooms when I deadhead and see if they listen. Kittymoonbeam, I think your roses are chiming in with you in a croaking "water, water!!" voice - I pity you out in CA. Countrygirl - I can relate to the guilt trips for our roses - if we put all that work into them they need to shape up after all! Beth - that's the perfect guilt trip in fact - don't bite the hand that feeds you/deadheads you/ waters you. "I've missed you" - ah, what a nice sentiment KentuckyRose and it definitely expresses the nice side of "well, FINALLY...". Rosecandy - I've definitely begged my roses to survive and gotten more desperate as they dwindle over time, and I talk to my resident rabbits all the time (including a baby one we've named Norbert) to stay away from my roses (but he just looks at me smugly and keeps eating). Patty - I'm not letting myself think that I might jinx the roses - if the best fertilizer is the gardener's footsteps, I'm thinking that talking has to count for something too. Jim - of course, the sad second part to that one is "Don't die on me buckaroo!" Msdorkgirl - I had to laugh at the last one. I keep asking Fimbriata every year why it won't just die and put us all out of our miseries, but even though it's horribly chlorotic at the moment, it's also totally winter hardy and I just can't kill a survivor like that without just cause. Holly - you've captured the surprise of rose growing well - "what on earth is that" or "where did that come from" - when you check your roses every day or so it's still amazing to see how easy it is to be surprised. Unfortunately, I'm often surprised by "where did that go" with the bloom that just opened yesterday and is already wilted and fading today. Cynthia