Ink, I don't think this garden has more Wow than a good japanese garden necessarilly. I think it is much bolder in its delivery of some of the same goods. Those goods are what I view to be the wow in a japanese garden (in a much less subtle way). That is the fight between unity and divergence until a balance is built that makes it calm. If you think about it, calm or peace is more noticable when viewing things that we expect to be the opposite. Usually, we describe someone as calm when they are in situations where we expect them not to be. You don't look at someone in a coma and say "Jim sure is calm today". But you might say Jim sure is calm when some punk runs a stop sign, smashes into his car, flips him the bid, and takes off while Jim calls 911 and explains the situation to the police in a matter of fact way. That is what I think is the great mystery in japanese gardens that is overlooked. They give off such a powerful sense of peace because they are calm in the heat of battle. Calm without that battle is not powerful if you think about it. A lawn should be more peaceful than a japanese garden, but it lacks the battle and so becomes less impressive. Many of us look at the planting above and think it has to be chaos and it has to be too busy because you just can't mix that much stuff. Look at Alan Bloom's gardens with heath, heather, and dwarf conifers. It is the same battle between unity and divergence that puts the funk into that. Don't underestimate the importance of the lawn and the heather that freezes chaos into calmness in his work. That is a wow and a half. It is the same set principles - contrast, hidden balance, lack of a supreme focal point, and strong unity from unexpected sources that tend to go unnoticed.

I'm very sorry I did not answer the questions from the last few years... I've been out of reno mode for a while :) It's probably too late, but here are the replies: @walkin_yesindeed - the vanity finish has held up just fine. However, it's not the original paint. We sanded and re-painted with new Ben Moore bathroom paint. No issues with dampness (we do run the fan for every shower, though.) @kirkhall - I have NOT been happy with the touted un-stainable-ness of the epoxy grout on the floor. I mean, it's better than regular grout, but it didn't stay white no matter how much I cleaned it. It looks fine, since the tile is multi-toned, but it's definitely not still white. The shower grout, however, has held up extremely well. @SparklingWater - I don't recall the demo being terribly difficult, but that may be because I knew what to expect from other parts of the house. It was tile over a dense cement. @MrsD - I think the grout color is standard white. @MayaEoff - Our tub is the standard 30" size.

kswl...ssssh!! I just had that cushion made within the last year! Anyway, it's not really ideal in my office color scheme but there IS a green in the fabric that does work with the wall color -- hard to see the exact colors in the pic. It even has teal, which is the color of my office chair. So... close enough. I found a wooden basket-esque thingie at Home Goods this morning and put tulips in it, AND got a woven runner that has some of my "theme colors" in it. Will post a pic shortly. This is the picture that inspired me...

As far as the nail holes go, I'd suggest that you wait until you are done varnishing, then give the varnish at least a week to fully cure. Get a couple of compatible colors of wax filler crayons. If you add two colors smeared together, it is generally less obvious than a round spot of one color. Fill the holes, then buff out with a piece of grocery bag paper. You can get the wax crayon fillers about anywhere. Items you'll find about any hardware store. More colors (96) than you'll know what to do with If you want a smooth as a baby's butt finish, let the finish cure for a couple of weeks, get some 0000 steel wool and furniture wax and rub out the imperfections, then buff off the wax with a soft cloth. I was in a ~$1.5Million house today (on the golf course). Still being finished up. The woodwork was awful. Doors were all splotchy, trim work showed where every nail hole was (filled with putty that wasn't high enough), then painted brown. Fireplace surround had planer marks jumping out because of the stain. I'm glad your job worked out well for you! Here is a link that might be useful: Items available at cabinet suppliers & specialty shops