Disclaimer: I am not a garden designer. But I do, like you, live in the Pacific Northwest (WA). When you were developing your garden, it sounds like you were thinking of the new area as a place to experiment/be creative/have some fun. I understand why you want a basalt birdbath, they are beautiful. Would you consider instead a ceramic birdbath?. When I searched for "birdbath ceramic garden" at houzz.com, some stunning examples came up, including one made out of two pails and a garbage can lid. A rock garden can be quite easy to maintain. I helped my neighbor build his 5 years ago, but have not yet built one for myself. Here are some suggestions to think about: 1. Consider making the garden larger than 6' x 5'. 2. Dig out some of the soil, and mound sand at LEASt 18" deep. Alpine and rock garden plants do well in our area in sand beds. (My neighbor's large rock garden is up to 5 ft deep!) 3. Add whatever kind of rocks you like and can manage, but be sure they are partially buried and look like something you could imagine seeing when you are hiking in the mountains. A garden near here has rocks small enough for one person to move, but looks natural, as the rocks were placed with thought and sufficiently buried. 4. After planting, add a couple of inches of grit as mulch. You may have to look around to find the kind of rock mulch that'll give you a color that you like. For example, my neighbor uses granite mulch (white/black), but he is red/green colorblind, so this increases the contrast for him. (I've seen brownish 3/8" crushed basalt that I'd like to use for my garden.) 5. Start with some woody plants to add structure and winter interest. Locals love 'Chief Joseph' ponderosa pine, as it turns a beautiful yellow in the winter, and grows quite slowly. Or how about a sculptural manzanita? Add miniature conifers (growing not more than 1" per year) in blues and golds and greens, and little shrubs like Kalmiopsis. 6. Plant ground covering subshrubs like crowberry, shrubby penstemons (e.g. Penstemon davidsonii or P. cardwellii) and dryas. These can add masses of texture or color and look decent in the winter. 6. Add perennials for summer color. Lewisia cotyledon hybrids are beautiful! How about columbines? Pacific coast irises? We found that the beargrass that grows in our mountains does well for us; it has shiny green leaves year round and sends up those dramatic blooms. 7. Add bulbs for spring color. There are quite a few natives that are beautiful but underused. Camas? Brodiaea? Erythronium (fawn lilies)? I like to grow west coast natives, as they relate to my environment, but others like to grow plants from the Alps or the Mediterranean or from South Africa or the Himalayas. Whatever is used, plant in groups or use mat-forming plants so that there are blocks of color and texture. Well, you may already know lots about growing alpine and rock garden plants, or you may want to do something quite different from what I'm describing. Here is a link that might be useful: This OR nursery has links to their How-To Pages on rock gardening This post was edited by IshCountryGal on Wed, Jul 24, 13 at 3:56

Beer - we call it beer. If you go into a pub and ask for ale you'll get a funny look - unless of course you're ordering one of the beers called ales eg pale ale. Otherwise order by name eg a pint of Gem please. But well done on the 'crisps'. And Mr Toad, not TOO cold please. 11 - 13C. (52-55f) As for the original question I would say remember the spring garden. Starting with snowdrops, and moving onto crocuses, daffodils and then tulips. Forget-me-nots to go with the tulips and also wallflowers. The smell is incredibly evocative for me. And I wish petunias would self-sow here. They would be a great addition. We have to grow them as half hardy annuals. Here is a link that might be useful:

Those paintings are gorgeous! They really fit the room. The cherry blossom theme with the ginger jar lamps are perfect. Can you make a third one? It think they would really look nice having three of them in a tight row on the wall on the other side of the room. Even the two of them put together on the other wall will have great impact. Art that you create yourself is so much better than purchased art. I brings a joy to the heart to view. Since they are unframed and similar to the wall color hanging them together in a row on the larger wall makes a bigger statement than having them separate and hiding behind the lamps. "Anyway, I think I need something above the bed - maybe a starburst clock or something." No electronics over the head of the bed. Bad Feng Shui. It would be hard to view in that location too and you already have a bedside clock. Maybe a convex mirror like shown in your inspiration pic, but one more lightweight in feel. This one would mimic the brown branches and blossoms in the paintings balancing out both sides of the room.

Everyone's kitchen has some sort of balance between form/function, and only you can determine what is acceptable. For me, that would have been a no-go. I'm intrigued by schnoodlemom's off-center curtain suggestion. It would make the window appear wider, and therefore be centered between the two cabinets. However, that would make the sink appear off-center, which would be a whole other issue for me. ;) Do you know if your Ikea allows you to maintain the discount? At my store, I got the 20% off until the next kitchen sale started, which was a couple of months later. I was able to change my mind on a few things, return/exchange as needed, and still get 20% off. I know others on Ikeafans mentioned that they got it for one return visit, or not at all, but it might be worth checking out.