I was thinking more about Isabellas comment that the garden looked plain on the drawing and it dawned on me that she probably meant that there didnt appear to be anything on the drawing other than perhaps perennials in the beds. There are two reasons for that. The simple answer is that if I attempted to draw all the pretty symbols for trees and shrubs a la Booth and Hiss, all Im likely to produce is a confused mess! But the more important answer, from my perspective, is that when I look at my (and others) garden, I mentally edit out all but the patterns on the ground to decide whether the garden appeals to me or not. By patterns on the ground I mean the shape of the beds, the lawn, the paths, patios etc. If the shape doesnt feel right to me then the plantings, no matter how nice they are, wont totally take away the feeling that the garden needs to be changed somehow. What Ive shown in the drawing of my woodland area is the patterns on the ground as they are now with the proposed/possible changes. The tree and shrub layers have been edited out, other than an indication of where some of the tree trunks are. Im largely satisfied with the plantings I have in the woodland (although changes and additions are made on an on-going basis) but Im not satisfied with the overall pattern. That is what Im wrestling with changing come spring. The Booth and Hiss book is interesting but I find Im doing the same thing when I look at the drawings in it particularly with the masterplan drawings. I find them very busy and have to mentally edit out all the plant symbols and just look at the patterns on the ground before I can conclude whether I like the plan or not. I suspect that, since I have previously stated my strong liking for flowers and colors, I am perhaps viewed as having little interest in real design issues. Certainly I feel that painting the patterns with plants (particularly flowering ones!) is very important to add color, vibrancy and emotion to bring the garden to life. Plus its lots of fun to play with color and plant combinations! But a very important part of what I have been doing over the past 8 years as weve been developing the garden is trying to get the patterns on the ground to look and feel right. Getting the woodland patterns fixed is top of my to do list for 2008 And just to show that there are trees in the woodland :-) here are two of my favorites: The oak tree as viewed from the living room window in mid-November: (The sun was so bright that day that I had to adjust the color a bit or the LR would just appear black the shed is gray, not blue) The white redbud in late May (its bigger now this picture is 2006 as I didnt take a picture in 2007 You can see a bit of the old shed in this picture - it did blend more inconspicuously with the trees but was otherwise decrepit, ugly and impractical and had to go!) I just realized in my previous post with the sightlines on it... I usually look at the drawing the opposite way around - so I really meant that it looks like the shed should be shifted a few feet to the north - left - in that view, not right....

Buehl, thank you so much for doing that alternate layout for me. It really helps to see it. I actually really like the way it looks (although I might move the wine tower to the south wall or ditch it). It allows the less attractive range and ovens to be out of the direct sightline and lets me have the back wall full of tall cabinets and appliances like in my first design. The funny thing is, as much as I like it aesthetically, it might not work as well for us. I expect the aisle between the north wall and the island will be a prime traffic area, especially if kids and guests have to walk to the far east end of the kitchen, past the range, to get drinks from the fridge. The east wall is probably a more protected spot for cooking at the range, and keeping the ovens in the southeast corner means they will not open into the middle of a major traffic path. Cheril27, my preference is to stand on the north side of the island while prepping, so I am facing south, but can easily look west into the other room. The sink may actually force me to work on the south side of the island where there is a longer, unbroken expanse of counter. I know GWers really like prep sinks, and I can see it being useful occasionally, but I also see it being in my way a lot, which is why I wanted to tuck it into a corner. I'm not sure I understand what you mean by moving the sink to the middle of the island. Do you mean moving it further down the north side, like where I show the trash pullout or drawers, or move it the center of the shorter east end? I figured having the prep sink on the south side of the island across from the big sink would be pointless, since the 2 sinks would not be very spaced out then. I do occasionally look for Gagg ovens on ebay. I noticed several GWers comment in other posts that the Gagg warranties do not start until install, but MIL was told by the person who handles sales of BSH appliances to employees that the warranties for Gagg, Thermador and Bosch start running when they are delivered to us, even if they sit in the garage for 5 months waiting to be installed. Thanks for reminding me about the 18" wine towers. I originally wanted one to the far right of the sink, since it would be very convenient to the dining room, but DH hates the idea of a 24" deep tall appliance in that spot. If he is standing at the clean-up sink, he does not want a "big, hulking thing" right next to him and blocking the view into the next room (never mind that there is a support wall there anyway). Sandn, what kind of prep sink do you have and where did you buy it? Breezygirl, I appreciate the feedback because it makes me think. Right now, I cook a few meals on weekends, and re-heat leftovers or take out on work nights. We do want to start cooking more though. It is funny to me how many times I have been told the prep spaces in my various plans are small, because to us, they are huge compared to what we have worked with the past decade. I do want to get things right with this kitchen though, as I hope we are in this house for many, many years. DH is so upset with me that I can't just pick one of the many design possibilities we have discussed and just stick with it. He tells me it will never be perfect (because I can't fit what I really want in our space) and I should just be happy with 85% perfect and move on with my life. We have always made whatever kitchen we have work, so he doesn't get why I am stressing over the best possible layout (despite the large amount of $ it will cost and the fact that we plan to live here for 20+ years). DH is really pressuring me to go with the revised design I posted yesterday and not make any more changes, even little ones that don't affect our appliance order like swapping the DW position. He is getting very upset with me for re-visiting design decisions that he considers have already been made. He thinks I am flooding our unborn child with negative stress hormones because of this remodel and agonizing over decisions. He said this morning we should either go with the design I already have (no more changes) or put a complete moratorium on kitchen design (i.e., I can't shop, discuss, or even think about (LOL) the kitchen) for at least 5 months. Of course, if we delay, we lose the 40% discount on appliances. Like I am not stressed out enough without ultimatums. The kitchen design started out as a fun research project and has just become a miserable task. The custom cabinet guy called me yesterday afternoon to see if he could pick up some magazine pictures I had mentioned and to see if I have made any decisions. At the time, I was feeling pretty good about my design (with the changes to the island) so I agreed to meet with him today (in about 1 hour). He will give me 3-D color renderings of my design and a quote for the cabinetry. If I keep making changes, he will also think I am nuts. The last kitchen design we did with him was much easier. It was a smaller kitchen with a decent layout, so we decided not to move the appliances more than a few inches to save costs. I did one sketch of the cabinets showing exactly how wide and tall I wanted everything, and that was it. Having a blank slate is so much harder.

jackieblue, the windows look fine from the outside. It helps that one is in the corner of an L and the other one on a longer wall. I'm not following your angled chairs or loveseat idea though. I think nosoccermom and Annie are right about the curtains. I tried that when we first moved here and it didn't look good, but there was a light switch between the left window and fireplace then too. Now that it's gone, it should work. I'll worry about curtains once I get the big furniture figured out. I like that plan too geokid. I'm not crazy about the path between the loveseats and little chair though. I don't think I'd be able to use a rug with that arrangement without having the corner of it in the way. And no, there won't be a tv in there. So far I've found two red loveseats on craigslist, one yellow one, and one that looks to be light brown. And tons of old plaid and florals. I like the red ones, except that they are red and most staging I've seen is done with neutral colors.

Well how nice to be called an angel today! Made my day. The soapstone does not have any green in it- charcoal grey with caramel & white veining. I chose it for the color but it is VERY soft. The scratches kind of go with the age of the house so I don't sweat it too much but it does chip very easily. I had a much harder variety in another house that did have more of a green tint to it. Love the drain runnels for both looks and practicality- since the sink wasn't centered under the window we did the runnels to offset the imbalance. The glass doors open to a walk-in pantry and access to the AC behind the fridge/micro run. I think that door is new but previous owner installed it so not sure- the glass is frosted to hide a multitude of sins. The front of the house was built in 1924 and the addition (in 2000) starts right around where the sunflowers are on the counter. Previous owners added a family room and back staircase down and master up. We used Pale Oak throughout the downstairs and second floor landing. It's a great neutral color. It looks more taupe than grey in my house but is chameleon like. I would definitely get a sample, paint it on a poster board and try it in different places in your house. It offers just enough contrast between trim and walls. Hope your reno goes well- I'm always jealous when I hear someone starting a renovation, then I think back to the reality!