Personally, you really don't need to spend too much on a fancy raised planter. And I agree that the example you showed is too shallow. Not to mention because it is raised, the bottom is exposed to cool temperatures which is not good for roots. Plants thrive when their roots are warm. You can easily find suitable planters at hardware stores like Lowes. However just make sure you get a depth of more than 6 inches so you have good growth. line the bottom with a landscape fabric. Add some gravel for drainage and then top with good earth. The link here is just to show you ideas on how deep good planters out to be. I have one that's 2 plank deep. good enough for carrots and other taprooted veggies. Mine is set directly on soil so it's got good access to water and earthworms which are essential. Also a really cheap way to do this is jto make a grow bag our of a large bag of earth. lay it down on the side. Perforate the other side for good drainage. Cut large holes on the other side to grow your plants. It would be good enough to grow tomatoes and peppers. For carrots, any tall pots will do. For potatoes... here;s a very neat trick... Take a tall pot, and lay your potato seeds on the bottom layer. let it grow and as it grows, add more earth just to cover a couple of inches of the growing part.. and by the time the potato grows long enough to reach above the rim of the pot, the area covered with earth would have grown a large number of potatoes. The larger the pot, the more the potato harvest. A very cool thing to do. http://www.tomatocasual.com/2009/04/17/growing-tomatoes-in-potting-soil-bags/ http://www.westcoastseeds.com/productdetail/Gardening-Supplies/Container-Gardening/Reusable-Potato-Grow-Bags/ However if you like to a more eye pleasing look -- take a look at this...http://grow-vegetables-at-home.com/the-advantages-of-growing-vegetables-in-planter-bags/ Here is a link that might be useful: idea

We bought our counter depth Frigidaire Gallery FGHC2342LF model at Lowes for $1200 we love it. It's very attractive and works well. We like the in door ice and water dispenser. Previously we had a Samsung RSG257AARS at our previous condo (sold with the condo). It was similar in form and function but cost $2400. So far we are just as happy with the less expensive fridge but we have not owned it very long so I can't speak to longevity. For dishwashers, I will never again buy a Whirlpool or any line made by the same company (that includes now Maytag, Frigidaire, and Kitchen Aide, possibly a few more!). We had a Whirlpool "Gold" dishwasher in our previous home, the motherboard died at 13 months of age - only 1 month out of warranty! Whirlpool would do nothing for us, not even offer us a discount on a future appliance or the part. The replacement part was $250 plus installation labor. Apparently the same motherboard is used in all the dishwashers made by Whirlpool, Frigidaire, Maytag, KA, etc. and it is notorious for failing. We chose to replace the Whirlpool with an entry level Bosch SHE43P05UC dishwasher, on sale at a local specialty appliance store for $600. I loved that dishwasher, I wish we could have taken it with us when we sold the place! Stainless inside and out, beautiful, whisper quiet, and everything came out clean, even with very hard water, every time. The Bosch warranty is 1 year complete and 5 years for parts including electronics/motherboard (which makes me feel better about the quality of the electronics). So when we bought our current home it came with a cheap-looking Frigidaire. It's "stainless look" which next to real stainless just looks silly. Anyway it stopped draining and it appears the pump is dead, and the part and labor to replace it is not worth it for a dishwasher that was not great to begin with. So I am at home today awaiting the delivery of our new Bosch SHE3AR56UC, this time in white, but still stainless inside, where it counts. Our cabinets are white so with the stainless version costing about $150 more, we opted for white this time to blend in with the cabinets. We had a Whirlpool Gold range at the old place and the new place also came with a Whirlpool range. Ours is entry level and just OK. We'll replace it some day but Whirlpool ranges seem OK based on my experience. We have an LG washer again model WM2650HWA (we had LG also at the previous home - so happy with it we bought another) and a Hotpoint cheap dryer. I didn't want to pay more for a fancy matching dryer since we didn't need to stack it- this one dries just fine! But I did want the front loading water efficient washer for 2 reasons - it is on the second floor and if the washer ever leaks, FL's have much less water in them so a disastrous flood is not as likely. Also water is expensive in CA and saving water is important, and after the $150 in rebates the LG on sale was actually cheaper than a top loader. This model WM2650HWA has steam and gets things nice and clean, they also solved the issue of smelly washers by putting a magnetic seal on the door so that when not in use it stays slightly open to dry, without endangering children or pets. It seems to me that you can't just choose one brand for each appliance, few brands make quality items for different applications. So you may want to gather some info on each type of appliance and find the best deal/quality rather than looking for a matched set. They tend to look the same once installed as long as the finish is all real stainless (some are just "stainless look" which is metallic painted plastic and I'd rather have white than that!)

whatever has been said..your landlord sounds like a real nice guy..:) unless of course you have agreement that your improvements hugely lower your rent? what I'd do though..if I was as handy and as eager as you.. -the mosaic in the kitchen where the backsplash is-hard to see whether a real backsplash or wallpaper? if wallpaper-get rid of it and repaint. if real mosaics-just repaint. ETA-ok reread your post..real mosaics. I love peel and stick options that do exist, but I'm not sure I'd go for them here..it's not so much mosaic as its placement..countertop backsplash plus mosaics plus wrap around..too much. And it won't be easy to find something that will work. But. Check your options. Etsy has pages upon pages of tile decals, for example. https://www.etsy.com/search?q=tile%20decals&ref=auto1&as_prefix=tile%20decals -you seem to have no space next to the stove..I know IKEA carries these narrow tables you know? or something of the kind..that you can put in between the stove and the fridge, have some landing surface, spot to place a pot you know -is the floor in the kitchen real tile or linoleum/vinyl? you can try and cover it with something if it irritates you of course(to me it's actually the worst offender. along with the blinds that I'd take out and put on curtains. but you're going to do that anyway). it can be tile decals, it can be floor cloth, it can be big inexpensive rug.. the rest of the kitchen, just deep clean and let be. new paint will make a huge difference -your door is fine..hard to see the living to make helpful furniture placement suggestion, but generally I find that sofa plus two chairs is the most versatile in most cases -the bathroom is cute and blue in cabinets picks up the flooring. Wallpaper is best to go though since it clashes with flooring. Clean the grout..and ask your landlord to change faucets etc if they're problematic. If they're not but you hate them-well maybe you can split the price. New paint, shower curtain that you love-and you're good. What's your style preference? I'm crazy about shower curtains so can look them up and suggest for you, and would be my pleasure:) you do need some "landing strip" as they call it..and I can't see whether youn can fit small dining table in the corner of the kitchen? .. if you want more suggestions about colors, furnishings, furniture layout and such, I recommend cross posting in Home Decorating forum. They(ok, us. lol) will ask you a bit more about dimensions, layout, preferences in style, budget, needs, etc. Congratulations on your first renting place, it's exciting..and good luck!

Who is doing the kitchen design. I hope not a cabinet sales person . This is a huge undertaking and the first step is finding out if that wall can be removed or if you will spend 1/2 the budget getting that done. You need a designer, an architect a contractor and a kitchen designer. Get all of them on board before touching anything or making and decisions.Be careful about wanting all open concept I kind of like DRs and kitchens open to eachother but I like my LR a bit more not so open We have a huge fireplace tha separates our kitchen from the LR so when we entertain we all sit at the table to eat but go to the LR after dinner and not have to look at the mess. I would strongly suggest living in the space for a bit to see how it functions for you, you might be surprised at what you planned on is not right. While you are thinking get all the other people lined up to do the work. First on the list id find out how much that wall removal is going to set you back.