Hi All, I appreciate your wisdom. :-) Even though I may have sounded nuts (and I was!), I realize "Rome wasn't built in a day." I'm glad I've gotten to the plantings this year and think they will help a bit in time. Heaven knows that's the truth for the house--there was *nothing* here when I bought 4 years ago. So, it's come a *long* way. But, I'm a school teacher and during Aug-May I have *no* time. Honestly-none. So, I do what I can in the summer (although we have work on prep and admin. now). While I enjoy the product of gardening/interior design, I enjoy process less--esp in the garden where it is physically hard for me to work (due to an injury that makes walking/digging painful). Soooo...I'll admit I'm looking for something that works the first time, if possible. That said, I'm not beyond moving things if I have to and next year will move 2 laurels--somewhere--as they don't work where they are. And, I do enjoy it at its core. All this reminds me of the "what I learned from gardening" thread. I do need to learn patience and to enjoy the modest things that the garden brings. :-) So, resalesally--you are right that I should just "go" and stop obsessing. HA! :-) Nell- Thanks for your comments, too. It is a great door that they have. (Wonder if I might be too lazy to clean those panes?? Hmmm....) Memo- Thanks for the awning suggestion. Trouble is, I just don't like awnings. I know I'm getting away from the authenticity of the house a bit...but based on my completely crude "paint" experiments in WORD, thing something raised a bit will help give me what I'm looking for. But...you might be right about the awning being so tiny compared to the stoop. (Man, I have *got* to learn photoshop to test your theory out.) As for the lattice...so you're saying to post it in the ground *perpendicular* to the stoop? Is that right? Hmmm...possibly. Hadn't thought of that. What do you think about covering the concrete w/ wood and a railing and giving the house a more "cottage" feel? EVERYONE - Paint trim vote for the bottom of the house?? Thanks, ya'll! Keep those ideas coming.

Sorry to hear that you are having so many problems! Remodels are one of the most stressful things you can go thru. I have done many and there are always something that will jump up and bite you! Just have to put your head down and be determined to slog thru it. Focus on what the finished product will be! As far as the contractor goes, my guess is he had more luctrative jobs come up and he is sending his help there. If is a company and he hired a sub to finish your cabinet install, I'd almost bet on it! If it were I, I would send him a note saying he has such and such a time to finish up the job or you will find someone else and deduct the cost from his final payment. I would also bill him for the issue with the microwave. He needs to know that you will give him a bad reference if the job is not finished to your satisfaction. Including contacting the BBB and any builders association in the area. I have never treated a client in this manner and I am appalled at the number of complaints about contractors in the Home forum. Let me assure you not all contractors are this negligent! Good luck with your project!

Hello, been lurking a bit. Lots of good info here, thanks. FWIW, I agree that if the things you can't change are right and there is room in the price to do the rest ... thats a pretty good place to be. I knew the minute we walked into our current home, it would be ours, more than 20 yrs. ago. We had looked at a few dozen as I recall but the search was over when we got here. Since then we've added several investment props to the pile and since last fall have been looking for a new joint for us. Found an REO that is the only house of hundreds that can tick off every item on our list. Trying to convince the bank that they should stop holding on to it has been frustraiting, aggravating, stressfull etc. but now it is finally fun. They are offering counters in less than 24 hrs. and moving proposed closing dates up. Still not moving as much in price as they'll need to yet but it is vast improvement. Guess submitting the roofing bid and the well test did the trick :-) It kinda feels like I'm the lone bidder. Its got great bones and for us, a great loc. (acerage close to where we need to be). Its way more than we need but the lot, loc. and subdivision are pretty near perfect. Some minor damage from the eviction but I'm pricing that in and will order the full blown insp. once we have a deal. I was at the auction, I know the number ... they might get it but I'm thinkin not. There is a lot of inventory out there.

thanks everyone!! like a lot of you, i was kind of indifferent to leather until i found that store. in fact, we were planning to get the same microfiber couches we had purchased in our last home just before selling it, because the buyers ended up purchasing them with the home. so we figured we'd get 2 new ones, but since then, the fabric options have changed and we don't like ANY of the fabrics. but they were super comfy and pretty nice looking and the price was outstanding. they were from JCPenney which is not the first place i think of when i think of quality furniture. but, i stumbled on those couches because we needed a set that came in 2 sizes that would both fit through an odd shaped basement hallway and it was very difficult to find. anyway, we gave them a shot and they were fantastic. if anyone's looking for a really inexpensive but super comfortable upholstered sofa, check out the Possibilities sofas at JCP--they come in 3 arm styles, and while none of the fabric combos worked for us, there are a lot to choose from. it' just that last time, there was one fabric but it came in like 18 colors. now they have 3 fabrics and each comes in 5-6 colors. anyway, a great value for comfy, attractive sofas if anyone's looking, especially with the labor day sale - i think the basic fabric one is like $619! there, i've plugged them after a minor diss. we went from this ($1500 combined for 2 full size sofas): to gray leather and nail head trim in about 24 hours. :) and lol cyn427! i'm not shy about posting photos, but sadly we've got a long time to wait! we probably won't move in until april and we won't have them start building the couches until 4-6 weeks before then. haha PS: if anyone is wondering, the sofas we bought are from The Leather Sofa Company, made in the USA (actually about 10 minutes from where we live in Texas). The style is called Sardinia and the color is Venza Gray. Here is a link that might be useful: The Leather Sofa Company