I second the suggestion for the dwarf nandinas - we have them in our south-facing front flower bed completely under the eave of the house, so they get next to no direct sunlight (and barely any water now that they are established) and are thriving. They're evergreen in our area and stay small (and are almost always available at Lowe's in the smaller sizes which are less expensive than the big ones. If you can stalk Lowe's and HD, they will clearance a lot of those types of things at the end of the season before they bring in the Christmas trees, so you can get a deal but I doubt you want to wait that long with the cat issues ... the skewers in your photo made me laugh - I can tell the situation is getting desperate!). You can see two dwarf nandinas directly in front of our windows in this picture - they're in the shade so look dark but in person they are kind of lime green and bright. I think nandinas alone might be kind of boring, but it depends on how "into" gardening you want to get as to how elaborate you might want to be. This first year as you wait for your shrubs to grow, you might want to plant some inexpensive annuals to fill in (coleus is a good one for shade and is pretty easy to grow from seed, although I've always done my seeds indoors in the early spring.) Golden moneywort is one of my favorite creeping perennial groundcovers, you don't need too many plants to get started and it will fill in and keep weeds down for you and it can get a little ratty in the winter but does stick around to some extent, so it's semi-evergreen. I'd add some seasonal foliage or flower interest with heucheras or variegated hostas. All those are in this picture with the hydrangea (which is definitely a thirsty beast!) I'd definitely add bulbs like daffodils that will bloom when there are no leaves on the tree. Lots of things can be divided from other gardens - do you know any gardeners in your neighborhood or do you walk your 'hood where you could maybe ask a gardening neighbor? If you end up wanting to go the liriope route (I do actually like monkey grass in a landscape, at my old house it edged all my beds, but it needs to be divided every few years to keep from taking over and it is physically hard to divide) for goodness' sakes don't buy any. Send me a message and you can bring your shovel to my house. I also would be able to share daffodils next spring - I'm not entirely sure where they all are this time of year. My hostas are still small and young (divisions from friends, all!) so I can't divide those yet, but I might have some other things to share if I walk around and look. Oh! And get some cat repellent. We had that problem when we moved into our new house about 12 years ago, with cats using our raised planter beds as a toilet, and I went to TLC for cat repellent - probably any nursery will have something like it. The kind I used smelled strongly like lemons and was a granule that came in a milk carton style container. You'd just shake it out over the soil and reapply every time it rained, and after a while the cats got the message. I dug out all the top 8 inches of contaminated soil and replaced it, but I am a germaphobe who tends to garden while gloveless. Then I planted new stuff and it filled in and the cats didn't come back.

So, on a seed trading forum, people's trade pages are not available, people can't find their postings, and I had to find the forum through a search--though 'Seed Saving' is a category under 'S', 'Seed Trading' is not listed--I am guessing it's under Exchanges, but who knows? Tons of threads that are 5, 6, 7 years old or older are what comes up first, rather than current postings. Brilliant. I've used GW less and less over the years, and now I'm thinking it's time to ignore it permanently.

Jennifer- didn't you post your layout already? Yours is the house with that beautiful original wood bench in the foyer, right? Beautiful! I remember, you got some great ideas for your kitchen, powder room, and moving the laundry upstairs from some of the best designers here on GW. You mentioned it being hard for you to get to a big box store or cabinet store as they are all an hour away from you, I wondered if you could call the nearest Lowes and set up a phone or email appt. with the KD. You could use one of the layout suggestions you received on your other thread for now just to start the ball rolling. There design service is free. That way you could get an idea of the cost. The first time I priced my cabinets at Lowe's, it was way over my budget for even for the middle cabinet line (Kraftmaid I think?). My budget was much less then 20,000, but my kitchen is probably smaller then yours. Disappointed, I decided I better wait and save every penny for a while. However, in desperation, I ordered a sample door from one of those RTA lines that are not "made in the usa" since I could afford those. Thank goodness, at this time I discovered GW in researching that particular RTA brand. I read comments from Sophie (hollysprings) saying they were total "----------crap" I am very thankful for her blunt comments as it helped me from making a huge mistake! The sample looked exactly like she said after only about a month. I next looked into Scherrs as they seem very nice, but they cannot ship to me. I was leaning heavily towards Barker at this point. Then one day, after about a year and a half, I go into Lowe's and they were having a great sale on the better quality Schuler line (which I believe is the same as Medallion?) I again did my same layout with the same KD (btw, she is an awesome woman who has been a kd for over 35 years and out of neccessity has been at Lowe's for like 20 years! Sounds like someone on here!) After the discount, I was in the ballpark! I even added a few extras to get me into the next price category for an even bigger discount. The sale also included a free sink base and free paint upgrade, and a Lowe's gift card for 10% of the total price. After all was said and done, I think I saved about 7,000+ from the original Kraftmaid quote from the year before. I didn't change the layout either, in fact I added stuff. I got a way nicer cabinet brand. And I have a gift card to use still. I think the Schuller brand is very nice. Mine is the maple white icing paint, full overlay, plywood box, soft close, mostly drawers, stacked uppers with glass. They pretty much fill the needs you said you wanted above. I'd check them out. Maybe ask if they have any idea when a sale might be coming up. They might not know exactly when, but should have some insight. I know you want quality that will last. I will let you that my mom redid her kitchen with the Lowe's Kraftmaid in a maple with espresso finish about ten years ago. I was so glad I didn't go with this brand. Her finish is wearing off by all her knobs, it's dull in other areas where you don't even touch them, a couple cabinet doors fell off the hinges, etc.... She's single, immaculate, and not rough on her cabinets. I feel bad as they are not holding up well at all. Point being that I would not go with that brand if you want them to last over ten years. Well, I have rambled on long enough! :-). I am so bad that it is a running joke in my family! Ok, sorry have to add something else. See! I cannot help myself. For the record, I did not take your response to Sophie as negative at all. You explained that was indeed not the case. That is why when I read a post I try not to add tone, body language, or attitude into it. I do that only in posts where I want to have a good laugh! Not where it will make me offended to do so. I have appreciated and used so much advice from Sophie over the years. She always has the OP's best interest at heart. I find her short, simple, to the point delivery exactly what is needed sometimes. In fact, she has made me laugh out loud many times with her honesty. I never took it as brutal, just honest, with a hint of sarcasm when appropriate. I love her! :-) Best wishes on your cabinet hunting!

It's pinky beige tile..not easy since it's one of the bossiest colors.. The question is: do you like it? You can repeat it if yes. Find something similar-in color. If you're not a fan don't fight it though..pick up the color of the vanity, and put some porcelain wood flooring, something fairly neutral, not gray since it will enhance pink, not yellow since it will clash in hard surfaces like tiles etc..unless you have real wood in the adjacent room, and then you don't want the look alike planks to meet with the real deal-looks weird. Or you can borrow colors of bathroom fixtures-white as in sink and tub-and look for the white ceramics. I'd alter the shape though some..or the size, or both..so they'd differ enough from the existing tile. But it will be more slippery. If it's a concern. Also will show everything. Drives some people crazy-me, for example. People usually give a good feedback on luxury vinyl as well..or maybe linoleum..but since I had it a long time ago and it wasn't luxury-I can't attest to the quality myself..maybe somebody will chime in? I believe it will be easy to find a color that will go with the tile though..they should have a nice choice of colors. when choosing a color for walls mind your tile too..you want something like warm cream, maybe a bit pinkish, something that doesn't fight the tile but rather embraces it. Great news is that such colors usually make everybody look great, not the last consideration in a bathroom. You can put new faucets, mirror/s, lights, add hardware you love-or you might decide to leave everything as it is for now, and just accessorize the space to your heart's content. The flooring that you will pick will give you direction as for what colors to pick. I envision warm browns and whites.. It's a big nice space..it will become softer if you add accessories, nice bath mat, maybe art, maybe a plant..maybe even a big plant:) Plants never clash with whatever tile..:) Take your overall style preferences and the whole house into consideration. I'm for example am a bit nuts about flowers and animals..so you can guarantee they'll appear in some form in my bathrooms too, sooner or later (well I don't mean real animals lol). So if you like anything-introduce it as if it was any other room, and have fun. Congrats on your new space!