Deeje....Love, Love, Love your yard! when I lived in the city it was so easy to do the landscaping cause there are boundaries. Here I am creating my own and am finding it extremely difficult. Mostly because there aren't the grown trees or fence line. I was surprised to read that you leave your decorative things out. Do you get as much snow as us in MB? I put EVERYTHING away in the garden shed as soon as it gets cold...including fountains, urns, trellis, ornaments, stone statues...I mean EVERYTHING. I'm been doing this for years! Is it okay to leave these things out? Sherry, thank you for the suggestions. The beds aren't as shallow as they look but I am seriously considering making them larger. I am so used to having a restricted space that I didn't take a bigger one into consideration until it was mentioned here numerous times. If you look under the home forum, house decorating I posted photos there too. I think its been bumped to page 2 or 3 already with no more responses. We are definetely planting more trees on "the boluvard" (that's what I'm going to call that piece that sticks out on the right). Until my husband can haul in the rest of the fill to raise it up more, we can't get near it. i would like to plant some of the burgandy trees there and am thinking maybe of incorporating some Colorado blue spruce too. I am thinking of staggering colorado blue on the left side beyond the house to create a boundary. I wasn't fond of using spruce, but it might make for some nice scenery in the winter as you mentioned. Right now, we can see for miles in the summer and in winter, all we feel and see is cold and white! I took the advice of many and went out and bought 1 of the cedars that deeje has in her garden. What would you think of this cedar in the front bed left of the bay window? Should it be centered in the middle or to one side? Would 1 be okay? I set it there for tonight and unwrapped it hoping it spreads its branches a little more. I am hesitant about ripping out the plantings I already placed there without knowing if this will be a for sure home for the cedar. If it looks okay I was going to go get a few more and place them on the right hand side corner and move the burgundy one forward in that bed. I am overly excited about the prices I paid for my trees and shrubs today after husband spotted the deal and came rushing home so I could go out and shop ... Cedar reg. 74.99, sale $12.99. 3 mugo pines reg 31.99, sale 5.99. Bought 2 more Japanese Barberry regular 39.99 sale 5.99 and last but not least I got 2 6 ft apple trees for $19.99, reg 79.99. My husband is encouraging me to go back and get a few more things including a weeping caragana, 9.99 from 71.99. Checked the root balls and everything is "A" okay. I also saw some global cedars. After seeing how big and round they get I would really like those. Not in the front though...too big. I love the roundness of them! I will probably use them in the backyard. Their so small when you buy them. It is hard to beleive that they grow up that big. Let me know what you think about the cedar. I will try and post picture of it sitting there in the morning.

Thanks for the suggestions - - the problem with doing nothing is that we have been doing that for the last 4 years (as we discover these problems) - and they are driving us (mostly me the main cook) crazy. It is basically do these minor fixes or a total renovation (again). Our realtor friend said "if you can fix it for 5-10 k, you will get that back when you sell - but don't do an entire renovation as most buyers are going to see "new kitchen chef kitchen" and be happy, not analyzed the fine details (like me). Some of these things we would need to do to tell regardless (trim panels, moudlings, etc) so to add in making it what we can live with is not that much more. Also it could be at least 6 months up to years before we find the right house - if the one we want even comes back on the market (their short sale fell through - not it is going to foreclosure), it could be a long time. The drawing that shows everything lining up if we keep the island dishwasher is the correct one. If we change the 24 dishwasher for an 18 (the 24 dishwasher is on its last legs, it is the one appliance we re-used during our renovation) it would be a perfect line up with the fridge/pantry wall. The total cost to make the changes is: - $1600 to move the window/build wall back to add another cabinet - so all 3 rows line up (already have materials) - redo island trim/finish other trim - disconnect and reconnect plumbing, etc - 1200 to remove - and remove and recut island down/slim off rounded edge opposite of freezer/pantry and into a new piece for the other side of the range. so $2800

To vintagestuff - that is a good point about the sink on the island, but... I never cook. I mean like sometimes for weeks I don't cook. So, while I recognize that concern, I am not too worried about it. There is rarely anything in my sink and I don't mind the sink being seen from the family room. to wilson853 - I am definitely looking at hoods, I think it changes the look a lot, and I like them. We are definitely considering adding the fascia and crown. I have that in my current kitchen and I love it! To chess: actually, I am not considering that beautiful range in the pictures. I am looking at a pretty cheap LG :-) I don't need expensive appliances, just decent and stylish. To BPatHome - We do not know if the post-pantry weird stuff was original, we can't find an original owner. I can't imagine why they liked that back then! It's kinda weird but... it's mine soon lol

New countertops and backsplash is a great start. Buy a sofa table, credenza, narrow long dresser, a buffet, or an antique and paint it or keep as is for extra storage or a place to put drinks and food when entertaining. You could put the same countertop on the floating piece you decide on as well if you like. Maybe a nice runner in front of the cupboards could bring in some texture and colour, as well as switching out hardware really makes a big impact for different price points. Depending on your budget, new taps and lighting can dramatically change the atmosphere and update. Do as little or as much, every little bit will be a nice refresh. Your cupboards look to be in great shape, I think you made the right choice not to paint them. If I see another all white or grey kitchen I’m going to scream. While timeless, where is the individual personality in that? Good luck and have fun. It’s your home. Advice is good, but follow your gut.