Okay, let's see if I can catch up on all of your helpful posts! I met with a landscaper and we were pretty much on the same page but there were a few things that I didn�t agree with. Maybe I just have no clue what I'm doing and maybe his recommendations are truly better than the picture I have in my head! I'll be meeting with another designer on Monday to get his take on it. The first guy was free and we just talked about what the plan would be. The second guy charges $50, but will draw up a whole design. They also do driveways, which the first company does not do. The one thing that I really didn't like about the first guy was that I felt like I had seen all of his ideas in my neighborhood already. I don't want something crazy that doesn't fit the house or neighborhood, but I also don't want the same thing everyone else has. How do you get your house to stand out from the others but still "fit"? Just because everyone else has "x" number of garden beds and "x" amount of front yard grass doesn't mean I have to, right? I did read over our HOA docs and they simply state that no more than 20% of the yard can be raised garden beds or container gardens. I would really like to make maintaining the lawn easier and to shade the front a little more. He wasn't on board with that. As I said before our yard is quite short, only 25 ft deep from the sidewalk to the front brick. So that will definitely play a big part in the design. The front tree is a cherry tree (with fruit) and I have been told that it will grow large enough to provide cover for the front window, not too sure about the door. Every arborist and landscaper that I have talked to seem happy with that tree and tell me not to touch it. The shutters have actually done quite well with all of the sun and heat that they get exposed too. No warping or anything. Considering the roof color is a good point. I think the wrought iron color would look great. I still don�t know what I want to do with the door. I have been playing with pictures of the house for days now. I've cut and pasted so many different designs I'm stuck. I think that there are some styles and looks that definitely work, some that definitely don't work, and then there are the in-between ones. I don't mind having my house look a little different then the neighborhood. I have two tri-levels on each side of me and three true 2 story colonials across the street from me. From my mock-ups I think can get away with some different looks that neither of the other two styles could pull off. And that is why I'm stuck. Too many ideas. I think a designers eye is what I need. The other challenge I am having right now is prioritizing what to do with the house first. The inside still needs to be painted. I could use some new furniture too. If I did do painting I would want to update the lighting while the ceilings are getting a fresh coat. As far as the outside goes, we obviously need landscaping. But we could also use new gutters and soffits, possibly a new door, and new hardscaping. My husband would also like to close in the carport. There is just so much to do and I don't know where to start. The changes we have already made to the inside were easy because they were done out of necessity. Really none of these other things have to be done. I think that I would like to focus on the outside simply because I have a 4yr old and 1yr old that make it a little harder to maintain the inside versus the outside. And I can handle the inside myself. I obviously need professional help with the exterior. So, any ideas on how to prioritize my projects?

I think you could do personal pictures there if you want. I don't have any suggestions as to what photo. Just make sure really love them! Since they're expensive and I would have a hard time committing to a large canvas photo for an extended period of time, here's an idea (see link). I think three of these would be too small for the space and it would look better as a grouping. If nothing else you could tape up the form core (poster board would work better) just to get an idea of size and what you think of something up there. There are a lot of photo layout ideas online. If you do use photos, I would go with all black and white or maybe sepia tone. (Quick fyi - After reading the tutorial again, down in the comment, these are engineering prints and can only be printed in b&w.) Here is a link that might be useful: Dear Lillie-oversized poster tutorial This post was edited by sheesharee on Tue, Apr 22, 14 at 13:05

Ok, here is a new suggestion. If the office is supposed to be bedroom technically, then it needs a closet, and it needs to be handy to a full bathroom. http://i.imgur.com/dBOGnO5.jpg 1) What I have given you is not a particularly big room (fits a twin or a full bed if you squeeze), but you are using it as office, so that is okay. 2) I am proposing that you make the current laundry room a full bathroom. It is 5' x 9', right? That is the perfect size and location for a full bath adjacent to the office bedroom. I moved the laundry to the 8' x 6' space next to the stairs. 3) I found closet space above the stairs. So there is your office that can be a bedroom. What that buys is you is the humongous open floor plan you liked: a) Huge kitchen island prep area with views of all the living areas, the TV, the fireplace, and out the big sliders. b) Dining room centered prettily on the sliders that seats 8 normally (10 if you add leaves). c) Giant living room area with a natural place for a TV flanked prettily by matching windows. Despite all the changes, no windows or doors need to be moved. I enlarged the current kitchen window and added a second window next it to mirror the double sliders on the other end of that long wall. You'll be able to see these two new/modified windows from almost everywhere in the whole open room, so your nice view will really be a feature. I would also suggest adding a skylight in the new laundry room at the very least, but I think two (ish?) skylights over the kitchen would be nice too.

Wow- nice choices. I think because they are more "open", see through, it won't look too big. The one I got was from restoration hardware baby ( bigger of the 2). But i like light fixture that make a statement. I did get bigger ones for my dining room and they are also "see through". These are 18"x12" and ceiling height is 8' for visual. They are still a little too high, having electrical add two more links. From your choices I like the first one:-)