I was thinking more about Isabellas comment that the garden looked plain on the drawing and it dawned on me that she probably meant that there didnt appear to be anything on the drawing other than perhaps perennials in the beds. There are two reasons for that. The simple answer is that if I attempted to draw all the pretty symbols for trees and shrubs a la Booth and Hiss, all Im likely to produce is a confused mess! But the more important answer, from my perspective, is that when I look at my (and others) garden, I mentally edit out all but the patterns on the ground to decide whether the garden appeals to me or not. By patterns on the ground I mean the shape of the beds, the lawn, the paths, patios etc. If the shape doesnt feel right to me then the plantings, no matter how nice they are, wont totally take away the feeling that the garden needs to be changed somehow. What Ive shown in the drawing of my woodland area is the patterns on the ground as they are now with the proposed/possible changes. The tree and shrub layers have been edited out, other than an indication of where some of the tree trunks are. Im largely satisfied with the plantings I have in the woodland (although changes and additions are made on an on-going basis) but Im not satisfied with the overall pattern. That is what Im wrestling with changing come spring. The Booth and Hiss book is interesting but I find Im doing the same thing when I look at the drawings in it particularly with the masterplan drawings. I find them very busy and have to mentally edit out all the plant symbols and just look at the patterns on the ground before I can conclude whether I like the plan or not. I suspect that, since I have previously stated my strong liking for flowers and colors, I am perhaps viewed as having little interest in real design issues. Certainly I feel that painting the patterns with plants (particularly flowering ones!) is very important to add color, vibrancy and emotion to bring the garden to life. Plus its lots of fun to play with color and plant combinations! But a very important part of what I have been doing over the past 8 years as weve been developing the garden is trying to get the patterns on the ground to look and feel right. Getting the woodland patterns fixed is top of my to do list for 2008 And just to show that there are trees in the woodland :-) here are two of my favorites: The oak tree as viewed from the living room window in mid-November: (The sun was so bright that day that I had to adjust the color a bit or the LR would just appear black the shed is gray, not blue) The white redbud in late May (its bigger now this picture is 2006 as I didnt take a picture in 2007 You can see a bit of the old shed in this picture - it did blend more inconspicuously with the trees but was otherwise decrepit, ugly and impractical and had to go!) I just realized in my previous post with the sightlines on it... I usually look at the drawing the opposite way around - so I really meant that it looks like the shed should be shifted a few feet to the north - left - in that view, not right....

So far I think you're right on track! It looks really nice and pulled together. W/o reading the other comments (I'm so easily influenced): I think that ths scroll work piece above the fireplace is nice but could be better. The area seems a little 'light-weight' so I thought of 2 options: 1: A heavier picture w/ in subued colors w/ a beautiful hint of apple green would look wonderful. or 2: Raise the scroll work a bit and if the fireplace ledge is wide enough add a row of granny smith apples on it. I think a 3rd drapery panel would take it to the next level of layering which would be great. All in all you've doen a really great job! After reading the other comments: Def. agree w/ adding a chair to bring the fireplace back into the area, adding it in a fun print or color is very magazine worthy as suggested by ksw. Def. one long rod.

Spent a bunch of time today off the Internet, and some with a friend showing her photos of my kitchen & proposed layout(s.) Also thought about what I like most about the most recent galley kitchen with big open door/windows in the back, and why, once I decided I loved that layout, I've not wanted to stray from it. The back wall of the house is what I see when I walk in the door and what I see when I sit on the couch. I don't find cabinets pretty at all. Yeah, I know, some cabinetry is beautiful, but, to me, no cabinet is as aesthetically pleasing as a nice painting, piece of pottery, flower, cat, or tapestry. I feel the same way about stoves, sinks, faucets and microwaves. They're functional, some are ugly, some have pleasing colors shapes & designs, but, basically, they are tools. So, when I'm sitting on my couch, or when I walk into my house, I don't really want to be looking straight at kitchen tools, I'd rather look out a big window. Here's the view from the front door (the blob at the bottom of the photo is an arm of the couch, you can see the front door open on the front right: So, as I was showing my friend my layouts, she pointed to the white cabinet I currently have in the living room. That cabinet is where I keep my tablecloths, place mats, dishcloths, stationary/office supplies & some misc. electronics, bus tokens, etc. She suggested I replace that cabinet with a tall closet (and that IKEA likely has some decent ones that could work quite well.) Here it is: My friend also suggested that a 30" table at the bottom of the steps should work out just fine - a table just like the one you're suggesting, Jillius! - for 2 or 3 people for breakfast, as long as it had a pedestal type base. I've put the 30" table cutout in this layout photo, and you can see where the closet could go. If I put a closet in the LR, it might strengthen the argument for going with uppers/lowers/counter space instead of a tall pantry.

You would have to work the dimensions of this out to make sure it works, but what about something like this? If the island doesn't fit, you could do a peninsula instead.You could also flip the cooktop/sink walls and the island orientation - I went back and forth about that, but I thought that since you can see the back wall from the front door, the cooktop there probably looks nicer than the sink. But it could go either way. If you need more clearance for the walkway the hutch could also go where I show the green, or it could go on the wall between the bath and the