What a nice old thread! Flylady was a wonderful help to me, and it is so true how those ideas can internalize. I'll add another technique that I've found helpful and have used with others, too: Start with a vision of how you want your space to look and feel, and hold every future decision up to see whether keeping something is compatible with the vision. And when you don't know where to start, and when you can't seem to decide to let go of the object in your hand, then start grouping like things together. All the books, vases, kitchen gadgets, ornaments, magazines, old letters, tools, art prints, all the stuff to do with particular hobbies/craft stuff. Then do a reality check. Do you have enough bookcases, really? And if you don't, do you really want to sacrifice some more space and money in order to keep ALL these books? Or can you let go of the ones that you not only never read, but will probably never read? Are their favorites that you no longer go back to anymore that you can share with others? Strive to keep the best and most meaningful among what you have while letting go of the least meaningful. Decide what amount of your storage space you can allow, and pare down to that amount, if possible. Rinse and repeat, as it were. Sometimes it helps to see the vast amount of things we own in each category, squarely faced with the amount of space we have to store them. Try to keep the end goal in mind - things like clear walkways, walls with pictures instead of towers of storage units looming over us, for example. Refine your goals even more: if you really want to craft, you need to clear enough space to make it easy to both get out and put away your craft stuff. If it is a hassle to get stuff out or put it away, you are unlikely to use it, or to put it away to keep that nice, pretty space you want. So something needs to go, whether it is your dream of crafting if it isn't truly your heart's desire, or the extra furniture of Aunt Mabel's that can only live directly in front of the crafting storage area. Keeping your end-vision in mind while realistically assessing your stuff for the best of the best AND your storage capabilities can help keep you on track....because you learn to see unnecessary things as hindrances. It is easier to let go of a hindrance than something that is "possibly useful."

All my sweets are gone...I finished them off last night!! Nashville....GORGEOUS plate! Bumble, I also like your pie plates. The scalloped one is just fabulous!!! And the pumpkin pie dish has a wonderful design. And your pie server is so pretty!!! Is a small tablecloth or a towel? I like the design very much! If you have time could you post the apple strudel recipe please? Michelle

Thank you all for your thoughtful comments! Jen, from an accessibility standpoint, having the front planter on the right makes perfect sense, but for some reason, I think I’ll feel more ”sheltered” with it on the left... Must be some deep-rooted psychological reason. Weird, huh? Also, I like the idea of having the planters obscure the cars in the driveway— and the driveway itself— while we lounge out front. With the seating area on the left, I feel like the driveway will be too prominent a view, whereas with it on the right, I’d be looking out at lawn and eventually a garden. I also like the idea of a ”green-lined procession” as you walk from the driveway toward the house before the house is eventually “revealed” once you clear the hedges on your left. Having the planter on the right removes the buildup, if that makes sense... I don’t like the idea of seeing steps, porch and potential loungers right as you exit your car. Having said all that, considering shading and sun exposure is something I did not do! So I totally agree, Embothrium, that it is an important factor to keep in mind! Thank you for the heads up. And thank you for the suggestion of keeping a paved path to the driveway and side of the house, as well as to the street. I really like the geometric interest it gives the otherwise expansive and boring front yard, whilst still leaving plenty of room for colorful landscaping in the future. Onto colors and materials: Tartanmeup, I gave natural brick a try on my model (per your suggestion), and I really like it, especially once seen in concert with the other updates made throughout. HOWEVER, I think the model is giving me a misleading read. Some of the brick, along the bottom, is already painted battleship grey. Having removed paint from brick before, I think it’ll be a maddening exercise to get rid of it. Also, our home inspector mentioned that people sometimes paint the bottom portion of their brick façade if water damage has caused calcium deposits on the brick, giving it a hazy look. The texture I applied to the model, while close in color to the house brick IRL, is a bit clinical and “perfect”. So it does not give me a real-world representation of what I’ll actually end up with. I’l post those mock-ups once I‘m at my laptop (currently on iPad). I do, however, LOVE your RomaBio suggestion! It gives me the best of both worlds— I get a refreshed façade and I retain the character and gravitas of the brick. My wife and I both really like the look of distressed/whitewashed brick and never knew how people achieved it. We though that maybe they just let the paint patina over time. Knowing that we can get that look from day one is awesome. Thanks! SketchUp, by the way, is not difficult to learn, at all. It’s got a very intuitive interface and real-world logic to it, so you don’t have to contend with learning the software’s “philosophy” while also learning how to use it, if that makes any sense at all. Becoming proficient at it, as with all things, will take a bit of time, but with intentional practice (aided by watching some YouTube videos), you’ll have the skills to model your home inside of two weeks. It’s biggest asset is that it has a HUGE (open source) library of readymade models, so you can populate your model with furniture, materials, and other components that others have taken the time to model and share. That is big. Olychick— thank you for the architectural style ID. Upon cursory google image search, I see that it’s quite possibly what they were going for, but boy did they miss the mark!

How about using this photo for inspiration? It is a daybed with a trundle, from Wayfair. Everything in this display makes the bed and wall art a focal point. I would remove the sheer curtain and the blinds; replace with a shutter. The louvres allow filtering the light. Suggest this table for your once a week need: https://www.wayfair.com/Zipcode-Design™--Siloam-C-End-Table-X112527357-L442-K~W000914252.html?refid=GX433553610453-W000914252_1874718480&device=c&ptid=966746374237&network=g&targetid=pla-966746374237&channel=GooglePLA&ireid=98554965&fdid=1817&PiID%5B%5D=1874718480&gclid=Cj0KCQiAh4j-BRCsARIsAGeV12DLrFRmxUspccmAGY-3GVrO5L-7JtajebTj4WuuMOxgSAR5Usr2YNUaAqaIEALw_wcB