Karin, it's interesting and enlightening to read what others think of our house and landscape, even if we may not agree or take up some suggestions. We live in an area where we don't have a large number of options for landscape/garden design, unfortunately! So no worries about me being offended by criticism/suggestions, etc. We appreciate the help and we will work to think about each decision in terms of its purpose. We originally had purposes in mind for each bed in our backyard, though it may not look like it now - with the exception of the hydrangeas along the back fence. They were originally planted behind our garage (where the pool equipment enclosure is now). When we put in the pool, we moved them to the side bed (which didn't exist before the pool) along the fence, but the neighbor's black walnut tree hampered their growth. So rather than throw them away, we made a new bed along the back, sort of a temporary spot until we figure out what to do with the rest of the beds. I won't bore you or anyone else by enumerating the purposes of the other beds in the back, but just want to add that we also did have more visual interest and contrast in flower, foliage, and form - but many of those plants didn't survive. We've been in a sort of holding pattern back there for a couple years - and I'm looking forward to improving that landscape. But back to the front yard/landscape. One of our goals for changes remains to revise the long bed along the drive for the dual purposes of easier maintenance and including more variety in its plants to provide more interest in months other than July. Another goal is to revise the small bed near the side steps to make it better looking (instead of a hodgepodge of plants, as it is now) and as a memorial garden for our daughter, with beautiful plantings. We also still want to improve the visual impact/visibility of the front door. To me, that is a separate goal from emphasizing the front entrance, if by entrance one means the wide front steps (which aren't truly the entrance to the house, but visually they do give that impression). We understand the goals of Laag's ideas about beds in front of the steps and a wide path from the driveway to the steps/porch. But in terms of practicality, we don't want people to stop midway up our driveway and walk up the path, because then they block the entire driveway. Also, the steps are covered with snow for the entire winter (it's too expensive to pay to have them cleared each time it snows), and a walkway would also be covered in snow, so the practical function of a walkway beginning partway up the driveway wouldn't apply during those months. I've been bothered for a while by the sense of imbalance between the long driveway bed and the expanse of grass on the other side of the drive, so another purpose of making changes is to see if we can balance that. Laag's suggestion about a grassed area in the long bed was so helpful - I just don't know whether that is enough to achieve balance, or if we will need a bed under the birches. A new purpose resulted from a number of comments here, and that is to soften the impact of the veranda wall. I think we are just so used to how our house looks that we don't see it for how it really appears. You all have opened our eyes to this issue! I haven't been in the back yards of the houses above us (in the back) to see what they can see of our back yard. It "feels" private in our back yard most of the time, probably due to the fence, but I still don't do any skinny-dipping. ;-) The front feels very public to me (it's a busy street and in the spring/summer/fall, a very busy golf course), with the exception of the veranda. On the rare occasions when we are seated there (it's usually too hot/buggy/raining/cold), we have at least the illusion of privacy behind that fortress wall - though with close neighbors, we have to watch how loudly we talk. My sister mused aloud a few years ago about the idea of putting a hedge across the front of the yard (on the lawn on the house side of the sidewalk, if you're facing away from the house) to screen the street and provide more of a sense of privacy. A neighbor a couple of houses down has a partial bridal wreath hedge in the yard and she was noting that at the time. I'll update as we get further along in this process; meanwhile, if anyone has more comments/suggestions, we're very happy to have them.

I love my Peacock Green granite. We were trying to stay within a budget so I only allowed myself to look at Level 1 or 2 granites. Even if I could have afforded a higher level I would have picked this. I don't think it looks busy at all and that was another reason I chose it. During the day it just looks dark but at night when the lights are on it really sparkles. It's like a piece of jewelry I have carmel colored cabinets and have Ben Moore's AF Slendor in my kitchen I was not happy with the color in my old kitchen with the dirty brown oak cabinets. I was glad I was going to use the new kitchen as an excuse to paint. However, I love it with my new kitchen. Couldn't be happier. I think Monroe Bisque would look lovely. I have Powell Buff in my foyer which is almost like Monroe Bisque only a little more gold. Shelburn Buff would look good too. Just about any green or gold would be nice. When you do decide to paint, get some samples of what you are considering and paint poster board with it and put it in different spots around the room and next to your existing colors you are trying to coordinate.Good luck with your decisions.Also I have a Cafe Brown Silgranite sink and looks so good with the granite.The color in the picture is a little lighter than it really is.

Sweetstephanie, could you post a few pics of your current kitchen from different angles to show what it looks like now with the LR floor, removed clutter, and new stools? Your photos will bring in the current reality. I also wonder if the realtor used a wide angle lens because your aisles appear greater than 42" in the listing photos. Are all of the aisles only 42"? How do you use your butlers pantry? Could be a great place to charge stuff out of site. Did you install the wainscoting in the music room? Do you have a carpenter to call on for some fixes? It sounds like you'd really like to do a hood, ovens, MW move, and some fridge refinement. If this is essential in your 10 year plan can you draw up a floor plan with accurate measurements? I emphasize this because I think (and understand) that you really want the new counters, but other essentials should happen first. With a carpenter's help you may be able to move some of your cabinetry around to streamline the look and make the appliance changes. Do you want to level out the cab tops? An additional thought is to change out the cabinet crown once cabinet work is done for a more contemporary look and to use some of the above cab space. We've seen some great examples here. Cove lighting would also be nice along with UCL. While you are working on the big decisions, I'd start getting paint decks, paint samples and poster boards to pick your colors. Grays are fun to work with. I chose SW Agreeable Grey as my transitional color that joined my spaces and goes up and down stairways. I have a slightly darker gray and a plum as an accent color. You can have some interesting transitions between your spaces and certainly an accent color. Any plan for repeating the wainscoting in the living room? We don't know what part of the country you live in, but from what you've shown us it looks like your house has good bones and will only benefit from the wise improvements you make. Ten years is a long time as others have pointed out to not be happy in the most important room in the house.

Both Oakleaf hydrangea and Bottlebrush buckeye can handle sun and shade, though they may need more water in sunnier conditions (and especially the year you plant them, when they are getting their roots established.) You are correct that the oak will cast some shade when mature, but that will be years down the road, so you could definitely get started with some fruits and veggies now, and worry about shade later. I'm also in 7b, and I've had luck this year growing strawberries and figs, and understand that blackberries/raspberries also do well in this zone. Blueberries can be tricky because they love cold winters. Another native shrub,American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), LOVES sun and grows tons of magnificent magenta berries. The birds will love them in the fall, and/or you can pick them to make jelly (they are a bit bland right off the bush). (By the way, I made some plant names link to articles about their growing conditions, one my screen it shows up as green text that I can click) Butterflies will love species like Phlox paniculata, Mountain Mint (genus Pycnanthemum), and Blue Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum), plus many others. If you see butterflies on flowers while you shop for plants at a local nursery or botanical garden, that's a pretty good endorsement that they'll like it planted in your yard too. Your oak will also be great for attracting butterflies, since many of their baby caterpillars eat oak leaves (usually minimal so you don't notice, especially once the oak gets tall). American beautyberry in fruit: Painted Lady butterfly on my blue mistflower last fall: