Hi there thanks for the feedback. The pavers along the border wouldn't be for a walk way - on the left side I plan on putting more of those planter boxes (like the two you see on the left side) to expand my veggie garden. I am going to put some on the right side also but it gets heavier shade so there's only so many shade-loving veggies I can plant there. I hope to build a chicken coop and put it under the shady portion of the right-side also. Whatever I plant in the back corners I hope to give me some height and visual impact. One of the things I worry about is if you look behind the fence in the back there is a 4-5' drop off to the neighbors yard and it's supported by a concrete retaining wall. Will any trees I plant back there weaken this retaining wall? I worry about the root system pushing it out and costing a lot of money in repairs.

My good friend had a rose garden right by the entry to her house. This was flat, but then the garden sloped down to the driveway, maybe kinda what you're describing. I always loved the entrance to her house when the roses were blooming, the great smell and beauty. But these were hybrid teas, a very formal looking rose. If I was doing a rose garden transitioning into a native prarie rock kind of thing I'd use the more informal type roses, like rugosas. I have a native wild rose, rosa virginiana in my yard, very pretty. One bad side to some of the natives and the rugosas is they only bloom in June and most don't rebloom. Some do though. I don't know the scientific name of these new "patio roses" that bloom all summer, but they are lovely. But no smell that I can tell for them. My folks have a big rugosa trimmed as a hedge plant at their front entrance, transitioning to a rock garden. The rugosa is fabulous for a couple of weeks, then is just ho hum as a ubiquitous shrub. I suggest posting your question on the rose forum, you might get some good advice on what mixes well with what. Those folks probably have gardents similar to the ones you describe, at least some of them. I agree with others too on the "winter bones" issue. There are lots of things that can give a yard winter interest, shrubs with berries that last (like rose hips!), interesting form or bark, rocks or driftwood with interesting shapes, colors and textures, dried seedheads, dried foliage, etc.

Quick review.... Refrigerator & Sink... If you put a prep sink in the island facing either the range or the refrigerator you will have solved the problem of the ref being too far from the sink. It's actually pretty close to the range. Right now, your island is pretty much a "barrier island" b/w your sink and refrigerator...the prep sink also solves this problem. Wait...is that square in the island w/a dot in the middle a prep sink? If so, you've already solved your problem! But, I would move the prep sink to the range end of the island so it's accessible from both the range & refrigerator/prep zone. It also frees up the rest of your island for those big projects like baking, crafts, homework, gift wrapping, etc. That's a great size for an island, btw. BTW...a prep sink helps to separate the prep zone from the cleanup zone...always a plus, especially for multi-worker kitchens. Pantry... The pantry is too far away from the kitchen...plus I would not want to have to go through the office every time I needed to get something from the pantry. The pantry should either be in the kitchen (preferred) or just off it. In this case, the current office location would be a better location for the pantry. I recommend one of two things: (1) Switch the office & pantry and then open up the office from the room that's south of the current pantry. I don't know what that room is as the print on the second plan is illegible (at least to my older eyes!) (2) As you suggested, move the range up (I think that's what you meant) to make room for a door into the pantry. But first, let's crunch some #s: I think your kitchen is approx 18' wide. If so... 25.5" for sink cabinets + counters 38" for office doorway (30" door + 3.5" on each side of the door for trim + slight space b/w counter & trim) 36" for range 38" for pantry doorway 25.5" for refrigerator cabinets + counters ---------- 163" If the kitchen is 18' then...216" - 163" = 53" left for counter around the range. Leaving you 26.5" on each side...so 24" cabinet + 1.5" counter overhang + 1" b/w door trim & counters. That actually isn't a bad idea...24" is the minimum I recommend on each side of a range or cooktop for working room, emergency landing space, and safety margin b/w the doorways and the range. Yes, you lose some counter space, but not that much plus you have a large island that is much more useful anyway. It also eliminates the corner & gives you a straight run of cabinets...preferable in many people's eyes (I like both; I don't really have a preference...at least not in a kitchen with so much room already.) [Note: If your kitchen is less than 18' or maybe 17'8", then you might want to rethink either the second door idea or the size of the doorways...you could use 24" doors, but I prefer 30" doors whenever possible, especially for the office. You could put in a 24" door for the pantry & 30" for the office, but since symmetry is important to your DH you probably won't want to do that. Whatever you do, try to keep at least 24" b/w each doorway & the range.] Island... Do you plan for any seating at the island? I wouldn't advise it on the sink side...seaters would definitely be in the way! You could proabably have seating on the refrigerator side, but I would move the island north (toward the sink) at least 7" so the sink side aisle is 4'0" and the seat/refrigerator side aisle is 4'7". Seats on that side would also give your visitors a view out of what looks to be 8' of windows. If you do put seating on the refrigerator side, moving the prep sink to the end is even more important to maximize your seating capacity. You could also put a couple of seats on the DR end. Just remember these guidelines: 24" of space per person (so a 6' long island would accommodate 3 seats....2'/seat.) 15" of overhang/leg room for counter height seating. Microwave... Where do you plan to have the MW? I recommend on the refrigerator wall, especially as you don't want the pass/view through. Dishwasher... Think about moving the DW to the other side of the sink . When open, it could block the office doorway. I think I'd rather have the DW on the DR side. Pass/View Through... If you do keep the pass/view through, would you have seating on the non-kitchen side? Where is the extra light coming from there anyway? It actually doesn't look like it's a room...what I can see in the 1st pic says "Mech Rm" which, to me, means Mechanical Room...and I wouldn't want to look into that room! In the 2nd pic it looks like it looks out onto the stairs...??? Sorry, but that second pic is way too busy and pretty much impossible for me to read. HTH!

I am a great fan of modern design. And we just finished building a modern house on a sloping lot, but our slope is uphill. Though we are almost empty-nesters, so we didn't have to plan for young kids in our house full-time. I understand how you will have to plan around your garage; we had the same issue - I felt at first like our entire house was planned around the driveway pitch and the garage! Obviously you will have railings on that stairway. Also consider one single flight with young kids, especially if the stairs are cement (or older people) - not a pretty sight if someone falls. In the stairway in our house, it's an L shape, so if someone falls, it's only half as far. Also, not to be too risk-adverse, those open stairs are gorgeous, but just waiting for someone to catch a heel or toes, or an entire foot for a kid. Our architect really wanted open stairs, but we just couldn't agree. We ended up with a zig-zag pattern. Our stairs are enclosed by glass on the lower side (to keep lower-level noise on the lower level), and I really like the way the zig-zag looks. I love the fireplace, but yes, with kids, also a problem when the fireplace is on. I also wanted cement floors, but husband didn't. So we have mahogany throughout, except for the entryway and bathrooms. I do notice that the 100% wood is harder on my feet than if we had some spaces carpeted; cement would be even harder on the feet. I like the lap pool - I assume that's what it is. Though again, you'll need to be creative re gating it off from the kids. The terrace area, I can also envision kids tipping off the end of that; adding a railing will detract from the view, but you may need to consider. We have a juliet balcony on the front of our house, and were originally going to have glass sides. Then I thought about how quickly that glass would get dirty, etc., so we have cable. I love it - barely noticeable from on the balcony or inside the house, but no need to clean. So that might be a thought if you decide to put in railings. The "hallway" between the living area and the island looks narrow. You know that the chairs will rarely be nicely pushed in, so consider that width. Also, consider little arms and hands reaching out to a hot stove, depending on how wide that island is. We have a very similar configuration, but our island is deeper, so don't have that issue. I love the view out our front when standing at the sink, and the view out back when standing at the stove - I'll bet that you will love it too!