My thoughts are exactly along catkim's lines. But I would just leave a very small opening (because it's only hard to pry out the first brick, and then you can always enlarge it). For a vine, you actually need just a very small opening into the ground. If you leave just two bricks out, let's say, you will be able to enlarge it if you like and the majority of your patio will be well-laid and leveled, plus the space for those two bricks will be pretty exact. Leave a bigger space than that, and it will be tricky to fill it in well. The thing about leaving a full bed the length of the stairs is everything from mess to weeding/making more mess (and dirt on patio = weed seeds sprouting on patio in the cracks), but also the risk of dropping a chair leg off the edge of the stone into the dirt. This patio is going to feel SMALL for the furniture you have in mind. I don't think you should shrink its effective size. Also keep in mind that your doorway is recessed and quite dark. A vine will make it feel and look more closed in, in case that matters to you. And these big perennial vines can get pretty overwhelming. I personally love clematis and would probably put one there, but I'm not sure I would put it in the ground. You could leave it in a pot, and always cut it back to the ground (or bottom two buds if a B-type) every year. And once it gets too vigorous (as many do after three or four years), you might like to put in a new one. This is very tricky to do in the ground adjacent to a patio without damaging the patio. Maybe some annual vines would be more fun. Again, way easier in a container. Plus, the container gives you another decor item to have some fun with. On the other hand, it takes up some space. So I would lay and tamp the whole patio but for two bricks. Undoing it later from there if you want a bigger bed is way easier than filling it in. You can minimize the crush layer in that area if you really feel you will want to open it up. By the way, is there a basement here? If so, you want your subgrade to tilt away from the house. Karin L

It's not possible for one screw to hold the umbrella in place if there is enough space for movement between the umbrella pole and the base pipe. The fact you have a slope is coming into play since it's causing the top-heavy umbrella to naturally lean that way. To keep the pole vertical in the base, buy some wood shims and break them so you have pieces small enough to go between the pole and base pipe and place them until the pole is in the vertical position you want. When it's just like you want, break off the shims so they're even with the top of the base pipe. You may have to use a utility knife to get a smooth edge on the shims. If you also want the base level, you can buy some composite shims and put those around the base to make it level but you'll still need some small wood pieces around the pole to keep it from shifting/leaning.

I am staying at a friend's house while my house is renting, and they have a catalog I got looking at called CASA, which is actually the Cardis catalog (cardis.com) and a cocktail table jumped off the page at me as being perfect for what you are describing. It also comes in end tables. The wood around the rim would really mitigate the fingerprint problem glass table tops tend to have. I got on their site to look and send you a link, and there are a couple others i think would be great This is the one I first saw: **Seems they're not selling it any longer, even though it's in the "Summer 2016 catalog. The table is not on the Cardis site, nor is it in the summer 2016 catalog any longer, looking at the catalog online . Bummer I think it would be perfect for end tables This one is unique and beauty, also lifts up. Only comes in a coffee/cocktail size, far as I can tell http://www.cardis.com/products/cocktail-table-34 Love this, also comes in end tables http://www.cardis.com/products/201164427 http://www.cardis.com/products/200101955

Cutiepie, it could just be my monitor, but while the Frosted Silver looks blue to me, the Moonlight White looks like a very pale yellow, and the Gentle Rain looks like it's veering toward pink. Giving feedback on colors over the internet is a dicey thing, and you're the one seeing the colors as they really look in your house. When I put (virtual) swatches of Frosted Silver up against Gentle Rain, they look very different (but they are both so greyed out that when I look at them separately, I don't see the difference). If you have (or can grab at Home Depot) swatches of the two colors, I think you'll see what I mean. I think a dark color can work even without much natural light as long as you have adequate electric lighting, or light coming from the adjacent rooms. Especially with lots of white trim/doors. My dining room gets very little natural light (lots of windows but the curtains are usually closed because of proximity to the neighbor's house). Because I had lots of white wainscoting, I went with chocolate brown walls, which I love. It's cozy and intimate, not dark and gloomy.