Jacaranda is semi-deciduous ie. it will drop a lot of its leaves, though not all, in the dry season. I have to say though, you are being terribly ambitious growing this plant in UK. It needs very warm temps throughout the year and extremely bright light to thrive. There are so many lovely temperate climate trees which make good bonsai.

Okay, we finally got the look we wanted on the hinges. These started out as flat, nickel plated hinges, very shiny. DH bent them to make them into offset, cut the third hole off the bent side and reshaped the metal, heated till red hot twice to get the nickel plating off. Then I buffed with scotch brite pad, buffed again, painted with matte acrylic spray, and gave a touch of rub-n-buff to the detailed area. It took way too much time, but I thing the end result looks like an old vintage hinge, just what I wanted since our farmhouse is over 100 years old. What do you think? Terry

I'll chime in as a fan of contemporary myself, and a not-so-much fan of country. Your kitchen definitely has a country look to it for reasons already posted. The natural color oak cabs unfortunately don't fall into any description of contemporary, but I would expect touching the cabs to be off the table. If you need canisters for practical reasons (e.g. storage), then consider stainless steel. I got a nice set from Costco for not much money, and Crate & Barrel also have nice ones. Your family room has a contemporary look to it (with the exception of the table lamp). If you look at the elements there in comparison to your kitchen, what you see are solid colors, clean lines, and a lack of nicknacks. Look at the window treatments in particular. Solid color valence, and solid color drapes. Also look at the artwork over the fireplace. Dramatic dark frame that matches the color of the fireplace below, complementary colors in the matting, and a repeating dark brown mat towards the inside. So ask yourself, "how do I bring these design themes to my kitchen?" Well, replace the window treatment with a solid color. I would recommend a dramatic color that matches some other elements in the room such as your counters. Vertical pleating such as you have now is more country. No pleating (like your window valence in the family room) or horizontal pleating (like in roman shades) are more contemporary. Although roman shades always have a summer beach house feel for me, but that's probably just me. For the stuff on top of the cabinets, you should replace them with repeating items in solid or repeating colors. For example you could use a dozen clear/colored art glass plates that again match the counters. The key here is to use multiples of the same item in the same or similar colors, whereas currently you have a mix of disparate items (plate, jug, basket, bottle, etc). Anyway you get the idea - repeating elements, repeating colors, simple lines, no clutter. Those things say "contemporary" to me. Good luck and I hope that helps a little.

I like the sofa but it needs space.....consider emptying the room of anything on wall, table, or mantle so it is basiccally empty, and place items removed on dining room table for future reference. Put the sofa on any wall where it has room for end tables. Put the chair where it can have a conversation with the sofa. At this point I would redo the curtains to coordinate with the wall and do them in a linen type weave. Remove the crystal chandelier and replace with something simple and maybe oil rubbed bronze. Go shopping for a large piece picture in a simple or frameless style that blends with the plaid pillow; take the pillow with you if necessary. So far so good. If you have end tables and a cocktail table put them in the room only if you like them. If they are wood that should be fine. Send us a picture of the whole room taken from another room so we can see the size etc of the room. I am showing this inspiration room because it is very simple with very trad furniture, but the mantle is very low key and would work nicely in your living room style I think. Also note the colorful throw on the arm chair. This is same room, but wood tables and metal cocktail table, simple window treatments in tones found in living room, and antique armoire that is similar to your Moms tallish piece by fireplace. TV opposite sofa and easy chair for great viewing This looks great; metal table, magazine rack in oil rubbed bronze, brass Pharmacy lamp for reading. Would work next to Mom's chair......these items can be found on line at Ballard Design and other places too; overstock.com, wayfair.com with great prices and great selection. Plaid pillows, one bright color pillow and another item in room (the end table, but could be lamp, vase, picture) done in a bright color to match pillow in intensity. And the upholstered ottoman adds a fun touch, but sized to match the sofa. Again a rustic trad feel with a pair of large photos over sofa. Great ottoman, lamps, footstool. Pillows match colors in photos of family members.... These are just inspiration but it might help you select the items that the room needs to frame and support the sofa style and colors. Nothing set in stone but a place to begin.