After all the help I received here, I wanted to update you on my exterior garage door/shutter color. We selected what appeared to be a medium-shade brown and it ended up looking alot darker, bolder, and redder than we wanted. But since the house faces south and I live in the midwest, I think it will fade a little. And if not, DH and I can always try to adjust the color in the future. Not what I hoped for, but we'll live with it for a while and see what happens. Again, thank you for all the advice and a big thank you to Squirrelheaven for the photoshop magic! try_hard

Thanks for all your comments. When I posted here last Fall the prices in our area were still rising and only in the last month or so have they have stagnated. Last year some people in my neighborhood were listing in the upper 700's. But ended up selling in the mid 500's. The house around the corner that sold in the mid-500s was a bit bigger than mine, but didn't have as nice a lot. Things are slowing down here after a brisk fall and a flurry of sales here in February. Sales now are taking up to 60+ days on market. There are very few homes in my town for sale in 400's and 500's here so I am having trouble looking for comparisons. I have been going to any open houses to see how I compare. So far I don't feel we are out of the ballpark on our price. I went to an open house today for a new home, smaller than mine for sale (579,000) with a not so nice lot that is not in a very good location in town (bad road to come out of in the winter). If you like new then they were new, but they were only 2800 square feet. My husband set our price. I would have gone lower, for sure, and couldn't talk him out of it. Realtor had suggested upper 400's. I figure we weren't that far off and we will most likely have to drop our price anyway. We have only had two showings the first week of listing. This is our third weekend and no more lookers.. but they really haven't been looking at all in the 400's and up from what all the Realtors that I have spoken with at open houses are saying. I put 10K into fixing up the house this past Fall to get it ready for this sale. Spoke with the painter about removing the wallpaper in the mater bathroom, but we decided against it bc if I took it down then I figured I would have to update all the tile, too. There were friends of mine who told me to leave it the way it is. Apparently, they loved it. Also, painter wouldn't quote me a price until after it came down, due to not knowing what he would have to deal with. Also, I was sick of having the house all torn up for as long as they were here already and couldn't deal with them working in my master bathroom, too. I would rather offer someone decorating money to finish it themselves and am thinking of doing that instead. Besides, we may end up living here several more years if the house doesn't sell in 6 months, if that is the case. My husband is not in a hurry to move, but I am :) We did have a decorator (hired by the Realtor)who came through to help with some of the staging. She suggested adding the stuff on the buffet. The white cabinet in the kitchen stores my pet food and I really need to leave that there as I have a cat that knows how to open cabinets without kinderlocks. This one has the locks. Decorator mentioned taking the white cabinet out of the kitchen and the plates in the den. She also suggested the LR arrangement leaving the open area by the fireplace in there. For those who asked (or commented) the buffet in the kitchen is built-in. She suggested painting the trim in the LR and DR white to match the rest of the house. I may do that at the end of 6 months anyway for me, if the house doesn't sell. I am having a Realtor's open house this coming Tuesday so I should get more suggestions then. I am going to talk to the Realtor about offering money to redecorate the house. I can remove the drapes and take down the plates in the den, if need be, but I have no plan to do any more decorating/painting or wallpaper removal for now. I will wait to have them do more pictures until my garden starts to bloom up better in the front. It is still early spring here. The forsythia just began to bloom and I will have more color in the front for pictures when some of my azaleas, lilacs, and roses begin blooming. Now if it would just rain so my lawn would green up a bit more! This home has been well kept up. The only thing a person has to complain about is wallpaper, and since they will end up decorating their way, I don't see a problem leaving it. Especially if I offer them money for decorating. Would 5k suffice do you think? Anyway, my sister took her Victorian house off the market after 6 months. She lives outside of Sterling, VA where the market has tanked. She will be moving out next spring and is hoping that it will sell when they remove all their stuff. She is fixing up her second home in NC.

If ID is correct, you probably need more sun to stop the branches growing so thin and that may be the reason for the lime-green colour (not normally expected on a cactus). Search Google images for other examples of how your plant should look (bear in mind that others may have their plants in lower light so some may also look thin and brightly coloured).

@funcolors Curious why you don't trust the colors the designer specified? That's a good question, one that my husband is asking me as well. I told her I wanted a light airy kitchen that wasn't stark white but had the overall appearance and feel of a white kitchen. She went to the stone yard and looked at my exact slabs, had all my inspiration pics, house layout, pictures etc - probably 2 dozen in all. She said the color was selected because it 1) coordinated and 2) had the warmth and depth to handle a large room with a northern exposure. Also I mentioned I didn't like the vast contrast between a gray counter top and stark white cabinets. She selected a blue based on my inspiration photos and knowing I wanted a dark island. Aesthetic White on three different sample boards in the partially done home reads pink to me. I think it's just too dark. Perhaps needs to be a bit lighter? But then again, too light gives too much contrast between cabinets and counters which with grayish counters can make them look dingy and dirty. After playing with sample boards I felt the color choice was not right so I did inquire on Friday about another alternative to Aesthetic White and I haven't heard back yet. Foggy Day was a surprise to me, because it is so light. I inquired of something darker and threw out Grays Harbor since it was next down on the paint strip and she said it had too much gray and wouldn't be balanced. Her second choice for the island was Grizzle Gray. I do like that color, but it reads like cement, but perhaps it will warm up with the northern exposure? I told her I wanted a relaxing spa feel in the master bathroom and she chose SW Misty. That color is pretty, but seems more appropriate for a child's room. And I don't see how it plays nice with Aesthetic White trim and doors. Seems to clash. At least to my eye. I hope that answers your questions. I am not good at color which is why I sought paid help. She is closer than what I have done on my own. It's just doesn't speak to me and when I look at it all together I don't sit back with a smile and get excited. I want to be excited about my choices.