Since Karen has been busy this week, and hasn't gotten back here, I will try to help with tipsy pot directions. You need a six foot piece of rebar which can be purchased at Lowe's for around $2.00. You also need pots in graduated sizes, ie: 12 inch, 10 inch, 8 inch, etc. Just pound the rebar into the ground about 18 inches then slide the largest pot onto the rebar through the hole in the bottom of the pot. Fill with potting soil. Now slide the next largest pot onto the rebar, but tip it to the side a bit. (A rock will help support it at the angle until you get the next pot on.) Continue sliding the pots on and alternating the way you angle them then fill them with soil and plants. Vining plants look really good in them. Be careful when watering so that you don't wash all the soil out, and know that they do dry out fairly quickly so you will want to water frequently. (Unless you use Karen's great idea of using silk plants!) If you check on the Garden Junk forum and just type "tipsy pots" into the search box, you will find lots of them. Some have used metal buckets, some plastic pots, some teapots, etc. to make them. The fun part is all the comments from visitors who are amazed at seeing what looks like just pots balanced on top of each other! ;o) Luvs

I like the thick 'wrapped" colums. I think the stone half wall is OK but your stoop is a decent size for a stoop...mine is similar but judging from the space next to your front doors, yours is probably a bit bigger and I find that mine is a bit too small. A half wall on each side is going to take up and make your stoop space feel tighter. And I don't know that they will stand out much against the new stone facade for the cos. I think railings would be better and more open. And maybe you don't have to go with the usual thin black wrought iron. On our last house we rebuilt the front stoop and had the contractor build white painted "chippendale" style railings. It was not expensive. When you start looking around you might find there are more options on railings than than the typical ones you aren't too fond of.

Hi! have you thought about adding a pergola or a covered area of some kind? I don't know if you like to eat outside, but that may be a place for a dining table or firepit. adding a gravel or concrete area around a fire pit would give the area purpose. Add a circular or square retaining wall around it to define the space. you can fill in with plants, small bushes, your favorite flowers, etc. If you are tired of looking at the side of your house, add a modern slat trellis for flowering vines to grow on. you can wrap this around one side of the firepit for privacy as well. Maybe you could incorporate your paddles into the benches around the fire pit as seat backs? either screw them vertically with the wide part up or sideways. I thought the second photo was a really pretty array of what colors you can add to your yard.

Oh I like the idea of bronze lamps. All the hardware in my house is bronze so that would tie in. Previous poster mentioned greys and I have two grey adirondack chairs on the back deck I’ll swap. I kinda like the look of those drum night stands/side tables... would that looks weird between the chairs? What colour for that? Still can’t figure out what rug to get, grey and black rugs are very limited.