Thank you justgotabeme! It is true, we find ourselves in the FRONT of the house quite often! The first evening, we poured cocktails and just sat out front and stared. We are very pleased! CEfreeman-Ohhh, what a long, peaceful country driveway that is! I wouldn't want it to look too "maintained!" Hi Lyfia! I posted quite awhile ago, I was very gung ho on the faux wood grain...as a matter of fact, I wanted to do a faux carriage door look, adding the rustic hardware. Most people were against it...and this was when I was planning on painting my house a dark color. Now that my house is so light, I don't want a big dark expanse that takes up such a huge chunk of the front. If my house were bigger, or the paint darker,I would consider it. I do love that look, just not for this house at this time. birdlover-yes, we are thinking two big black pots on either side of the arch...and maybe on the far side of the garage...with bougainvilla or some flowering vine set on a trellis just a bit off from the house walls so they don't actually grow on the walls! The reason we are thinking black pots is...when you drive to our house, you first see the south side of it...with a row of windows with black awnings over each window. So we feel the big black pots will tie the side and the front together. lukkiriish-thank you, I just love those california spanish homes! Thanks for comparing my home to one of those! Ok, again, I really appreciate every single comment. It has been so much work and money and as much as my hubby and I enjoy it, it is nice to see it be well received here!

It is always a treat to see the inside of your beautifully designed home and now to see the gorgeous exterior! Wow! You have done a wonderful job. Everything is seamless and looks like it was always meant to look as it does now. You have a wonderful talent! Thank you for sharing with us!!

I love the Reno and thanks for the tips! I think the open kitchen is beautiful- most prep is done before the guests arrive and they always congregate in the kitchen anyway. We started our Reno December 26 and got a fantastic price since we were doing it at a slow time of the year. We bought materials and appliances ourselves and were able to take advantage of great holiday deals.

Hey, I know this is an older post, but were you worried about the lack of an access panel for the shower? I'm curious what your plumber and/or contractor said about this. Working on our bathroom now (plumbing on exterior wall), and trying to figure the best way to handle this. Thanks!