The Rozanne geraniums will look great spewing out of the fence - they are vigorous plants that bloom their heads off from June to frost for me. As far as the evergreen foundation shrub goes - I think keeping it was a good decision since it provides structure, an area for the eye to rest, winter interest, and is a nice counterbalance to the looseness of the perennials. If you want to change it up for fun, I suggest looking up cloud pruning for the shrub. I have an area with a Japanese maple just like yours underplanted with cloud pruned boxwood, and the green Hakone grass, and it looks so well designed that it's my favorite spot in the garden. You could try alternating the geranium in the front (give each plant 2-3 feet diameter space, they will definitely take it) with the Hakone grass for a contrast in texture. I have both the Aureola Hakone grass, and the regular green one. I prefer the regular one (which strangely is much harder to find) much more, it's a bit taller, and looks like a fountain bursting with lush bright green growth. I think Aureola is more garish and might clash a bit with the pink roses, but then again that's a matter of personal taste :)

That's great Northerner. The bigger the plant, the more Hostas I can take out of the gardens. The deers have eaten all the neighbours' plants and have been eyeballing mine... Oh no PV. I thought for sure it would make it on your balcony. Mine are popping up everywhere. Neil, Aren't those leaves grand? I bought another last year and the leaves are just as nice - a bit wider with more ridging and more of a lime colour. The flower on this one is suppose to be bigger.

Hi all, So funny to read all the posts! Ok here goes from the bottom up... Natal: I did consider not painting the fireplace and we actually did the walls first to see how it would look. It was too red against the stark walls. We also considered white washing it, but I couldn't remove the soot stains, so in the end we just painted it. Polly: The big rug is Jute from PB. Very soft actually and was inexpensive- a close out. The small runners are cotton from Crate and Barrel. The Paint is Farrow and Ball Pointing on walls and Pale Powder on ceiling. PupWhipped - Originally the sunporch ceiling was also wood colored. I painted it and you can see it in the before picture - it looks good with the pine walls. Also if you look at my newest post on Bermuda you will see a wood room with a vaulted blue ceiling. Good inspiration for you. Newdawn: I love the willow furniture as is and would NOT paint it ever!! I love the bark texture and the interest it adds to the porch. My recommendation is to pick two colors -ie: essex green floor and pale blue ceilings- cover the cushions in one of those colors or a subtle pattern with those colors. The furniture will seem more cohesive and the lines will then be more noticeable in a good way. I think the current fabric is what is distracting your eye not the furniture itself. The tables can be painted shades of those two colors if you want. To everyone else - thanks so much for kind comments. It still has a long way to go but we are so happy we painted it! My hubby really loves it. x-Willow

What are the walls like above the paneling - are they textured? The easiest fix I can think of is to cover the paneling with paintable wallpaper. You can get it to match your upper walls or get some with a different pattern. Lowes carries them in the store and that stuff goes up so fast. No one will be able to tell there's paneling under it. Here is a link that might be useful: