Disclaimer: I am not a garden designer. But I do, like you, live in the Pacific Northwest (WA). When you were developing your garden, it sounds like you were thinking of the new area as a place to experiment/be creative/have some fun. I understand why you want a basalt birdbath, they are beautiful. Would you consider instead a ceramic birdbath?. When I searched for "birdbath ceramic garden" at houzz.com, some stunning examples came up, including one made out of two pails and a garbage can lid. A rock garden can be quite easy to maintain. I helped my neighbor build his 5 years ago, but have not yet built one for myself. Here are some suggestions to think about: 1. Consider making the garden larger than 6' x 5'. 2. Dig out some of the soil, and mound sand at LEASt 18" deep. Alpine and rock garden plants do well in our area in sand beds. (My neighbor's large rock garden is up to 5 ft deep!) 3. Add whatever kind of rocks you like and can manage, but be sure they are partially buried and look like something you could imagine seeing when you are hiking in the mountains. A garden near here has rocks small enough for one person to move, but looks natural, as the rocks were placed with thought and sufficiently buried. 4. After planting, add a couple of inches of grit as mulch. You may have to look around to find the kind of rock mulch that'll give you a color that you like. For example, my neighbor uses granite mulch (white/black), but he is red/green colorblind, so this increases the contrast for him. (I've seen brownish 3/8" crushed basalt that I'd like to use for my garden.) 5. Start with some woody plants to add structure and winter interest. Locals love 'Chief Joseph' ponderosa pine, as it turns a beautiful yellow in the winter, and grows quite slowly. Or how about a sculptural manzanita? Add miniature conifers (growing not more than 1" per year) in blues and golds and greens, and little shrubs like Kalmiopsis. 6. Plant ground covering subshrubs like crowberry, shrubby penstemons (e.g. Penstemon davidsonii or P. cardwellii) and dryas. These can add masses of texture or color and look decent in the winter. 6. Add perennials for summer color. Lewisia cotyledon hybrids are beautiful! How about columbines? Pacific coast irises? We found that the beargrass that grows in our mountains does well for us; it has shiny green leaves year round and sends up those dramatic blooms. 7. Add bulbs for spring color. There are quite a few natives that are beautiful but underused. Camas? Brodiaea? Erythronium (fawn lilies)? I like to grow west coast natives, as they relate to my environment, but others like to grow plants from the Alps or the Mediterranean or from South Africa or the Himalayas. Whatever is used, plant in groups or use mat-forming plants so that there are blocks of color and texture. Well, you may already know lots about growing alpine and rock garden plants, or you may want to do something quite different from what I'm describing. Here is a link that might be useful: This OR nursery has links to their How-To Pages on rock gardening This post was edited by IshCountryGal on Wed, Jul 24, 13 at 3:56

Just a note about closed versus open storage: 1. Closed storage lets you put more stuff in. Closed storage is great if items are NOT always picked up. A nice mix of closed and open storage might be 20% open (for decorative items) and 80% closed. 2. Open storage means it always has to be neat and spotless - great if items ARE always picked up. May be best for decorative items or books.

I wonder if you might be happier if you had trim around the doors and molding along the top? That might give it a more finished look. It’s hard to think of putting anything up there not knowing your decor style.

The basic layout Beverly posted is your best bet and you might be able to put a table behind sofa or a reading/feeding baby area you might need. TIP, get a good rug pad for your rug on your tile. It will eliminate telescoping of grout lines in rug and be more comfortable. I would also remove those drapes and unless you need privacy, which doesn’t look like it hence I wouldn’t add any drapes. Possibly solar shades if you need light control. A few strategically placed plants might be all you need.