Also, congrats on your first home purchase!!! If you do some searching on here you'll see that I am a big proponent of Honda mowers. After laboring for what seemed like eternity to get my first mower (hand me down snapper with a Briggs motor) started the one (very weak mind you) pull start of the Honda was something to behold. I'm sure someone will chime in saying snapper/toro/etc is better but in my opinion you just can't beat a Honda mower when it comes to the overall engineering and design.

chefjbs, tiemco probably referred to that because warm season grasses typically are cut lower and more frequent then cool season grasses, and as such the type of mower (reel) for warm season is usually recommended (but also more expensive). If you were to not have the tree debris and didn't mind exercise the Fiskars 6201 push reel mower (ie non-powered) is a great mower at around $200 (can be occasionally found on sale for ~$150). For your price-range maximum and the tiny lawn (about the same size as mine) there is no need to go crazy on the price/features. I have a Murray mower powered by a 6.5hp Briggs and Straton engine I got 10 years ago for $150 and it is still running great. Yeah it's heavy, and it's not self-propelled, but it gets the job done reliably. For mulching you don't want to skimp on engine size (or risk stalling the engine/getting unclean cuts), but unless you can't deal with the weight of the mower there really are no other reasons to spend up (IMO of course). Save money on the mower, and spend a couple bucks on some good replacement mulching mower BLADES (I personally use Gator mulching blades but there are many different types), and you will be quite happy. Just keep up on proper maintenance, as no matter how much you spend, leaving gas in over the winter, never changing the oil/air filter, using dull blades,etc. will make any mower choke prematurely. HTH

The "Blackened" Sweet Gum limb is just a limb that broke this season...maybe during gusty conditions, but didn't cleanly come off the tree. As a result, it slowly died and the leaves turned black. It'll probably fall out of the tree in the next couple years. Did your region have any bad storms etc recently?

Congrats on buying a home! Smart move to wait a year to settle in before decorating. Also smart move to post a dilemma on Houzz. You will get excellent advice from decorator Pros. They do not try to sell you stuff to get a commission. I am not a Pro and I suggest you look for the Pro under the name, so you can give their comments extra weight. I also have dark gray walls and they go nicely with a wide range of accent colors. But based on your post, you have put the cart before the horse. Before painting, the process starts with a PLAN and a budget and a shopping list with color swatches and measurements. Plan your decorating style first so you have a cohesive direction to go. Post stuff you like in your Houzz ideabook and look for what turns up the most. That plan keeps you on track so you don’t make impulse buys or buying errors. We all have a tendency to go overboard on stuff we especially like. It will also help Pros give you advice. Maybe you have done the plan and didn’t include it in your post? Then PLAN flooring, rugs, and major furniture pieces. These are expensive and make a big impact in the room so you need to get them right the first time. Even if you want eclectic or minimal, planning is needed to pull it off so your end result is not chaotic or sterile. Match the rug material and pile height to the room’s purpose. “Seating takes a beating”, so get the best you can afford and make sure every piece is comfortable and not just good looking. Same goes for case goods like chests with drawers and doors. A neutral color sofa is a great investment. Before you buy decide what arm style you want and how many cushions. If not getting a sectional, 1 upholstered chair in a solid and 1 chair in a print are a classic combo. DO NOT get a matching LR or DR set because the result looks like you are in a store and not a home. For DR, 2 host chairs with arms from another style looks sophisticated, just measure to ensure the arms are not too tall for the table. Rug colors and fabric colors are limited, color shades go out of favor quickly and are discontinued, and are more expensive than paint to change. Colors in the bluish store lighting are not the same as in your home lighting, so expect some trial and error. A furniture arrangement plan TO SCALE helps you order the right size rug and furniture...everything looks so small in the stores. Coffee tables and side tables come after seating so you get the height and width and bulkiness factors right. Avoid having all tables and seating with bare legs or all of them with solid legs. Side tables do not have to be a set, but the same height for visual reasons. You will need a plan for window treatments. If you are doing a print, best to get it at same time as the prints on furniture so they coordinate. You will need a plan for lighting (General, task, and accent). We tend to avoid rooms that are too bright or too dim. There are rules for picking out the right size lamps. I hope I haven’t lost you. Best wishes for a happy home.