Not quite like your floor, but here's a link to a Houzz Ideabook of kitchens with brick floors. Your floor pic - the grout looks very light, almost white & isn't there some grey splotches? I can't remember how white Conestoga Crystal White is, but some of these pictures of brick floors & white cabinets combined with white marblelike countertops are a nice combo. The link works but you have to wait a bit for it to go to the Ideabook. Brick kitchen floors and white cabinets

Yes, I agree that the first two are roses, and the last two are not. What I would do first is weed out EVERYTHING within, say 25 inches of the base of each rose. The first picture appears to be a rose about to be strangled by bind weed! Take that viny thing out, along with anything else growing there, including grass. Then put down mulch on the now bare dirt in the area you weeded. Sprinkle on some Preen, or similar "pre emergent" product over the area where you put the mulch (it is a chemical which will not hurt growing plants, but prevents seeds (like weed seeds) from germinating. Then in your area, I think you need to WAIT until "all danger of frost has passed". After that in the Spring you can prune what appear to me to be hybrid tea roses. Cut off any dead canes or part of canes. If there are dead "stumps" of old canes at the bottom (where someone was too lazy to take the canes off all the way down - I see this a LOT), take a pruning saw and cut them off level with the top edge of the bottom round lumpy thing the canes are coming out of, which is called the bud union - on grafted roses it is where the top scion rose is grafted to the bottom root rose. Then, you are supposed to take out any diseased canes or part of canes, and "open up" the rose by cutting out any canes which are going cross wise and rubbing on other canes. You want to end up with a bunch of canes which are sort of spread out like a 3 dimensional fan. On the canes, there will be little bumps called "bud eyes". This is where new growth will come when you cut the cane. So, make sure your cuts are above bud eyes which are pointing towards the OUTSIDE of the bush, not the inside. You do not want new canes to grow towards the inside of the bush. Do not take off more than a total of 1/3rd of the live growth. Don't worry about how to do it exactly - roses are very forgiving. Then get some rose food and feed it following the directions, and stand back. It would also be helpful to locate your local Rose Society and attend a meeting. Rose people are very friendly, and will be happy to give you advice. Jackie

I will be the first to admit (even though I have them) that arched doors are not in style:) However, warm toned cabinetry is returning to popularity and the white / gray trend has peaked - but by no means is over. Painting your cabinets will not change the fact the doors are ached, and your warm kitchen could become a bit sterile looking - granite, floor, backsplash, cabinets all light - and the black ovens will be more noticeable. Painted cabinets also require upkeep - you look like you have an active family. How easy will it be to keep those white cabinets clean and free from chips? Fir is a soft wood. It would be lovely refinished, but if you think it is too soft to withstand family life wear and tear, consider solid oak. As far as wood floor color tone, newer design pics are showing lighter, more natural wood floors. While the darker are lovely, they show every scratch and bit of dust while natural or lightly stained are more forgiving. I really like the kitchen floor you have. Since my cabinets are older and I like cottage style, French country, vintage, I decided to go with a more "old fashion" look - and I love old houses:) So I went with a less formal, more cottage style. It is a style that helps keep things from looking dated, because they look vintage instead. Here are some things I might do if this was my kitchen - but this my not be your style. If the small shelves on each side of the window can be removed, I would, or simplify the decor on them. The glass cabinet by the peninsula - I would do that with more decor - it could be a pretty set of dishes you don't often use or some other decor in your style. I like pretty - so often decorate with mismatched china, botanical / floral art and floral fabrics, vintage art - I guess I have a touch of shabby chic:) You might do a roman shade or faux roman shade on the kitchen window. There are some tutorials, including No-sew I think, online: I would simplify the dining room window treatment and add more art with color. It is hard to tell in pictures, but there seems to be a line around the top of the wall - perhaps some ceiling repair is in process? Fixing that will make you feel better too. A beadboard ceiling can cover an old ceiling nicely. My sink is the Kohler Whitehaven "short apron" style farm sink. It can be retrofitted, but doing so is expensive. The countertop is not lifted, but the face frame of the sink base cabinet is removed, and replaced after the retrofit. You could add a few pieces of cabinetry to the dining area - they could also help with storage. If you like a farmhouse / country / cottage style, a pie safe or similar is both functional and pretty.

Vladimir..thx for the input. I do plan on following the Tapla formula. The only real variable I can see is the nature of the bark fines. We all are rather constrained by what is available to us, so fingers crossed the Soil Pep product will work I'm glad to hear you don’t have to water every day, because that is my main concern with this mix. Every 2-3 days I can handle. Of course I will keep a close eye on things especially during very hot spells. Debbie..my thought on soaking , since I am going to be making a rather large amount, is to mix everything in a large tub and wet it thoroughly. Probably put a tarp over it. Stir it periodically to make sure the bark is evenly wet. I am doing this because it seems one would want the mix uniformly hydrated before use, and to start having the lime do whatever it is supposed to do