Here is an update to the landscaping, we got all the block walls and beds in, we still have to build that porch and deck area but it sure has come a long ways! I have all of 3 plants planted so far!! A royalty crabapple tree, a blue globe spruce and a corkscrew trunck laceleaf japanese maple. So far so good. Thought you might want to see it. house front side angle another angle royalty crabapple tree Don't mind our crazy front steps rf other rough edges, in a few weeks we'll have so much more done but for now this is how it looks. Notice the drift wood positioned in front of the gas meter so hopefully it will camoflauge it some. (we paid to have the meter moved to there rather than right next to the front door where we'd have to build the deck around it etc!!) We have some finishing up work on our siding and to paint and all those details as well but I am so happy not to have a mud front yard I had to share! Enjoy! Thanks for the advice all. Now I just have to get a few plants each paycheck. I have lots shrubs and plants on my list of wants, I also have to decide on a second tree now.....maybe I should get a 2nd royalty crabapple? Here are some of the plants I have planned: burning bushes (group of 3), magic carpet spirea (7 all along front porch area), barberry (not sure DH does not like thorns), In the shade bed-hostas (blue, blue/green variegated, and white/green variegated), bleeding hearts, daylillies (little business), my monet weigela, mugo pines, blue rug juniper (under the japanese maple, I saw that combo somewhere in a pic and it was so neat the blue and red tones were amazing), purple fountain grass, and two redtwig variegated dogwood's (ivory halo) on each corner of the house I thought the red twigs would look good against the house in winter. I am excited! Can't you tell?

Mike, With all those connectors, you would spend a small fortune. I am glad you are looking at cutting them out. I would suggest that for the side wall attachment on the bottom that you drive a 1 1/4 inch PVC pipe I foot long into the ground and slide the sidewall/bow pipe into that. I will try to find a picture to show you. This way you don't have to try to attach it at two places. Also, If you are going to go with a one piece hoop, glue the 45 degree elbows to the side pieces and leave the rib connection unglued. The down pressure from the plastic will keep them together. The elbows will come off in fierce windstorms, not as big of a problem after I started to glue them. Also if a rib breaks, you can easily replace them. You can bend a piece of chainlink fence top rail to match the plastic hoop. I used my endwall pipe and attached more 2 by 4 pieces under the pipe and attached the pipe to one side and "walked/bent" it over the hoop. It was fairly smooth. That is what I am doing this year to add some strength. My building is 18 feet 6 inches. You could make your 20 by adding probably 3-5 more feet of pipe to the 20 foot rib. If you do this make sure you buy the pipe that has the bell end. (FYI it is a built in connector that you can connect two pipes together. This connection is stronger than the connectors you buy at the store.) You can add a side support 2 by 4 like my center one on each side. I was going to do this and put the post in the row of tomatoes. That way it would not be in the way. Snow is a concern and if you are patient and diligent, you can sweep it off and you will be fine. The light fluffy stuff isn't a problem, the wet slushy stuff is a nightmare! When I build my building, I had plans like yours. I read everywhere and I figured my costs. If I wanted to build a steel frame building the same size as mine, it would cost 4,000-5,000. I could not justify that expense. Mine cost $500-$600 depending on how you account for materials on hand and cheap buys on craigslist. I decided I would get up at 2 am and sweep snow if it was going to save me $3,500-4,500 up front. I also am concerned about tornadoes here in Kansas. We have had close calls from them every other year for the last 6. This is an on year. Close calls means, tornado on the ground with in a 1/4 mile of my house. We will see what this year brings! Good Luck.

Thanks for the feeback so far! dkichenreno- yes, some of the 2x2s were placed at a diagonal (some 1x1s also). I don't plan on using any other accents on the walls mainly because of the outlet placement, the coffee pot and the canisters. We really tried to fit them in, but it wouldn't work. remodelfla- seeing if I follow you on the framing-- do you think it would look better to use the 2x2 glass tiles in place of the 5/8 x 8" glass tile on the inside of the taupish tiles in the framing? blondelle- I understand what you mean about the "diffuseness." .. to many inserts on a small scale. Anyone have any suggestions to help this or more suggestions?

To Patricia's point, I have built-ins in my current home, and LOVE them, and we're adding them to a new home we just bought, and the lesson I've learned is to measure the pieces that you know you want to display, in advance, to make sure they'll have ample space. You'll probably want to be able to change things periodically, seasonally, etc. but you may have a few beloved pieces that will always go there, so make sure you'll have the room. I'd air towards less shelves and more space between shelves - too many shelves adds to a general cluttered look. I have a hard time editing out what I don't need, but too much shelf space just lends itself to being over cluttered. For example, your middle photo, IMO has to many shorter shelves, and would benefit from one less shelf for wider spaces between for less 'little' things and a few big statement items instead - to vary up the heights. etc.