Hey there, Massachusetts hosta lover! Desperation falls is a great screen name! I switch things out all the time....when they are growing, that is. I think "dappled shade" is a good thing, and of course that is what I give them here in zone 9a. Even direct sunlight of three hours morning light would be adequate, but after reading in the brand new Zilis Field Guide To Hostas that up north 3 hours sunlight is enough, I'm impressed how hardy/sturdy these hosta really are. I'm a real newcomer to hosta growing, fell for them when I was up in MA and brought them south with me. With your long years of experience growing hosta, you should have no problem balancing their needs to your conditions. I love those gold hosta myself. One question though: WHICH golds are you considering for this swap? Maybe try a Dick Ward in one of the pots. It has a green margin, really rugose midleaf of gold, and it is a super strong hosta. It comes from Zounds, a great rugose gold itself. Do you have either one of those already? Then you know how they are strong hosta. Also if you have King Tut, that is one worth trying too. You do not want a gold that burns in the sun, and King Tut is recommended by Zilis in his new book, Field Guide To Hosta. A fragrant gold that I got last year is Tortilla Chip. It looks really nice. Guess which one in this picture is Tortilla Chip? Have fun. I'm primarily a container gardener of hosta, but my zone is way different than yours.

Walkin Yesindeed, a reporter once asked Louis Sullivan the same basic question you just asked me, and got back one of Sullivan's typical cryptic responses: "I would describe it as the successful solution of a problem." Thanks a lot, Louis. Big help. And when somebody else asked Sullivan to describe the style of the Auditorium's own decoration, he said "I would prefer not to describe it at all. I would perfer for you to look at it yourself and make up your own mind." Let's just say that Sullivan would have gotten himself eliminated on the first round of something like "Design Star" that are less about design ability or artistic vision and more about personality & sense of humor. And those things are fine, but they have nothing to do with design. Anyway, here's the thing: like I said above, most of Sullivan's mature work was on major commissions: the Auditorium, the Chicago Grand Opera House, the Chicago Stock Exchange, department stores, banks, railway stations. After Adler & Sullivan becamse famous with the opening of the Auditorium, he seldom designed anything as small as a residence again, and most of the residential designs that came out of the office were in fact Wright's, or George Elmslie's, with Sullivan directing the overall design & the ornamental detailing. Even in this somewhat limited role, it was his vision that determined the aesthetic form of the finished buildings and the look that we think of as Sullivanian, in the same way that Fritz Kreisler & George Solti & Daniel Barenboim put their individual stamps on the sound of the Chicago Symphony, even though they weren't the ones playing all the instruments. Unfortunately, since Sullivan didn't really do residences, and never furnished the interiors of the houses that came out of the A&S offices, we have to look at his other buildings to find what motivated him, but it's not hard to see. In a letter to a banker client, he talked of the decorative scheme of the interior as a 'color symphony' and he wasn't kidding: the finished banking room has literally dozens of intermingled colors, mostly soft greens, yellows & oranges. It also has an elaborate stenciling scheme that blends all those contrasting colors with such subtlety that they seem to dissolve into a green haze that floats in front of the wall plane. Not only that, the main banking room is lit with a pair of gigantic arched windows of golden yellow & white glass, and at night the room glows with the light from four immense electroliers that hang from the corners of the room, fixtures in the form of gigantic clusters of sea green foliage & coiling, intertwined stems, all studded along their length with electric light bulbs. And don't forget the honey-colored Roman bricks on the walls, the intricately molded paster ceiling ai more tinys of green, the green terra cotta moldings, the bronze teller cages or the green marble counters. What's amazing was that this incredibly rich scheme was designed not for a sophiticated city audience but for a small-town farming community, where the people in line were likely to be standing in muddy boots & dirty overalls, and when he was designing for the really fancy people, it was amazing. But rather than intimidating the locals, it enobled them and their daily activities. Sullivan was a color genius, that's all I can say. After dinner I'll look up the description of his color scheme for the McVickers' Theatre here in the city, which, even as mere words on a page--the theatre was demolished decades ago--is one of the most striking combinations you'll ever see.

I can post some pictures of the inside. It is very traditional, and that is where the dilemma is. I don't really want a craftsman feel outside, and traditional inside. There is NO way to bring craftsman elements into the house. I was really just wondering about a slightly more relaxed feel to the entrance/columns, not necessarily craftsman, just more casual like the rest of the house's exterior. The round columns are beautiful, but noob's comments tweaked my brain and now I'm thinking the round columns might look contrived. I agree with you, it would be great to have designer to give us direction. And believe me, I have tried to get a good one for this project. We have had two architects to tell us that thickening up the roofline was important to bring balance. I had a landscape designer out, who made a gorgeous plan for the beds and pool area. She mentioned we should remove the columns and replace with wood, but didn't have much else to offer. It's a real problem, like you hinted at, to find the right designer. I've had THREE designers (from remodeling companies) out that can only tell me that what I've drawn is "perfect". Ugh. Being new to the area, it is very difficult to find people who really know what they're doing. It always turns out that we pay for opinions, and get nothing usable. We have designed and built several homes - one can be seen here: www.209colonial.com This is the home we just sold. My husband can build anything, and I do all our wall finishes and fabrics. I'm just not creative at all for this sort of thing. Before we actually commence work, I will have my architect draw the columns and frieze, for sure. The back of the house is coming along fine. The ugly wood balcony and white spiral staircase was removed and the railing was replaced with wrought iron to match the pool fence and gates. The vinyl siding is being replaced with cement board to match the porch and other trim. The pool has been remodeled and is so beautiful - can't wait for spring to use it! So, lots of progress, and yes, it is overwhelming, but I think we can handle it, if we take our time to decide what we want. :-)

I think you are probably wise to go with your lesser choice and have the sink in the island. You loved the island plan and it had the sink there. Anyway, you are so much closer to the look you'd hoped for than when you first posted the plan with the bilevel peninsula. I tried to draw things out. I'm not sure how you want to move the fridge and how large you envision the pantry. So here's just an attempt in which I tried something a little different, because if you want a hutch looking piece I'm afraid it has to be wider than you have? I might have some of the measurements off from what you plan for that wall. Also, if you want the sink centered in the island you will have to have 2 ft on each side, which squeezes your dining area. Maybe you didn't plan it centered, though. I have it centered in this plan and you can see how it affects the length of the kitchen to see what you think.