Coming from an organic background, I would suggest you forget about your NPK and the ratios. I realize that is hard to do and you don't see anyone saying that (anywhere and rarely on this forum). Work on getting a grain type of protein onto the soil. If you want to fertilize with organics, get a plain brown bag of alfalfa pellets (rabbit chow) and apply at 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Cost will be about $12 for 50 pounds. Apply now and again in a month (since the soil has had nothing in 5 years). If you prefer you can use Milorganite, but I prefer alfalfa. When you do water, water deeply and don't plan to water for at least a week or when the grass shows signs of heat stress (blades folding together or a change in color). KBG would have been brown/tan all winter. Is that what you saw? If not then you likely have fescue.

Hi Roulie, I was looking at the beautiful blue kitchens in your thread about painting your cabs, and went looking for this thread for more pictures and info about your kitchen. (I would try the SW Naval from Deb's island on one of your trial boards, it just rocks!) I have an opinion about the hole in your counter. I love the idea of using stainless, and if the Jenn-aire that was removed is the griddle next to the big Garland, I would suggest that you have someone come and fabricate a stainless steel cover that simply butts up to the range and covers the whole counter top surface, front overhang and all, for the length of counter top hole in the wood. That will give you a bulletproof landing spot for messy cooking. YOU may not need it, but you have at least one young person, and a messy spill on your butcher block with a stainless steel insert in the hole in the wood will be a lot harder to clean up than on a seamless sheet of steel. Have the fabricator match the finish as much as possible to that of the Garland, and it may not seem so much like another added texture in the room. It also occurred to me, looking at the photo, that there does not seem to be a range hood. Is that a problem for you, or do you not put a lot of grease into the air when you cook? A metal fabricator could fashion one to fit below that cabinet, and you could put the guts in the cab. Just something to think about if you have someone out to see about the hole in the counter. I went looking for your thread about your butcher block counter refinishing. The problem with wood near your sink area made me think of old porcelain 1920s to 1930s sinks as a solution. In my first search result I saw the one linked below, and it fit the one in my mind's eye perfectly. Something like this will better protect that beautiful refinished counter of yours. It prevents any more deterioration where the wood meets the back splash, as well, and does not go very far up the wall. Check out the link below. I think I am interested in your project because it reminds me of my own. I refinished a used bead board kitchen almost three years ago.I have an island top that is 25 years old sitting in my garage that is very similar to your butcher block. I did not use it when I bought it with my Green Demolition kitchen. I refinished my beaded-board oak cabinets from GD by hand sanding and re-staining them with a creamy oil-based stain that my local Sherwin Williams mixed up for me. I could not get a "pickled" stain in water-base. My routed-out lines were far closer together than yours, but you have a LOT of cabs to do, too. If I had to do it again, I think I might paint. I do not have tons of wood grain around like you do, and really like the grain peeking through, so staining was a good choice for me at the time. My problem was in getting the stain to stick to end grain. All my rounded edges exposed me to end grain, but I did not realize that this was my problem at the time. Stain did not stick well on the perimeter of all of my 34 doors and 20 drawers, and I have a rubbed-through look in places. I also have a few pieces that are a different color. Don't know if it was a stirring problem, a real color difference in the first stain can, or what. By the time I was done, I just did not want to know! Part of my problem is that I have asthma and had to wear terrible face masks to keep the VOCs out of my lungs. I had to work outside because of the fumes, too. In the steamy heat of the summer of 2010, I had little patience for problems and just let the color differences get by me. I just wanted it DONE. If you can paint with latex, it is a lot less bother and mess than what I went through! Oil-based stains are still the most common with wood. Here is a picture of my doors before I refinished them. If you want to see my kitchen (minus the missing cab door that we found in the carpenter's shop 6 months after I finished staining everything else), you can go to my website and see it at www.pbase.com/nancyb/image/127230055 Here is Here is a link that might be useful:

Art! Add art to the walls. I agree with the comments above. (Except pulling the sofa away from the wall. I don’t think the room is big enough.). My first thought was how well the sofa fits in the space. Looks almost custom to the room. Do you have a small chair or ottoman you can put where the fan is next to the tv stand? Id pull the rug out to cover the whole floor unless you hate the idea of the rug under foot on a travel route. It’s fine where it is but would look better pulled out. Post pictures when youve made some of the changes. Nice use of a small space.

I like the idea of using a cheerful yellow rug and accent pillows in your family room, pulled from the art on your bar counter (my eye was actually drawn to the glass of orange juice/mimosa at the bar, lol, but I decided to use the art as inspiration instead :-D ): Everything you currently have (except the kitchen counter top) is a cool-toned color; a little warmth from the yellow would definitely liven things up. I would also look for art with a splash of yellow in it, and pastel yellow sheer curtains. I'm not a professional, though, so maybe I'm going in the wrong direction... but dang, this room just begs me for yellow, lol!