I am in middle of an entire house down to the studs reno. I spent a lot of time on http://www.google.com/prdhp?hl=en&tab=wf doing research on prices. I went with the best prices, sometimes could not find any feedback and sat anxious until things arrived. In the end, I furnished a 2.5 bath, 2 sink kitchen for less than half of the local plumbing supply 'discounted' prices and ended up with higher end items. Here are the best places I've found: dealyard.com - if you can find what you want, the prices are just plain unbelievable on high end products, in a few cases, I paid 10% of list for discontinued styles of high end European items. we ordered seven faucets, one shower set, one shower/bath set, one roman bath set from here all arrived in perfect condition. was in three separate boxes, fed ex, the company only had signature required on one of the three boxes, so two boxes were left outside our home one day, and the third box needed signature - all three should have needed signature - weird glitch. Would suggest calling the company after placing order to make sure they require signature - I didn't do this. faucetdirect.com - ordered jacuzzi air tub and kohler cast iron bath tub. prices were the best for these items. they were shipped separately. it was snowing the day the kohler arrived and the ups driver said that dropping the tub to the curb was not included in the delivery, so the contractor plus plumber actually lifted it themselves. customer service said it was not their fault, UPS said it was not their fault, either way, I did pay for curbside delivery and did not get it, I would suggest when ordering large items like this to talk to the company ahead of time, which I did not do. homeproductstogo.com - ordered three toto toilets. no problems. really nice local delivery company was used who insisted on helping us take the items into our home - I did not pay for white glove service, and got it anyway overstock.com - kitchen sinks. no problems. Hope this helps.

I am certainly not an expert, but I have one first-hand experience with real estate. My MIL was a neat-freak, constantly cleaning her house and would tolerate no clutter. She even donated or threw out her Christmas gifts in January. (I was very insulted in past years when I gave her several gifts, and found they were no longer in her home.) But when she passed away last year, her house was immaculate! Her children put it on the market at 2pm one day and it was sold within three hours for top dollar! This in spite of a broken dishwasher, no garage, a dinky tiny kitchen and only one bathroom and two bedrooms. Unless you personally want new windows or new siding or a second bathroom or whatever, don't spend a lot of money fixing up your house. I've seen those charts that you get back 90 percent for a kitchen remodel, 80 percent for a bathroom,etc . I would only spend money on something my family would use and enjoy, never with the intention of increasing the re-sale value. And yes, there are so-called "flippers who but homes, fix them up and re-sell for obscenely high prices, but this is a temporary "bubble" effect, IMHO.

A couple of notes: - You don’t actually want to plant as densely or as close to the walk as in Doug’s sketch or in three years you will need to do a lot of pruning and in 5 or 8 you will be ripping out plants and starting all over again with many of them. Add large pots or a birdbath or art or annuals while you wait for some of your woody plants to put on size. - Whatever you plant needs to be sized appropriately for it ultimate growth. Plant tags often give plant sizes at an unrealistic 5 years, so be sure to look up on a reputable website such as the Missouri Botanic Garden’s Plantfinder to find the actual expected size. - You have a big overhang that creates a rain shadow that will always be dry without irrigation. Be sure to plan on irrigation for anything within that rain shadow. Regardless, don’t plant anything so close that it will grow to within a foot or so of the house. - Wider steps are great to make a welcoming entry. - Notice in both sketches that the plants in front of the windows are lower with taller plants framing it or placed further down the slope to not block the windows. - Plan to have some of your plants evergreen for a winter presence and some with either colored foliage or flowers for interest. - Sod or hydro seed the lawn at the appropriate time of year for your area which may be now.

you'd have to do some samples, but you could do a darker charcoal that leans toward brown. I do like the lime wash look, but your home is more mcm so I'd do a solid color. I would totally go with the med century vibe of your home and run with it. Unless you think a neutral charcoal color (like in the pics) would work w/your roof. look at this one! it's similar to yours. (notice the porch post size) This is more of a deep charcoal brown like some of the following shades. I'm loving the stone pathway, the light, and the 3 colors they used here. and here is one w/lighter brown tones (with that natural cedar/redwood accents). I put your home in this picture so you can imagine how these colors would look w/your home. so these are darker charcoal tones that lean on the brown side. (And don't forget, in bright sunlight darker colors will look lighter. But don't be afraid to do some testing samples too!) Black Fox is another one, but any of these other 4 on this palette could work: very dark charcoal, almost black, with bluer undertones. If it's possible to do the slat wood around your front door, on the porch area, I think it would look great love your door, your pendant and your address plaque! I'd think about bringing in a larger, more modern post where your downspout is. just look at the painted brick (Romabio) and the porch post. this look is a farmhouse Ranch, not the mcm of your home. this one has a metal roof too. notice the porch post. maybe do something like this in either a darker wood or a white. you can DIY it w/a vinyl wrap Or, look at how they did these posts. Perfect for the look of your house. Get a cool door knob like they have on their door! and notice the charcoal color vertical slats. also an idea.(I like this porch post for your home) this is also Romabio, but I wanted you to see how they did the flower bed. you could easily do this under your windows. low maintenance and an easy/cheap DIY You could also use the brown or black mulch if you can't do the pebble rock but the black mulch or pebble rock looks really cool, especially against the slat wood! this is so cool looking With your large windows in front, this would look really cool