Fences really do make good neighbors...and don't fret that they must be somewhat transparent. That's what evergreens are for~~they grow fast, too. I've never heard of an ordinance that prohibits living fences! Your dogs will be limited to the backyard, no? The 4 footer in the front and side won't do the trick for keeping them safely jailed. So your landscaping will have to be dog friendly and forgiving, too. Otherwise all efforts will be exercises in futility...that whole topic should be interesting and fun! For dining patio, why not use an on-ground wooden deck (or that recycled plastic that costs a fortune and looks like wood)? That way you'll have stability for furniture, no tracking and easy maintenance. Plus the possibility of screening it in later? Again, a living fence for the masses (excuse the pun) next door will be a plus. For your neighbor-friendly east yard, just be sure not to make it overly friendly. Keep it possible to avoid unwanted visitors while not seeming stuck-up. You know, possibly a double doorway-wide opening in the hedge/fence with an attractive archway opening into a small formal garden with some limited seating and a view of the street? And a gate, which can be firmly closed and latched, sort of like a "Do Not Disturb" sign. Sometimes that is a must--like when you have a headache, or want to get some work done--alone! Good luck-- Con in Eagle River.

alex - ohh no.. they're not complimentary pieces. I only have maybe 4 wall pictures. here's one of them... canvas painting -ignore the mirror - couldn't find a better pic I have another canvas beach painting. no palm tress just the ocean at night. has lots of dark blue and black colors. has a complimentary blue wood frame. was going to possibly use this in my master bedroom. the others were gifts that I don't care for. went shopping around the house last night. I have two of these arrangements... there's currently only one on top. It'll be coming down tonight because it's driving me nuts that it doesn't match the chair. they're actually nice looking person but these pics aren't doing them justice. I also should've taken 30 seconds to fix the before taking the pictures. They were up in the attic covered up. i like your ideas about the cheapies. I may try that for awhile. chijim - umbrella holder on the buffet side? or other side of the door? i thought it may looked too cramped. there's some neat holders out there so I'll check that out. I like the pictures and frames in those photos you posted. I have gone through the foyer pics in the gallery and picked out some I liked. I'll get a game plan together before I go shopping. val- you always have good advice! you all do! so glad I found this forum. ha no one else i know gets really excited about decorating or likes to talk about it. Out of those prints I posted I had considered using the first one in the LR behind the loveseat. Didn't put tons of thought into that or even measure but I really like that picture.

Sorry, it’s been a long day. A lot of people here today, the designer and a team from the contractor and my head is spinning. As it turns out, you were all right. The designer arrived with 10ft of floor space instead of 7ft, needed by the staircase, which I was pretty frustrated about. Rebunky, I forgot to ask about the fire code but there’s no concern there, because the stairway and entry will be completely walled off from the garage. I don’t want an open stairway in the garage to the apartment. The garage will have an opener with a remote, so there should be no problem walking into the garage to access their storage. At this point, Sena, I’m feeling a little lack of trust in the figures and I’m going to have to have him confirm every measurement I’m using. I haven’t sat down to think about the layout again today. We had a lot to go over today and that was just one of many. As soon as I can, I’ll look it over again and see what I am willing to do to accommodate that. I am not going to go for part of the stairway on a second wall. I’d still like to see if I could keep the stairway in the middle and out of the bedroom and living room. Which would probably mean starting the stairway back on the North wall all the way in the corner, but I need a 5ft landing on the garage level, then 10ft of stairway and a landing at the top. So if I add 4ft so a total of 33ft in length, maybe that would get the stairway in the middle? That’s it for me tonight. Thanks for checking in with me.

In my opinion, Joseph Rotblats quotes should be the front page of the Sunday Newspapers and on the second page the Walter Cronkite quotes. Maybe I should have stopped reading after Will Rogers.