Hi, the advice that lady gave you may have killed your tree, though it was already in trouble. The white stuff is likely mealy bug (fungus) and shows up when conditions are too wet... i.e. you've watered too often and the soil isn't designed to drain quickly (plus you must have good size drain holes of course in any pot). You need to find some antidote with 'Neem Oil' either in it, or made up entirely of it - ask at a local nursery or wherever plant products are sold there. You do know I hope that your tree needs to live 100% of its life outdoors in the UK? Don't try to grow it inside as it won't be very happy at all.

Oh my, lol. How about taking all three colors and just wash them across : ) The stripes seem to be different colors. The left one looks more olive and seem to work well. The far right stripe, though, is it more blue/gray? Looks good with what's below it but not much is showing and it's in shadow : ) The far right paint would seem to be a mismatch when under the far left stripe. I've been wondering if maybe you should *not* be trying for an exact match. If it's just close, it will look off. And depending on the light, sometimes it may look right and other times not. Maybe if you go darker, it will look like an intentional difference, as long as you get the general toning right. And you said you had it color-matched, right?

kitschyKitch: Thanks for your reply! Good riddance is the route we're heading! It's amazing how so few cabinets are without a crown (unless they're modern). I only found a handful of pics online. detroit_burb: I just measured. We have 82.5" between the bottom of the soffit and the floor. The soffit is a whopping 12" tall! GreenDesigns: Hmmm - staggered heights. That is a very interesting idea! I didn't think of that. I'm not sure if I would like the look of it in our L - but, we will have cabinets on the opposite wall too. I could probably get away with it here. Hmmm... Good food for thought. Thank you! Should the small appliance run be part of the L, or is it okay for it to be on an opposite wall? This is the wall opposite the L. I could make the white uppers with the space below it the shorter cabinets, and put appliances there. Hmmm... WALL OPPOSITE THE "L" THE "L" Emilner: Ah! Your soffit is 12" too! I will ask my DH if we could possibly reframe it. (He's been working his butt off for a year and a half now renovating our fixer upper house and still has a LOT left to do. I think I remember him telling me that the pipes come close to the bottom of the soffit in some places, and even if they don't, I'm not sure if he'll want to take on the task of reframing the entire soffit just so I can have my crown molding, but I will (gently) ask!) aliris19: Wow, that was a really informative thread! Thank you for it and for your thoughtful reply! The two things that stuck in my mind were the photo showing 15" inches as ideal for someone 5' 10" (DH is just shy of 5' 11" and I'm 5' 7"), and someone saying that an OTR microwave (which we are planning on getting) needs 18" (ack!!) - hope that is wrong!! Lol! It seems that the main purpose to have 18" is for small appliances. We don't have a tremendous amount of counterspace as it is, and aside from the coffee maker, I don't think I want them cluttering things up. So, they will most likely be stored away in a cabinet until needed. If that's the case - I guess my only "need" (want) for more space is for a crown. And like you said, there are other ways to go about making it look nice. We should probably mount the cabinets flush first and see how we like the look. So many decisions!! Thank you all again for your replies!!!

jt Thank you for the answer. Doesn't cotton start molding - sooner or later? To make sure mix doesn't fall ot, I use fiberglass mesh (window screen). Drywall tape could be used too. Many years ago, I use to place newspaper or coffee filter to cover holes. I didn't like how they eventually deteriorated. I have used piece of filter cloth too. Now I use only mesh - it doesn't mold or deteriorates and allows for good drainage. I do not grow succulents from seeds (I did some, but not that many). Mesh in top photo (I cut out circles to fit the pot during winter), drywall tape in lower pic: I am thinking that green substance is algae. It grows in wet and humid conditions, and more ligth = more algae. Just like in aquariums :) I don't believe it harms plants, but it is unsightly. Not much you can do, since plants need ligth or will etiolate. Most seeds do not need light to germinate. I would be concerned about mold - it will kill seedlings as you found out. Lots of ppl here grow succulents from seeds, hope they will chime in with their suggestions.