The logical place for the mailbox, to my mind, would be hanging on the wall next to the front door -- but that's the way it was for most of the many houses I grew up in. But do check to make sure that a new location is allowed. If you have to put it somewhere away from the front door, consider a brick pillar that surrounds a utilitarian plastic or metal box (I like the idea but I think I wouldn't want it in front of your house). Many pictures here: http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=imghp&biw=1020&bih=832&q=mailbox+brick&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=g1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai= You might also see what you can find in the way of old-style mailboxes. Home renovation stores? Antique shops? Estate sales or auctions? Junkyards? tibs makes a good point about possible bulbs. It would be interesting to know what shrubs and plants the previous owners removed; a neighbor with a loved-looking garden might be able to tell you. Did the PO's take the plants with them or merely tear them out? If the latter, I'd assume that either the plants were in poor shape, required more maintenance to look good than the PO's could handle (for whatever reason), or that there were large shrubs that blocked the view of the house and someone decided the house would be more likely to sell without the landscaping. Then again, there's that huge bed full of mulch. Could be bulbs ... could be lots of bulbs....

It wasn't too long ago someone posted a pic of a screen door they put in between the property lines of their home and her daughter/son's home and the grandchildren just love that they have to "open the door" and step through to Grandma's place. It was so darling, painted a lovely color blue with a chair or planter next to it. In the search box at the top of home forum page, type in "screen doors" and I'm sure that msg will come up and several others for you to check out. Not a screen door, but I recently found a glass storm door and decorated it as shown. I think something like this using your screen door, placed on your front lawn and then decorated for fall/halloween would look simply darling. You could do a fall wreath in the middle with some mums, other fall flowers, some pumpkins, cornstalks, etc. surrounding the bottom of it. Sal

Close Up Picture

Thanks so much for all of your kind comments! Lnersesian, I just posted a floor plan in photobucket. Sorry for the delay - all of our "official" floor plans are on giant architect-sized paper, not scanable with what I have here at home, so I just sketched one out. The walls are easy to identify but some of the notes I made aren't so easy to read, I apologize... if you have questions, I'll check back from time to time so I can answer them. At least it gives you an idea about the flow. The exposed beams are another idea we took from "Not So Big House." It gives a sense of separation between the living, dining and kitchen because it is all one room. It is nice to have den as an "away room" from the noise of the TV at times. carolyn53562, we used fir wainscoting in the downstairs bath. It was old - about 75 years - stored in my parent's garage all these years. They never used it and no longer wanted it. It was darker than some of the newer fir we bought because of its age. We just used a clear lacquer finish on it. The bay window is great for letting in morning light. The dining/island area could be a little dark without it, although it is nicely lit in the afternoon. I haven't made a cushion for that area yet, but anticipate it will be a nice reading spot when that's done. Last winter we did feel like we were living in a postcard! I love the quiet of snowfall... it was mud city when it melted though! Thanks again for all of your nice comments. It has been so inspiring to see all of the finished homes here, I just had to share our own.