Lunas idea got me thinking of "espaliers". Its a way of growing a plant and pruning it like bonsai but like a trellis (living art). It is a lot of work and patience....Here's the link (just copy and paste into your web browser): http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/articles/espalier.aspx Also though I think you will be well on your way if you are able to get the chain link gate. Your kitty litter pail can be painted (I don't know what kind of paint though).. Drill holes into the bottom for drainage and set either on a saucer or pot feet, fill with soil(if you plant directly into the pail) or sand for stability for your chain link gate "feet". When I put my chain link gate in i put rebar in the ground and slipped the end frame of the gate over the rebar. OOh ooh---try two nesting sized pails (larger one on bottom--smaller one of top" to heighten them for the rebar (deeper rooted rebar makes for securer gate)--each nesting pail would have soil or sand depending on if you plant directly in the pail (of course) so as to give it the height it needs. Do you follow me? :-) I'm on a brainstorm. ....Now onto the plant used....Ok, so is your patio on the north or south side. I didn't quite get your answer. Ok, well, I see you are in Indiana....I don't know what grows in Indiana....HELP! I was on a roll. :-) If morning glories grow there then YES, go for it! That is what I put on my umbrella trellis and it was AMAZING!!! Here's a photo of it all full on the UT. Love, Jules Here is a link that might be useful: Morning Glory

The hardest thing about making this sort of a change is actually taking the plunge - my suggestion is if you are not thrilled go ahead and take a chance. I appreciate everyone's comments. I am suprised with such positive remarks considering the pics are really not good examples - it really looks great in person though. Thanks again for everyone's suggestions and comments. Hopefully this post will be helpful to someone else considering making a big change. With that said - I'd like to suggest for the forum that people ALWAYS post their actual colors when they post a picture. I know the lighting, computer screen, etc can make things look different but it is very helpful to see something in action as opposed to on a paint swatch. I would have found it invaluable.

This is an interesting subject, and I'll just throw my own story in, too. When we moved into the neighborhood, I pretty much thought the man across the street must be a hoarder. You know, the typical appliances in the driveway that never went away started creeping down the length of the house, the paint was chipped off the house and trim, lots of vehicles, etc. It was really an eyesore, especially for us across the street. A neighbor who had been in the area a long time spoke to me about it. He said that man had been in the neighborhood for 50 years and had done a lot to help neighbors out over the years. He was elderly now. We concocted a scheme to offer to buy materials and paint his home for him. Like many elders (and Americans), he was fiercely independent so it was touchy how to approach it. Luckily, I was painting my own home at the time and we could chalk the materials up to left overs. In any case, the man was very grateful and allowed us to freshen up his house. Meanwhile, another neighbor took up moving and fertilizing his lawn. Not so very long after, his adult son came to visit and realized his dad had advanced Altzheimers. (He was living with a relative, so we assumed his health was being taken care of). Adult son and his wife took over, taking care of dad and the disrepair found inside. Which is great, but I'll always wonder if we should have somehow known how bad things were and gotten his family involved somehow sooner. They are haunted by that question, too. I glad we were able to help out and take a non-confrontational, cooperative approach. Not that it always works out, I know. Things have to be desperately bad for the city to get involved and even then, there's a lot of ethical and legal tension between concepts of privacy, automony and freedom on one hand and welfare and safety and the good of the whole on the other. Not unlike what you see with child protective services... I came from a region in the country (small town Iowa) where the motto was "Do whatever you want, but do not disturb your neighbors". Here in Alaska, it seems a lot of people think they are homesteading even in an urban setting... I consider home and yard upkeep to be part of my civic and community contribution. Taking care of my own postage stamp (which is about the size of my house and yard) is the least I can do. Wish everyone felt that way, but I also realize some who do are faced with barriers and don't have the resources to do it. I hope that isn't me, someday.

Oh boy, how did I miss this.... Marty, I think you did a remarkable job of reproducing the inspiration picture to fit your purposes. Even the turned down routed-edged ornamental thingy is an exact copy. I could do without the button on the bottoms, but for softening the look, that curved front element looks fine.I might consider a 4" deep shelf in that hidey hole above the lower cabinet, but it might be a trashy catchall. Then on your side cabs, I'm sure you plan to put some doors there. Depending upon their width and height, think about going the easy route, and buying a pair of prefinished (or not, if you want to do the painting) bifold shutter doors. Louvered doors and beadboard go together very well. And they come in several door widths too, and you might consider using a pushy magnetic catch instead of a door knob. But match the knobs to the beadboard doors. And I love the doors. Awesome. Your DH did a great job with those. When the borders are painted too, they will be first rate. I have front loading laundry equipment too. But mine is a stacking laundry center from Frigidaire, now a few years old, and (knock on wood) never had a problem. Very easy to use, and not huge, which is important in a small home. BTW, when it looks that nice, you won't mind doing the laundry. So tell your DH that he doesn't need to get his head cracked, stay out of that laundry! It is built for us shorter folks. All he need do is drop his dirties in the basket, and wait for the laundress to do her magic with them. With a smile worthy of the 1950s GE ads too, wearing high heels, crinoline petticoats, and makeup. Doing laundry in the 50s was a privilege to young housewives with brand new tract homes, new Buicks in the driveway, and new appliances to make housework easy. And then they all began to go to work too.......oh well, it was good while it lasted I suppose.