I have been wanting to respond to this, but haven't had the time until now. rawketgrl has a great idea with long skinny planters, but if you want hanging baskets try combining these plants: coleus, begonias, varigated vinca, ivy geraniums, ivy, and 'Painted Paradise' impatients. (see photo of Impatients 'Painted Paradise" I would not worry about hanging baskets or skinny planters either one. I would put up rope lights around the porch ceiling for a soft glow at night and I would hang large mirrors in the empty spaces between the windows on both sides. They would reflect the sunlight and really brighten the porch. I would also paint the front door BM Yellow Oxide (2154-10) http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/yellowoxide or BM Peanut Butter (2159-20) http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/peanutbutter Either one of these colors will blend in with the surroundings yet say 'Here the front door.' The next thing I would do is put in Annabelle hydrangeas across the front. Then I would sit back for a year and see how these changes look in every season before deciding if I wanted to add Ferns, hostas and other shade loving plants to the planting beds. Or you may like the second design down for your beds:http://erthturf.com/DesignsPerennialShadeGardens.html I would use a camelia or a butterfly bush and forget the magnolia, but that is just me. And lastly I would make sure to keep that cute pooch outside as much as possible because he is the main attraction! ;-) Please keep us updated!

I love the idea of a larger table, 60" as many have mentioned above. A great country, rustic feel here, love the room. I would go shabby chic for sure. I really loved your original inspiration with the aquas, blues, and touches of green. The white trim adds to it for sure. You could so go French shabby chic. That bistro table is perfect along with the slip covers over the chairs adds that dressier charm and elegance. I really like that you painted it lighter like a cream I believe, if my eyes see it right. Really brightened up the space. I like the idea of curtains maybe in one of the blue tones to jazz up the windows and add glam, a nice sheen. Go great against the creams. I say curtains only because at night it would cozy up the room and dress it up, really add to the elegance of a chandelier and those chairs. I like the carpet, but also love the natural wood floor, adds to the rustic feel. I like the chandelier, I see why you chose it from your original inspiration, but I would hope for something more neutral and crystal to add more sparkle. If you go with the chandelier you have you will need to add pops of that in other areas of the room to disperse the colour more. The room is turning out wonderful! Is there room for a painting or wall piece? That's a great way to add and unify what you are doing with colours and feel in entire room. Hope it helps! Great job! All this said you have to remember what YOU love. You'll be happier in the end.

We reside in Chicago, but our heart is out west. About ten years ago my husband had a Meyer lemon tree shipped to us. In lives out side from May through October inside through the winter where we enjoy the fragrance of its blooms if you are not familiar think gardenia. We average about 40 lemons a year we do share some while most are used for lemon drop martinis. It is a pleasure to share with the locals that citrus has varieties and for those who are very unfamiliar a band-aid after they encounter a spike. For those who are having trouble growing their lemon trees ours is potted, we use only organic potting soil and citrus food. We did pay more for a larger tree and had lemons the second year.

My vote is a castle! But I have farm roots in my lineage, my grandfather lovingly raised dairy cows, so I'm stuck at the crossroads. I am trying to write a grant for a llamas or alpaca animal sanctuary, if anyone might be interested with a contribution, maybe you could message me. I put a grant application on social media, one of the crowd funding sites but didn't find any attention. I just love fawn, and blonde llamas! They're just so beautiful, I'd like to snip off small ends of their hair and infuse it with other materials, I think it would be a really cool, beautiful patchwork. I have a connection with traveling to Peru, where llamas just walk around the ruins freely. I love animals, am a vegetarian, and contribute money all the time to animal rescues, and was trying to have a sanctuary on inexpensive land and build structures.