Thanks for all the info! Norma, those are some great suggestions, and I'm checking them all out. I had looked at sempervivum and liked how it looked, but I didn't want to have to buy dozens of separate plants. Jo: I don't yet know how to post a picture, but if I get time I'll figure it out (although I don't know how I feel about taking a picture of my gardening failure!). In the meantime, all the plants just look kind of . . . sad. A little shriveled and wilty -- as if they're not getting enough water, except I know that's not the problem. The pachyclados (white diamond) looks a little brown around the edges. (I didn't think I left them out too much in the hot weather, but I may have been a little spacey about that. I just didn't expect them to be really heat-sensitive.) I tried two different methods for dividing: some plants I just pulled apart because they looked like separate plants growing in the same pot from the nursery. The others I tried to propagate by cutting (I used rooting hormone). Neither group looks very good. I bought some sort of potting mix to use, but I've since tossed the bag. I hadn't worried a whole lot about the soil, since I've heard so much about how hardy sedums are! The plants are now in small ceramic pots, getting sun until about 2 pm. If all this sounds reasonable, then I begin to worry that the pots are too small -- would sedum for some reason need a larger root system?? Thanks again, Marguerite P.S. If you want to find that pachyclados, the company that sold the ones I bought is online at www.stepables.com.

Well after reading this...it scares me. I've been in the industry for over 30 years, and there are pros for both methods as well as cons. Choose wisely as it can affect your future situations. First, one post talks about setting doors in on top of floors to eliminate cutting around casing. This is WRONG on many levels. First if the door is exterior it has to set directly on the main floor, either concrete or subfloor. If interior use a piece of 1/2 inch drywall for doors and for the base to leave a gap. If your doors already go all the way down just use a jamb saw to trim the casing and there will be no cut lines around them. This is why they make the saw. Also, think, if you put your doors, trim, or cabinets on top of a floor and then there is a problem with your floor, you have to remove it all. This adds risk and cost. But, if you use shoe mold or quarter round, then you never affect anything but that part. Imaging breaking $5000 worth of granite because you put flooring under your cabinets and couldn't get it out without removing them. Yes you could cut around them but what if water was involved? Do you want water there underneath where it can mold?. Shoe is cheap, quick and easy. Minimal added expense to protect the possibilities. You can remove flooring without affecting surface materials and vice versa. Sure, flooring installers like to do floor first because it's easier and faster with less cutting. But they don't pa for the problems that arise in the future. Think hard about saving a very small amount of money in the scheme of your project. I will NEVER do a job where the flooring is underneath, I'd rather just walk away and let someone else absorb the risk.

Look at Grand Millennial style for some fun and inspiration. I think you may find some ideas there that resonate. https://www.amitabha.studio/design-blog/grand-millennial-style-how-to-incorporate-it-in-your-home No one knows where the best place for a tv would be, because all sides of the space have not been seen. And i don’t really know if the tv on that far wall would be that much of an improvement, aesthetically; the tv in that mockup above is about half the size of your actual tv. If you leave it over the fireplace, you could look into the Mantel Mount. https://www.mantelmount.com/

I have had the Miele Speed/Wall/CSO ovens for almost 9 years now. I love all 3 of them and would buy them again. The speed oven works great as a second oven - it has almost all the oven modes as my wall oven. It does have a lower max temp than the wall oven but that has not been an issue for me. I can fit all of my baking pans in the oven. The largest baking sheet that fits comfortably is a jelly roll size sheet. It works fine as a microwave, but I am not a big microwave user. Usually just use the minute button and stop the oven when I need to. I do use the lower power setting if heating up something more delicate. The speed function is ok but use it rarely - mainly to speed up baking potatoes. Being retired - speed cooking is not a need for me anymore. The wall oven is wonderful. It heats relatively quickly, is VERY quiet (important for me), and bakes very evenly. I love all the different cooking modes and the masterchef features. Both the speed and the wall oven have been very reliable. I agree they are pricey and definitely more expensive than when I purchased them in 2015. Have you looked at the advantium to pair with a GE wall oaven? There is a lot of love for that oven on this forum. If you search Advantium in discussions your should find serveral threads. Seems that might be more cost effective.