Intersting ideas. First: pink is definitely out. Her little sister has pink and that's way too childish for this one.. I like the feature wall idea. But she thinks the idea of a totally different colored wall is weird. I will keep working on that! She is interested in the tree decals from etsy. Thanks for that one. Toys are in another room. The bedroom will eventually include a desk, but not yet.

@ alchemy, I can see you've put allot of effort into your beautiful yard and pool and whist I agree that you will probably regret a deciduous tree, irrespective of it losing most of its leaves in a short period, it would be allot of work clearing that debris from your pool but I agree that you need to complete your yard with greenery. I think the ficafolia suggested by bigreader could look stunning but I have one in my yard (no pool) and the gumnuts this little tree of mine drops must be seen to be believed albeit they dont blow. A palm of course is one of the best trees due to its lack of debris and the tropical look it provides is always a winner, however, getting one fairly established would be the way as they don't grow super fast but the expense of such a tree could be quite prohibitive. I would seriously listen to advice offered by people with an outdoor pool as experience is the best teacher, so you must decide just how much work you want to give yourself over and above the normal workload simply having an outdoor pool and I'd strongly consider the suggestion Mel N offered of putting up a sun shade or sail initially and see how that works for you. Best of luck. Cheers, Barbara

Congrats on choosing blocks for your garden bed. If you're looking for trees, I suggest considering a maple tree. They grow nicely over time, providing shade and privacy. I recently moved to a new house myself, and I'm also exploring plant options. Back in my hometown, we had a reliable tree service that helped us with planting and maintenance. Maybe you can find something similar in your area. I came across this website, https://www.deepdale-trees.co.uk , which might be helpful for you. They offer a variety of trees and services.

Funnily enough I was talking with a neighbour and he has offered to help - I DO have a pendant light and a huge wall hanging - I’ll see if I have photos - gonna try and put them up in the least offensive way holes wise!! But really it was just that corner I wanted to style - maybe a pot plant? Sorry not the Xmas tree the wall hanging behind it!!! Haha