how do you like this

i am working on a version 2 for my little site. How is this for a base? Im might add some pipes or something around it too, and some page titles also. and of course more buttons.

http://slonik.homestead.com/files/basetest.jpg

just a little sneak peak

its going to actually look like that, thats just a jpg of the layout..

and I WANT SUGGESTIONS!

its a good start, maybe a graphic in the upper right, if your gonna have blue, make sure you have a good ammount when your done, and this should be in Website Showcase

seems a bit plain maybe?

NO... thats all i have to say.....
ITS WAY TOO PLAIN THINK OF A BETTER PLACE TO PUT THE NAVIGATION... ALL WEBSITES PUT THIR NAVIGATION ON THE LEFT!!!!!!

whoa used capslock my bad

i found that gray isnt the greatest color for sites even if you plan on making it look complex in the future, the gray just makes it look much to simplictic. try changing some of the colors. pipes and stuff around it like you were saying would help out alot too for me to visually see where your going with this. good luck i wanna see what your going to do.

oro...
i agree w/ sirant on your usage of grey. i dislike the drop shadows, and the buttons seem out of place. maybe try to make something closer to the final product instead of just showing a small incomplete menu. it would be easier to pass judgement. :D

If you wanna use grey, mix it with a dark color to contrast it.

I noticed that the buttons you have there already are not perfectly aligned, or perhaps you were going for that, but if you want to align them to the left perfectly, a small tip would be to use the line tool and draw a verticle line, then match the ends of each button with the line.

As for the rest of this layout, it could use a little more of something. It feels so empty at the moment, so you might want to use the top space for a cool looking banner of some sort. The dropshadow and inner-shadow on the main-piece-like-thing, doesn't make it appear to be an actual shape or thing you'd find in nature. It may look better if you simply used bevel and / or lighting effects.

i dont like it.. but to me websites are about delievering content unless its a portfolio.. UPDATES i hate them :(

keep at it.. wanna see the finished product

i honestly dont like it atm, but if you make some changes im sure it will look nice