Like the CD idea and I have lots of them, but my main issue is I have a large acacia tree and I live in a conservation area so it cannot be cut down!!! But all the pigeons in the county where I live perch on the branches and poop all over my patio, walk way and new garden furniture. I am really worried as I have a four year old boy and their poop is supposed to be dangerous if ingested or touched!!! Please help :-{

You have no idea how much I sympathize with your dilemma! I had a very similar problem at my cottage. Here's what I would do: 1)either paint the cabs white (first choice) or stain the cabs a different color. You can do this yourself. But I agree with post above - take your time and don't skip steps. 2)switich the hardware. Alternatively, you could spray paint the old but I reccomend spending the money on new hardware. You can find great deals at Target on multipacks of hardware. 3)Paint a VERY neutral wall color while you are figuring out your design plans for the rest of your new home. Make sure it is a yellow based tan/beige so it will not fight with the yellow in the fake BB countertops. You could also go with a shade of yellow for the walls if you truly want to make the BB recede/blend in to the walls. BE CAREFUL with yellow - it is a tricky color! Yellow normally amplifies in brightness and intensity when applied to walls. I used BM Stone House on my walls. I would not bother with the countertop at this time as replacing it is more involved (sink, plumbing disconnect, etc) and expensive than painting/staining the cabs. If countertops are really an issue for you, there are epoxy kits you can buy now for around $60 that give you a WilsonArt-ish look. I am not sure if you are interested in the "cottage" look, but you could easily modify your cabinet doors by applying beadboard panels to them. It would not be very difficult or expensive and would instantly give you a strong cottage/beach house style. I have also modified cabinet doors that I hate by removing the flat part of the cabinet door and replacing with fabric. Depending on the fabric you choose, it can take the design in many directions for very little money (think JoAnn Fabric red tag sale. Heck, even pretty old sheets from garage sales can be beautiful in this application). First houses are fun. But they can be intimidating, too, when there are nothing but the two P's: Projects and Possibilities! Just try to picture the end result/feeling that you want and work backward from there to make your kitchen as close to that as possible. You can do it! Good luck with your project. I would love to see what you decide and how it all turns out. Here is a link that might be useful: Example of adding beadboard to doors and painting white

Details Details Details and finishes. I think well thought out lighting makes a huge difference. Go into a very swanky expensive bar and look at how well the lighting was designed - with the accents and thought to what is being highlighted. I can tell a cheap house by the lighting. Also flooring makes a big difference. Keep a photo scrapbook of things you like and get them included. When you stay in nice hotels pick out little things that make it nice (wall switched right by the bedside etc.). Make small rooms like guest baths have big impact (small spaces are cheaper to do luxury details to). I would rather live in a 3K sqft home that is finished to a very high level and designed perfectly than live in a 9k sqft home that is a "big box". Speaking of boxes - a box is the least expensive way to construct anything. Homes that break this mold are usually more expensive in general. A great builder is so obsessed with details he drives his people to produce the best product they can (and speaks that he has a great relationship to get those results).

Check with the manufacturer. Often the curbs can be made from 2x4's or 2x6's. Most builders/roofers make them from 2x6's because the flashing doesn't need to be trimmed on site. If it's of no consequence to the finished product, then 2x6's are more convenient. Yours look to be made from 2x6's and if you check with the manufacturer, you might be able to reduce the height 2" by redoing them with 2x4's. It's not an easy job to change them out to 2x4's after everything is in place, but if it's important to you, then it is quite doable. Those skylights are very blocky, angular, and high profile as well. Another product, like a Velux skylight, has a much lower profile and sits lower on the curb (worthy's photo in a post above) and that might be another option for you to consider. (If you change over to Velux, you'll also have to change flashing to retain the manufacturer's installation warranty, but with a 2x4 curb and the lower profile skylight, I'm guessing you'll be able to reduce the height above the roof by approximately 3".) If you're intending to replace the make of the skylight or the type of skylight with deck mount, make sure the inside curb/rough opening dimensions are the same or you might be adding significantly to the cost in unexpected ways with framing changes. In terms of positioning: I might be mis-interpreting the photo, but unless there are other considerations with obstructions, etc., usually the best location for skylights is in a position favoring the center or dark part of the room to complement the light from the windows. It's what skylights do best: bringing light into the center of the room. Hindsight is 20:20 right? Having three positioned near your windows won't do a lot for you in comparison to the two that you say are already positioned back further in the room. Without seeing the overall design, I suspect my choice likely would have favored just two larger skylights back towards the center/rear of the room negating the need for three 2x2 skylights at the windows. If you do refit the skylights, it might be worth considering repositioning some or all of them back up the roof a ways to bring light into the center of the room. Yes, and the installers didn't take their time with the flashing. Just got sloppy. If they are re-doing the curbs, they may have to re-order some flashing and make sure they take their time with the next install to get the flashing seated tight and trim as necessary so that it doesn't protrude above the curbs and get flexed by the skylight and/or the mounting screws when it is in position. If you choose to retain these skylights, then fixing the flashing issue shouldn't take them long at all and you should expect it. Personally, all else being equal, I prefer to recommend curb mount skylights. They take longer and are more involved to install and drywall on the inside. But the trade-off is that at some stage, homeowners are going to need a new roof. In my experience, the majority of roofers are far more comfortable reinstalling a roof around an existing curb mount skylight as opposed to a deck mount skylight. There's less room for them to screw up and they usually have the materials on hand to make flashing repairs/replacements. Deck mount skylights require that someone on the roofing team reads and becomes familiar with the installation instructions and the chances of that occurring are somewhere between slim and none, and the materials necessary for repair are not necessarily in the roofers' on-site toolkit. Roofing crews that know what they are doing around skylights are worth their weight in gold.