Thanks to all who have suggested ways to accomplish my idea of covering my pergola. When thinking of what I want most out of this space, I would say being able to sit out back in any weather (rain or shine)along with not having to contend with neighbor leaves constantly. I did intend to grow some old fashioned wisteria over the pergola, but somehow I misplaced the seeds. Using both the fiberglass along with the vines sounds like an awesome idea and would certainly hide the fact that it has a cover on it at the same time. And if covered, it would not matter that the fiberglass was discolored. As for whether it will slope or not: as of now, the pergola is actually flat on top, but we would definitely have to find a way to rais up the side attached to house in order to allow for run-off. Thanks again everyone! Oh, and I will certainly take a picture of the pergola to post.

Red and green asphalt shingles were traditionally cheap roofing materials and, thus, frequently used for barns and other utilitarian buildings as the least expensive way to roof a building in many parts of the U.S. Corrugated galvanized sheet metal panels became commonly used as inexpensive siding and also for inexpensive roofing for utilitarian buildings in many parts of the world. Crimped and standing rib metal panels, in a wide range of finishes from simple galvanized to on-site painting to factory baked enamel, were developed for more durable and longer lasting, albeit more expensive and sophisticated roofing options. All of these have a simple and utilitarian look to them, suitable for houses that are straight forward and unaffected, as a true farmhouse is. Good luck with your project.

a) it's a nice room, great architecture, I appreciate it and all b) I'd go crazy there very soon. And I'd try not to look at art at all, it has these visual effects that I'm doing very poorly with. if I want to go crazy I'd rather go to the desert..the stars are real, the creeping feeling of madness is justified lol. You can hope to become greatly enlightened too.. here, I'm not sure. not vast enough for enlightments.

@katinparadise That is helpful information. We know that we have a big and expensive project ahead of us. Another thing that we'll run into is needing to bring everything up to code if the cost of the renovation exceeds 50% of the value of the house, which it might. (Most of our value is in the large piece of property on the water, with a lot of privacy even though we're in the city, with beautiful, gigantic live oaks, and not in a flood zone.) The rest of the house (other than the kitchen) looks nice inside, except for my wanting new cabinets and fixtures in the 2 bathrooms, needing new floors and some ceiling work. The one contractor that took at look a couple of years ago said that we should demolish and rebuild. At that point, we also said that we wanted to raise the roof In the living room and extend some outside walls. I'm sure that you're right about the issues other that we might run into, too. That's probably another reason that he suggested a rebuild. We considered doing that, but it would be extremely expensive. We came close to buying a new house this year and were told that the cabinets would cost $50,000. WIth that amount in mind, there is a lot of incentive to make do with what I have and also hopefully have money left to do much needed landscaping/hardscaping. That's why I asked the original question. On the other hand, my husband has finally agreed that I can have the kitchen of my dreams. My hobby is cooking, and we have a large family who usually comes to our house for family meals, which I love to host. (If the price tag of that is unbelievably high, he'll probably change his mind on that.)