When I said 'public rooms' I meant the living room, dining area, family room -- kitchen -- space the family uses. A house with three or four bedrooms is *expected* by a buyer to have that space to accommodate a larger family. You may be fine without more garage space, but most buyers would not. My experience was buying a 1950's ranch on an acre lot in an established neighborhood. We thought we would remodel it. A friend who is a bank assessor pointed out to me the financial advantage of a teardown where land values are high. A builder would have erected a 5K sq ft house on this lot. Neighboring properties are on 1 - 5 acres and go to 12,000 sq ft. Some are historic. We only wanted a single story -- 2900 sq ft., but we built with a full-height attic that can be a second floor for some future buyer who wants the larger home. We built public rooms large enough for that larger family. Ours is one of the smallest interiors here, but we 'fit in' as seen from the road. Had we renovated, the process would have taken ages, with lots of 'surprises', while we lived in the mess. The new build took nine months. A remodeled old ranch would have been worth less than what we would have invested. The all-new house is worth more than we spent on the lot and the build -- because the LAND is so much of the value. We have spent nothing on major maintenance issues for 14 years because everything here ---plumbing, HVAC, wiring, roof, floors, appliances, fixtures, etc. -- was new in 2000. I'm looking at your property as a $500K lot with a basement and a chimney and a 1-car parking pad. Now...what will you do with that? LOL

SaltiDawg, while heating air does not reduce the absolute humidity, it does decrease the relative humidity. Both parameters are important. For creature comfort, the relative humidity is probably the thing to watch and that does decrease as the air is heated. If a homeowner wants a deeper understanding of humidity issues, absolute humidity and the dew point should be understood. Just to be clear, absolute humidity is not affected by temperature alone. Relative humidity is. Ventilation with intent, rather than by accidental leaks is a good idea in many climates. Understanding how and why moisture moves is important and may play into a decision of how a new, well-sealed home is ventilated, by an HRV or an ERV.

BeverlyFLADeziner I appreciate your taking the time to offer your advice, and I realize I need to look for a lighter color for the ceiling. But I found the tone of your answer offensive. Would you like it if I commented on your design work using that same tone while pointing out - from a professional organizer's standpoint - that your ideas were impractical and lacked consideration of storage needs? Perhaps you would be willing to edit your answer to make it more professional. BM recommends Blue Veil to go with Stunning. Blue Veil is quite similar to SW's Upward but was too light and grey for my taste for a whole house wall color - but I can see where blue veil would be nice as a ceiling color for a room painted in Stunning. As it is, Stunning is an accent color and was picked to match our navy AGA range which is a focal point of the home. The 2'x4' board painted Upward doesn't look as awful as BeverlyFLADeziner makes it out to be - it actually looks lighter and more subtle than the SW color visualizer makes it out to be. We will have white shiplap wainscotting throughout, so that also neutralizes the Upward. I did switch from Sea Salt to Silver Strand for the den because Silver Strand works best with the couch and painting I have. I'll try Snowfall next for a ceiling color. Lori A. Sawaya I like Heron Plume by itself but next to the paint sample boards it looks too beige for my taste and didn't work with the wood beams and floor samples I have. Lynne Mysliwiec I like Ice Mist but it's almost identical to the trim color. I've never liked the feel of white ceilings so we've always had color on them. I've used silver strand and divine white for ceiling colors in past homes which had different color schemes. I did use ceiling bright white for a dark condo so I appreciate why everyone is recommending it.

I made some calls to Marvin. They told me there was no after sale blind for their Marvin Integrety doors (they do sell some for other doors). The also told me if I installed the Home Depot one you linked, it would void my warranty. They said their doors were sealed, so I could not pry apart the frame to add the shade/glass you linked. So, it does not look like this is an option. I think I am back to installing sheer shades on the outside of the door -- at least they will match the rest of the main level window coverings. I wish we had the option now to add door blinds like you showed, but it does not seem to be an option as far as my research has revealed.