Haven't been on here for quite awhile, but thought since I *have* done this, would let you know my opinion of the outcome. I absolutely LOVE it! It looks identical to the pictures tinker has posted. I know the wall color is Knott, but I don't know the trim color or the paint manufacturer the builder uses, but it would be easy for me to find out if anyone wanted to know. The supervisor of the build can't get over how great it looks, as well as the sales representative I purchased from~they compare it to their high-end homes. I knew I didn't want white trim because it reminds me of homes that are more colonial in style, although I know it has been used in all styles of homes for years. With the ivory glaze cabs as well as a bank of merlot cabs in the kitchen, new venetian gold granite, dark stained floors/railings, it all comes together beautifully. For more formality, i'm using Cream Marfil marble with Black Absolute on the diagonal(18")in the foyer. Since it will butt up against the dark wood, a border of the cream tile will be cut in half, and an inside border of black 12" tiles cut in half also. I thought this would make the black/cream tiles more prominent. I have to say everything i've done has been nothing more than a vision in my head for the last several years. To see it in reality is an unforgettable experience for me.

BM Natural Cream, BM Lancaster Whitewash, BM Standish White paint are colors I now want to try when I have time. I love BM Monroe Bisque and SW Ivoire but I am not sure I can handle such dark colors on my walls. I love the colors on other people's walls but I am thinking I like light colors on my wall. Maybe others will feel I should get brave when I post pics or tell me they like the wall color I now have. I love the color of my BM Linen Architella Blinds when I am standing next to them since they are so creamy but when I am standing on the other side of the room, they appear darker due to the black-out material and clash a bit with my Deep Cream Walls. I wish I went with the white color despite it not being a great white. I must post pics of my bedroom for help and to show off my new Durham Antique White Furniture. I am just still not doing well since my car accident in August 2007 with everything being too much for me lately. The stress has finally gotten to me and the pain just never goes away. But I am blessed to have a neat bedroom that stays neat since I had furniture to put my clothes away. I just have to figure out how to post pics again since Yahoo Pics was closed down.

This photo/posting is of the front yard, not the back yard. Does the area have a sidewalk? Looks like no. In my neighborhood, parking is illegal along the busy road, so everyone comes into my house via the driveway which is right next to my house, even the neighbors who cut across the yard to visit. I would advise a walkway from the driveway to the FRONT door in suburbia for just that reason, for formal callers. My point was, the most important walkway is the walkway to the front door, and I might add, to discourage prowlers, important to keep the foliage in that area low and minimal, which is not the case with the poster's house. There are big shrubs to hide behind right up by the front door and no visible path to it, which seems to me would deter visitors with positive reasons to be there. Therefore, if this was my house, my most important landscaping goal would be to open up the front of my house to view and access, for the very safety reasons BBM mentions. And then sure, fine, if you want a sidewalk to nowhere, or if parking is encouraged along the street, after that, spend away. My advice in a neighborhood with a sidewalk would be quite different. But even then, sheesh, just use woodchips. I have such a nice woodchipped walkway into my exurban workspace from the sidewalk along the street. It's a cottage though, and in the city with city-folks shoes, it would probably be best to pave. I'd only use a brick/paver walkway if it was short, and this does not look like a short space. At the very least, the cost-effective option would be poured concrete. Again, if you have lots of money for hardscaping, ignore my advice and hardscape away! I am a lover of hardscape, but its costs can add up fast.

Leave the fireplace. It fits in the room. Is that actually paneling, or did someone just frame in parts of the wall over the sheetrock? If that is what was done, I would consider removing all that trim on the walls, fill in the nail holes, sand it and prime it and paint the walls, all a solid color. All that trim and framing are way too busy. Once you get furniture in the room, it seems to me, it would look over busy and not very nice. Nice sized room. Nice fireplace and floors.