You all made such interesting points but some trouble makers (lol) have crushed my unstated theory if the amount and type of clutter in my home mirrored the amount and type of clutter in my landscape the same must be true for my neighbor. I was so taken back by the self-realization that I purchase decorative items for both my interior and exterior based on a drive to surprise, I thought for sure I could then deduce I would find similarities in neighbors interior and exterior design ie if their landscape was filled with lots of big bold color that the same would be true for their interior. I suppose in a perfect world any thing we added to our interior or exterior would have been predetermined by our overall design but lets be honest most of us don't live in furniture showrooms or nursery display gardens. The clutter of aunt Mildred's rocker or your Hydrangea collection can water down your original plan to a point where you can't recall ever having had an overall design. For fun lets try this little experiment imagine if you will the conversation when there is a knock on your door or garden gate and it is someone who you don't know very well and who has never been to your home/garden. Of course the first sentence out of your mouth is something about excusing the mess, your guest then makes a complimentary statement (isn't it telling what first catches a visitors eye). Now your response is the significant moment in the conversation I believe whether we realizes it or not most of us are compelled at this point to define our design for the visitor. "Thanks, I really like that cottage look ect". Let me know what you think. Wendy- aka troublemaker, I love your analogy. Although I am a big fan of bright bold color I have always limited that impulse to rugs and fabric (ie Susan Sargent) I don't know why I am such a paint pussy but I am. Recently I replaced upholstered furniture in my living room and discovered that there was little for sale that wasn't a neutral beige, white, or black. I suppose we are held more captive to the trends offered in commerce to our interior designs then we are with our exterior designs. Carl- I am sure I am not the only one who is hoping to make the move back to New England. Carol - making one object or plant the center of attention for a short time - placing a blooming potted plant in an important location, or bringing out a different beautiful curio each month, the way the Japanese do, in the tokonoma . Also, the grouping of objects or plants concentrates the "busy-ness" and leaves the rest of the space feeling more open and calm Really Brilliant. Pixie lou - Wouldn't it be interesting to hear the first impressions of a visitor to both your public and private spaces. I am going to guess you would be very surprised. sharbear50- Welcome to the New England forum and safe travels. Nan - I think you are being your usual humble self I see an overall design in both your indoors and out. dee - I am curious after you ask your visitor to excuse the mess in your home/garden what comes next? spedigrees - We are a lot alike but after many many years of collecting I am now readying my house for the possibility of renting. It has been an interesting process and I surprised my self in the end to see what was packed up and what was not. terrene - I envy your self control when it comes to interior clutter!

Hi there! First time poster, so be gentle. We're building a cabin and using Maxi-Tile cement board exterior siding. It has a wood grain look, and is pre-painted. It's a two-coat process: A darker base, and lighter second coat, which brings out the high spots on the plank, helping define the "wood grain". The result is an overall look very much like a stained cedar plank. The siding is now about halfway installed, and there's no going back. I won't go into gory details, but the sample board I approved turned out to be a slightly lighter tint than the original sample we had based our original decision on. So the siding is the slightly lighter tint. The result is that instead of an overall brownish-look to the cabin, it's more "butterscotch-looking." Almost like a natural cedar board. It's not bad, but it's not what we wanted. We could just have the whole thing painted a solid color that we like better. But because the difference between the right and wrong tint on this cement board is so close, I'm wondering if I could lightly apply a light brushing of a thinned coat of paint, instead. The goal would be to to give the siding a slightly browner tint, without covering all the fake grain. (This would mean not priming the boards, but because they're already factory-primed and painted I don't think that would be an issue, as long as whatever I put on there bonded to the top surface of the existing paint.) So that's my question - do you think what I'm talking about is possible, and if so, what sort of paint-esque product would we use? If it was natural wood, I'd say "semi-transparent stain," but since it's cement board, I don't know that stain would work. Any advice is appreciated. (I have a bunch of waste pieces of siding and the whole winter to try out any suggestions :) Thanks!

First of all unless you live high up in the mountains you should be able to get your house painted. BM, SW, P&L & Duron all have high quality paints that you can apply as low as 35 degrees. The labels will say that the temperature should stay above 35 degrees for 48 house after application. These are also self priming paints. Regular primer is not designed to last for months before top coating. If your exposed wood is likely to rot if not painted then maybe see if your painters can at least do your trouble areas. Normally wood will not rot if exposed for a few months. I have painted many things in the middle of winter here in the Shenandoah Valley. Typically it was new construction. A good painter knows how to get it finished unless they are in Minnesota or somewhere that gets that cold. I remember a number of times working outdoors in the winter on new construction & people said to me "Isn't it too cold to paint?". I asked them if we should just let all of this new wood sit for 5 months until April? Our climate during the winter has plenty of days with temps above 40. Sure some folks don't prefer to be outside all day in colder weather but I personally have no problem with it. If you prime anything for the winter make sure that in the spring that it is all cleaned & re-primed. It may make prep take longer for your painters so your cost might go up a little. Good Luck!

I paint all winter. But, I'm a professional painter who "takes money seriously", so I work all winter - indoors. When working I open the a window about 1" and keep the door to that area closed. A 12" fan also accompanies me on winter jobs. Air circulation is important to me when I'm painting because I'm with the VOC's most of the day. There are "environmentally friendly" paints that you can use with little ventilation. They are labeled as Low VOC, or Low Odor paints. Most major mfgr's offer them. The product I am using now is Muralo Ultra and it's low odor. Behr paints are labeled to be used with adequate ventilation only. That's a HD product so ask them if they offer a Low VOC paint. Michael