This is an old thread, but when posts are so few and they contain so much that is just plain wrong, then I can't help myself. Dark colored shingles reflect from 5 to 15 % of sunlight, the rest is absorbed into the roof and roof substructure. White painted shingles reflect 60 to 90 % of sunlight so much less heat energy goes into the roof and substructure. Even if dust and debris accumulate over the course of a few years, the roof will still reflect much more heat energy that a dark colored roof. When I painted my black roof white, its maximum temperature fell from 185 degrees to 105 degrees. That 80 degree difference is heat that I do not have to block, exhaust, cool, or otherwise deal with. If someone goes to work inside my attic, I no longer have to worry that they will die from heat stroke. Appearance from the street is not bad. The white roof against the sky appears as natural as a cloud. None of my neighbors have complained. Now that the roofing material and wood below is cooler, I suspect longevity will be increased since things are no longer being "cooked" and I can easily recoat the roof at any time in the future. I used a breathable coating in order not to trap any moisture which might find its way under the coating. My complete project cost about $500 in materials with me doing the work, but based on early summer electric use, I should recover this expenditure within 2 years even while I am experiencing cooler summer temperatures inside my house. It's a win-win so far!

OK, I'm not sure how much help this will be, but here some old pictures of my kitchen. We have a dark floor, medium cabinets, medium granite, and now the backsplash is the same tile as the floor, so it is a warm, rather dark space, with lighter walls. We live in a very hot climate, so the dark, yet warm color scheme is soothing with our bright sunlight. Just substitute gray, black and white, for brown, yellow and medium granite and you will an idea of the darkness. My dark floors are super, they never show dirt, they do show white crumbs which helps me get those up faster. http://finishedkitchens.blogspot.com/2005/08/cangelmds-kitchen.html Here is a link that might be useful: Old pictures of my kitchen

Can someone help me narrow this down? I'm looking for something to coordinate with UPW trim, for my kitchen cabinets I think UPW may be too stark. Paint will be SW Proclassic in satin Am I right? What about White Dove?

SWE has rather small blooms for a David Austin. It's not a terribly exciting rose for the size and form of blooms, but it's a reliable bloomer, seems to always have at least a few blooms at any time. The pure bright white is particularly eye catching. The petals are rather delicate. I have not had balling, as in failure to open fully, but rather poor rain resistance, the blooms can turn to mush. In my extremely blackspot prone climate I've seen absolutely no blackspot. It's an upright shrub with many slender twiggy branches, covered with numerous small prickles. Mine have been very hardy, losing only the tips that were new end of season growth. i also grow Fair Bianca and know of others who grow it nearby. Funny that folks have such mixed experience with this rose. Mine are in full sun, look pretty much like amei2nals pics. They've been hardy enough, and simply gorgeous. I do need to spray mine for blackspot. For sort of whites, I grow Crocus and Lichfield Angel. Crocus is bullet proof hardy for me, pretty good with blackspot, blooms are large, pretty, don't shatter quickly, don't droop. Bush is compact and well balanced in shape. It blooms In flushes, pretty good repeat. Lichfield was new for me last year, growth was broader than tall. i pinched most of the blooms for the first year, but I will say that I already like the blooms and the bush better than Crocus, just a matter of taste, but to me it's more graceful.