Our shutters are made of cedar, and they are really nice. They look very thick and substantial compared to many that I see (not sure what other ones are made of, though, so not really able to compare.) We painted ours, but I remember how pretty they looked before. Our builder even asked if we wanted to stain them instead, but it didn't match the style of our house so we didn't. If you like what you have, though, I wouldn't change...they weren't cheap. I would probably spend the $ on something else!

Daderini-thanks for info. I'll be using half-gutters and you seem to understand my dilemma with the soffit and fascia. I found a nice composite wood soffit that Georgia Pacific makes that comes in 16 foot lengths and seems like it would hold paint pretty well so that seems to be the best I can ask for regarding the soffit. As far as the fascia and cornices', I agree that the AZEK will stand out next to wood, so trying to mix is probably a bad idea. I did see a website that used AZEK to construct the return cornices and it looked pretty good, so it is an option. I haven't priced out the AZEK against the aluminum which was originally in the specs and part of the current budget. I think if it prices out reasonably close its feasible that I could use AZEK for fascia, return cornices and the remainder of the roof trim (frieze, crown, and I think a peice of stock). I'm even willing to simplify the trim a little bit as I its a tad too fancy for me, probably just changing or removing the 2 peices crown would be closer to what I like. The paint color is the same for all the exterior trim. I will be painting my own house, people seemed shocked when I tell them I'm choosing wood over vinyl(but I cant stand vinyl). I'm still young and follow a good peice of advice I was told: "Take the time to paint just ONE side of the house every year, by the time you get all the way around, it'll be time to start over again, but the idea of painting the house won't seem so daunting and overwhelming."

composites can mold, PVC/Vinyl can squeak, there will always be trade-offs. Check out this link for some more information. http://www.mrdeck.com/products_files/Plank_Comparisons.htm I had my deck built with a product called Quadra which is a PVC/Vinyl product. It has pros and cons. I posted a link a while back to some pictures you should be able to find it by searching.

I am redoing the flooring of my porch. I prefer the PVC samples I have seen compared to the capped composite samples. My google search for PVC vs. capped composite hasn't helped my decision- I found equal pros and cons for both. It's a small porch, no wider than 6 feet, so there will be no long sections of PVC. I would appreciate your advice and any positive experiences with PVC decking. Thanks.