My most recent Vintage order is being shipped today and I am going to do yet another......One thing that encouraged me is that a friend and I went to the wonderful Naconiche Gardens in a town near me.....they have the most marvelous display gardens and every unusual plant you could imagine. It was a paradise - the people were knowledgable, friendly - and the display gardens you could walk around in and drool over for hours. Well......we drove up and the signs were taken down, the nursery closed, the stock sold and the beautiful display gardens neglected. I wanted to cry. I went to another local nursery that I like and found out they closed 2 months ago [2 hurricanes and a couple of horse shows kept me from going]. Everything went for half price. Another nursery closed in the same town. Vintage Gardens is a pearl without price. I cant imagine what rose lovers would do without this nursery. I am spending my rose money with them, building a garden just for Vintage bands. I am so happy to hear others are buying from them, hopefully it will be enough to keep them open. Who knows what will happen to the economy, but I dont know of another nursery that offers what Vintage does. Thanks to all who have stepped up to the plate and ordered. Judith

If you're thinking Arts & Crafts bungalow, you can always look to some of the originals, many of which now have painted trims (though honestly I *wish* more of them still had their original stained trim, ours included!) It was also very common to paint trim and cabinetry (and thus use "lower grade" wood, which in those days meant redwood or fir instead of oak) in the kitchen, bath, and bedrooms and have stained trim and casework in the dining and living rooms, and that worked fine. That might be a way to manage costs while still getting the look you love. And I've seen some gorgeous kitchen remodels using cherry or fir cabinets with painted white trim and white built-ins that mix it up a bit in houses where the trim had already been painted but people didn't want white kitchens (and didn't want the cost of replacing original trim!) Fir in particular is one of my faves with soapstone, though it is a soft wood so it will ding. We also have a painted gray and white kitchen, which mixes it up a bit in a different way. There's no rule that painted cabs must be white---and honestly, a lot of the reason that listings for houses of that age have painted cabinets (especially white) is that it's a very easy way to clean up and "modernize" older cabinets for resale. (At least, that happens a lot where we live---people paint and put on new counters to sell an older kitchen.) Some of those were probably put in as stained kitchens, but had woods that aren't "trendy" these days and thus dated the kitchens. I love our painted kitchen, but if we'd had the resources, we would have seriously considered QS oak or fir (even the fir was far more costly than our paint-grade poplar). I'd be sure you're okay with the tradeoff before switching gears.

This sounds more like male menopause to me. He's seen the grim reaper...... He's admitted to himself for the first time he's mortal.... What has he done with his life? Has he had enough fun in life...? He knows death could take him at any time. Better live to the hilt now. These are all musings that may be going through his mind that he is not sharing with you. Will he hurt you by his actions? Definately. Does he mean to? NO! He can't even explain it to himself what he's going through. Male menopause is very real and serious. Some marriages do not survive it. What can you do? Either hang in there and realize you are dealing with a force of nature, or get out. If his problem is not medical, eventually he'll wake up to what he's doing - but it could take years. BTW, the more responsible the husband has been up to this point, the more he will rebel in male menopause. I've seen this (and lived it) many times. Good luck to you - you'll need it.

Really, thank you so much. So many great insights, and the best of all is to clean up the room, and live with it for a bit. My mind was stuck in the 'got to make a decision while the tape/plastic is up' track. It never occurred to me that I could remask--don't ask me why. My only excuse is I'm feeling overwhelmed. I recently moved to Germany, I don't speak the language yet, and the simplest tasks are difficult. The paint store is so foreign. There are about 20 pre-mixed colors (which look universally ugly), tons of white, and little bottles of concentrated color--you get to mix your own colors. I'm sure this is a delight to a real artist, but for those of us who flunked kindergarten art class--it's a challenge. Oh the things I've learned here (wish I would have known the primer trick on the first coat....) NHB room gave me hope that a vibrant yellow can work beautifully. I'll put up some pictures and see how I feel. I'll probably experiment to come up with a soft, universal color to eventually paint the whole house. Another amazing thing is their paint is not washable. It's more like a milk paint that washes off when scrubbed. As the owner of 3 dogs, I do wash walls, so they will be repainted one way or another. In the meantime, I'll investigate the possibility of glaze because I HATE edging so much that I was about to paint everything white. I so liked the fabric choices Les came up with, that I'm going to post my sofa and see if someone can work some magic there. You people are fabulous. I appreciate the help and all the honesty. Walkin-- kak dela? and prost from the Fatherland. I went to a gathering last week and met a number of people from the old Eastern Blok--all old enough to speak Russian and lament that the next generation was going to be divided; in the next breath, cursing the Motherland--gotta love those Slavs. I knew whom it was immediately from your greeting. I've spent the last several years helping take care of my father who had Alzheimer's--what a horrendous disease. I had no energy left to even think about any projects. But, it was all good. I have no regrets, I spent precious time with my family, and my father and I grew very close on a new level. I feel fortunate that I could spend that time with them. I have a feeling, I'll probably be asking for a lot of help. I have acquired a new look: a very contemporary house, I mostly brought things that I wouldn't regret losing, and they are more traditional in style. I guess we could call it modern rummage sale: nothing fits, most of it is a cast-off, and it all needs to be done on a budget. (We had the WORST, most expensive move possible--nightmares upon disaster). So, doesn't that seem like a good challenge for the decorating milieu? I'm glad to see you here and I'd love to see some pictures of what you've done to your place.