Thanks Jackie -- That IS a help. Our climate has definitely altered here. Used-to-be, we were pretty dank much of the year, only really drying up some in Fall. No rain, but a little fog much of the time. The upper part of the garden, near the house, could lack sun, as the sun often did not burn through the fog until 4 p.m. The hillside was warmer, catching all the sun, and was a great rose home. Now, the upper part of the yard makes a good rose environment, while things on the hillside may have to tolerate too much intense heat. Roses that have bare stretches of cane are subject to sun burn. To survive down there, a rose may need some afternoon shade, and enough foliage to make its own shade. Jeri

Kat - Thanks for the compliment. Our perimeter counters are soapstone and the island is marble. The marble still makes me nervous and I continue to etch it (which is not highly visible on the honed surface, but I still know they are there). The inset cabinets were an absolute must for us. We did tear down construction in an older neighborhood and wanted to have some elements of the 1920s-1940s style consistent with the neighborhood. With the kitchen being visible from the front door, it needed to be both pretty and fairly authentic. Sure, I lost a little storage space by doing the inset, but the look is exactly what we needed.

Kath, this may help you. I read the blog and essentially you have to have an understanding of how colors mixed lean to warm undertones or cool. But what she also neglected to say is every color has a LRV-(light reflective value or how the paint will reflect light) Benjamin Moore Natural Wicker Color OC-1 Paint has a Light Reflectance Value (LRV) of 73.8 and a Cool undertone, while Benjamin Moore Muslin Color OC-12 Paint has a Light Reflectance Value (LRV) of 69 and a Warm undertone. Muslin will appear a bit darker. I'll link my favorite site for BM colors. While it doesn't post formulas, it does give you the undertone and the LRV of the color you are interested in by clicking on the paint name. I have found it very useful for any of my painting because it helps isolate what level of lightness your eye is drawn to. I also like to vist Glidden too because they also list LRV. If you want to read up on LRV over in Home Decorating do a search for it or search for "Funcolors". She is a beloved paint guru. HTH! Here is a link that might be useful: BM paint values

Have you looked at BM Ivory White? After weeks of mental turmoil between Linen White and Ivory White, I picked the Ivory White(still have my fingers crossed) for the kitchen cabs to go with my Colonial Gold granite. The walls in the family room and the little bit of walls in the kitchen will be BM Splendor. The Linen White seemed to be a little pinkish to me. The Ivory White wasnt in a paint deck but behind the counter at the BM store. Number 925-Classic Colors. Picking paint colors is tough!