Gee, thanks everyone for all the kind words. Designing the room and the farmers porch was a lot of fun with the software. My contractor even had me print out copies to use for the permits. cady, you are right; I am sure I will actually save money on heating with the addition, because it is better insulated than the old house (even though there is blown-in insulation in all the old walls) and because those two, drafty plank doors are gone. They looked cool, but they were terribly inefficient and were not even used as entrances. As for a house tour, Id love to host anyone willing to drive all the way up here. With my travel schedule and location Im never able to attend all the great functions everyone coordinates on this forum (sniff). There are five bedrooms (and two barns), so plenty of crash space. August is the best garden show time up here, because all the big players e.g. phlox, rudbeckia, echinacea, heliopsis, etc, are in bloom. Unless everyone likes snowshoeing in the winter. claire, pokeberries I have in abundance. I should take some pics of them before they die back. Now, regarding cadys ideabeing a bachelor, I am intrigued by the idea of having a tarted-up hussy at the house, at least for a while. Is it possible to rent a variegated Artemisia? White wood asters sound nice. I have something that looks kind of like a faerie garden. There is a path off of the lawn through a copse of evergreen trees down to the pond. It is not very large, but it is kind of cool, with almost an enchanted feel. There is not much under the trees except for ferns and a few struggling brambles. Id love to add some woodland plants that could provide some interest and color. Any ideas? diggerdee, we dont have termites up here, but do have carpenter ants. The wood pile is now up on pressure-treated posts, so it is probably safer than it was when it sat right on the ground. But, I do spray around the house perimeter as a precaution. When we tore into the old walls, we found some evidence of carpenter ant activity, but it was not recent and didnt affect the integrity of the walls, fortunately. As for repair of an old house vs. a 1950s cape, Id have to say that they dont make them like this anymore. The house is pretty much built like a tank. Except for the fact that it is irregular in its measurements and has the original horsehair plaster on most walls, it is great to work on it. martinetct, your husband is totally spot on. One of the exterior walls (on the el that houses the kitchen and garage) was/is 2 ½ inches wider at the base than at the top. Try lining up trim against that. And, the floor in the kitchen slopes such that the new room is level through the French doors into the kitchen, but there is a 3 ½ in step up into the dining room (yet you dont notice it in the kitchen). The wall behind the farmers porch weaves like a drunken sailor, which made it fun to line up. And, of course, nothing is level and nothing is square. But, thats part of the fun and certainly part of the charm of an old house. As for the windows, they are Harvey replacements with the grill between the panes. Not practical to try to match the existing windows. When I bought the place all the storm windows were shot and all the main windows needed to be reglazed. I had the option of having the work done or just replacing the windows for the same price. I wanted to keep the look, so opted to have the old windows redone. But, even with the new storms, they are not very efficient. And, they are a royal pain to clean, they stick in the summer, some are missing hardware so dont stay open, and in general they are not fun. Now that weve put in these matching vinyl replacement windows that have a snug seal and that tilt in for cleaning with no grills to get in the way, I see how much easier they are to use and to maintain. Despite the cost, I think that, once I redo the kitchen (this winters project) I will bite the bullet and have all the windows replaced. True, they are real 12 over 12, but they are not original to the house (they are the kind that have the two metal buttons on the sides you push in to open and that lock into slots in the frame at two locations). There is only one place where there is original glass over the front door. The door is original and even has the bar across it to fend off attackers (as in "Katie bar the door") as well as the original skeleton key still in the lock. Over it are six small panes of glass. They are wavy and bubbly, and I believe have been there from the beginning. As for the original family being upstanding, yeah I think they had some money. The rooms are really big for a true colonial with the all the front rooms on both original levels being approx.15.5 x 14 feet and wainscoting pretty much everywhere. There are closets in almost every room, and if you remember that the British taxed houses based on the number of rooms and considered closets to be rooms, the owners either had a lot of money to spend, or, being in northern New England, just thumbed their noses at the British and figured no one would ever collect the tax from them. I prefer to believe the latter. I'll pass on your congrats to my contractor. I may come up with the ideas, but he does all the work. He was my house inspector, a carpenter, and it turned out he liked to work on old houses. We hit it off, and he has done all the improvements (or GC'd them) over the past few years. Another project I did not mention was one we did the first year I bought the place. It is a tradition that my entire family comes up for Thanksgiving two parents, sister, brother-in-law, six kidlings and a dog. It is an invasion on the scale of the Allied landing in Normandy with similar, if not greater, logistical requirements. Anyway, I needed places to put everyone and the house only had three bedrooms on the second floor (one space was converted years ago into a master bathroom, a guest bathroom and a laundry room). So, I talked it over with my contractor and we took that attic and converted it into a finished third floor. There are two bedrooms and a full bath with tub up there. It hardly ever gets used, except when my sister visits and we throw all the kidlings up there. We kept the massive roof beams exposed and used V pine for the ceiling. It looks pretty neat. We did get rid of the trap door to the roof, since it was covered anyway by the metal roof, and we also eliminated the musket holder in one of the windows that was there to steady the gun for plunking Indians or British, I assume. People have asked me if the house is haunted, especially since I live alone (not counting Cord, The Wonder Chow). I figure I am at least the 12th generation to live in it, so there is some history in the place. But, I have never been bothered by anyone or anything. Before I bought the place, it was in a state of semi-disrepair and no one had lived in it for a number of years. I figure that, when my whole family, from three to eighty two, is gathered around the dining room table for Thanksgiving laughing and talking, the house is happy. Anthropomorphic and stupid, I know. But, I feel like a steward and hope to eventually pass on the house in better condition than when I bought it and ready for another 200+ years. Of course, if one day I suddenly stop posting to the forum, youll know that the house got me. narcnh

New roof late summer due to storm damage. In Beverly's examples the original was Sky, chose Slate for new. Her pic is darn close to the brochure/shingle colors. The Slate made a huge difference in the look, which was unexpected. It just looks like a higher priced shingle and makes the house look larger. The house looks similar to the one with window awnings. I have white shingle siding with black shutters too. Everyone around was doing their roofs, so it was easy to take drives and see how they looked. My area is a mix of houses in every size, shape and design possible. A lot of cottage styles. Perhaps a personal take, but the lighter and darker roofs seen didn't give me a comfort level. Not sure what it was about them. The roofer I had actually helped decide. Am wondering if location, terrain, trees,ect. make a difference on what is chosen. A roof color is difficult to decide on.

ah, ok. better shot. yes, I like the darker, but not a heavy brown. maybe something like Iron Ore or Urbane Bronze? those two look lovely w/your color brick. you could also pull that very deep reddish brown color of the bricks, same color brick w/the darker trim than I'd do a hanging lantern exterior light, and paint your door a warmer tone. if possible, save up for a nice wood door w/glass (not the faux victorian style you have) I photoshopped one in here: and yes, as tatts stated (rather harshly) give all the plants a nice pruning. would be nice if you could redo the windows, but not everyone has the budget. I would also advise to get new numbers and some nice lighting around the garage door

I follow Studio McGee and she recently built her home and did a mixture of textures with painted brick and so it made me think about incorporating brick. I like mixtures of textures but I don’t want a navy house with white hearty board and red brick— I want it all to be navy with different textures and white trim to get some old world charm so I’m asking for ideas. I have an architect that we are just starting with but you’re right, I’m probably way ahead of the game. I just want to know what I want for the exterior so I can be better prepared to work with the architect. Thanks for all your help!!