Smoke and Mirrors! ok, I've found these solar guards at Wal-mart that go inside car windshield that reflect the sun back out. They had a large size that was by far cheaper than others for $2.88 U.S. dollars. The size is 27 inches by 67 inches and they only have aluminum reflection on one side. So, I bought 3 of them and I'll afix them in places that will reflect back on the drums, and missing those, light will reflect toward the shelves. I'll make them removable so that I can indeed reflect light back out the glazing in the summer and reflect inside the solar shed during the winter. If this experiment goes well, I'll spring for the price of some brand named, like Reflective insulation and do it up right. I'll post back soon my early results and if I can figure out how to post a picture, I'll do that too. ~Tom

I may have misled you about laying the r.b. directly over your attic joists. Most rolls of r.b. have foil facing on both sides. The rolls that e.c.s. sells has foil on one side, with a kraft facing on the other. You would lay the foil side down, with the kraft side facing up. Therefore attic dust building up wont be a problem.The purpose of r.b.draped on the underside of your rafters is to keep heat out of your attic in the summer. The attic joist application will keep heat from escaping up into your attic space in the winter, keeping the heat in your home.You want to make sure you dont block any attic venting when draping along your rafters, and when laying across your joists.We are building in the sierra nevada mtns. where holding in the heat is more of a priority than heat gain in the summer, although it gets hot in the late summer months. We lined all our wall sheathing with r.b. I will line the underside rafters in the small attic spaces to keep the attics cooler, and line the underside of all the cathedral rafters after the insulation and before the drywall. We are going with foam insulation everywhere, so venting isn't a concern. Regardless of foam or fiberglass insulation, you still have heat gain/heat loss. Radiant barrier is just that. It's a barrier that prevents heat from leaving in the winter and keeps heat from entering in the summer.Im sure you have cruised e.c.s.'s website. In my opinion they offer the best product for a reasonable price, but went with them because of the kraft facing which acts as a vapor barrier as well.Here's a link to another outfit that might give you a better understanding of r.b. Here is a link that might be useful: that home site

I liked Crema Marfil and checked it,like, fifty times as a countertop option with my-new-then-to-be very warm greige/bordering oatmeal cabinets. I really wanted it to work, yet it didn't. I guess it'll be a challenge to find gray paint-even very warm one-to support your other elements that are there to stay Obviously photos you posted don't give one the truest feel of colors..maybe they seem more golden to me than they are..can you post a close up of floors and counters? something along the lines of your wall colors will work..but you want to get away from the current look, why to go through this expensive hassle I can see smth warmer yet lighter..creamier.. you can try of course to find your gray..the thing is: will it read as gray? willl it fit your vision? If you make it purple enough -it can be a nice combo...but in order to get so, it'll be already more purple than gray same thing with warm greens and blues..they can be muted(have gray in them), but they'll already be muted greens and blues rather than grays when mixing neutrals in spaces that have natural stones etc, you need to be especially careful..you don't fight the neutral, you work with it, either by having another natural material that makes sense next to it, like your current stain, or by trying to repeat its nature, or by doing a color that'll contrast it in a way you'll continue to like your neutral. You can't just pick color X and it'll work, because you already have many elements to work with, Frankly I wouldn't paint at all, but rather play with hardware, lighting, introducing accessories that have gray in them(clay, fabrics, etc) so you can have your gray without big overhaul Again, because I can't see close up of the flooring etc, I might be wrong because I can't see your colors correctly. From your description (off white plus greige) it might work, I just can't see it on the photos So. Additional photos would help. And even then I think it should be something really warm comparing to other grays..light greige, something like it. And I'm not sure that's what you're looking for. What are you looking for? In terms of vibe, you know? What looks great in one kitchen wouldn't neccessarily work in other. Even more than that, sometimes a paint color works on one wall in the space, but doesn't on the other:) It's a lot of thinking, considerations, sampling(paint on wood will also always look different than on walls..so should be door samples)..and money. Again, additional photos would help.

Check Clemson and SCSU web sites as well as other land grant university web sites in states with hot humid climates for advice in local building problems. They publish lots of research and bulletins. My memory is that radiant barriers were popular for a time, but have become less so. The concept has merit. It is impossible to pull enough air through an attic and have much effect because most of the heat gain in the house ceiling is heat from the hot roof deck re-radiated to the other surfaces in the attic. Radiant barriers, theoretically, help with this. I think that what caused them to go out of favor is that they get dirty very quickly and that makes them ineffective. You should, however, confirm this with unbiased sources. If you need a new roof, consider a cool metal roof. Consider hiring a home energy rater (BPI or Resnet) to identify low-hanging fruit for energy (and comfort) improvements. Often, there are local government or utility programs to pay for the evaluation or discount the cost. They know local problems and solutions appropriate for your climate.