The bottom line is this is a good idea. Olpea has some reality checks but I think as a community project it is good. I personally have been working with an antique orchard here in Seattle where the fruit is publicly picked both by passersby and by the ones who take care of the orchard and we use this fruit for our Harvest Festival. I have found that I can even enlist passersby to help sanitize the orchard (throwing away fallen apples) and to put on foot sox in the Spring. However, the fact is that when it comes to "divvying up the booty" at Harvest time it does become somewhat problematic....the "law of the commons" can work...but only to a point. www.pipersorchard.org My suggestion is to ask for volunteer donations from people who do not have to have a certain return in terms of the fruit they hope to get but are more interested in just giving their time and money away with the hopes of making the community better and getting an education. If they happen to get some fruit from it, so much the better. (Another organization I work with is also involved in this sort of thing and we would be interested in hearing your results: www.cityfruit.org)

I agree, the tin doesn't work well with those colors. Part of the reason is that everything but the tin is a warm color (gold/green/yellow undertones), and the tin is a cool (grey). Another reason is that there isn't enough contrast in terms of busy-ness. The cabinets are a little busy because of the glaze; the floor tiles have some movement in them; the counter is a bit busy because of the flecks of such a wide range of colors; and then the tin is very busy because of the pattern. If you're going to have something busy, the other elements need to either (1) frame it instead of competing with it, or (2) be equally strong (but this will give you a really bold look). And another reason is that it's two different periods (modern traditional vs. Victorian/early 20th century). Put all that together and your kitchen is pushing you, the viewer, in two completely different directions: (1) warm casual elegance, and (2) kooky retro semi-industrial cool. In other words, they clash. It could work if you painted the tin so it flowed into the other elements, like so: https://www.houzz.com/photos/eclectic-kitchen-traditional-kitchen-phoenix-phvw-vp~64850-World-Custom-Home-eclectic-kitchen-phoenix Or it could work if the kitchen were a totally different design. The link below ("Tin ceiling that works") looks great to my eye, for several reasons: - All the colors are the same family (cool) and very clear, as opposed to muddy. - The colors are light/bright and the blue draws the eye up, which compensates for the closed-in feeling that dark ceilings can give - All the colors are pure (no movement): blue, white, black; there's very little movement in the stained floor, and the only remotely "busy" surfaces (black and white bench and floor mat) coordinate with the rest of the room, are not right next to the tin, and coordinate with the tin (black and white always coordinates well with a medium grey). And here's an example of other busy elements being equally strong and giving you a bold, perhaps over-the-top look: https://www.houzz.com/photos/venetian-eclectic-dining-room-mediterranean-dining-room-phoenix-phvw-vp~127330-Eclectic-Dining-Room-eclectic-dining-room-phoenix It's not for everyone, but at least it looks like a LOOK, a distinct style, as opposed to a mish-mash of elements that don't connect. Here is a link that might be useful: [Tin ceiling that works[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/arts-and-crafts-hallway-traditional-hall-boston-phvw-vp~44846)

I did a bounce house birthday party once, and it was the first time I could relax enough to enjoy my kids' birthday party, too. The staff serve the pizzas, birthday cake, etc. The one I did even had staff write down who gave which gifts, to aid in writing thank you notes. The kids burn off their energy, the party is a manageable 1 1/2 hours, and you don't have to clean up afterwards. What's not to like? ETA: I think it was for a 7th birthday.

Hi thank you!!! A chandelier would look gorgeous, but I think the functionality of a fan wins out for us because with ceilings this high and a mountain climate, we need the fan to push the hot air down to the rest of the house in the winter. Is there such a thing as an attractive ceiling fan? (serious question!) I think we'll just put the little book case upstairs in the loft, which is desks and another book case anyway. So funny that y'all like the arches! We are so stuck on them. What do you think about squaring the one that goes to the staircase but keeping the others? It would sort of balance the visual impact of the other 4. Are you saying cover the beams with wood or just paint to match the room? or would you do another color? I have no design sense, but I see the potential too!