first off.. its not a pine.. google the common name for latin name ... and much more info that you most likely ever need.. and look into its native habitat.. and you should come to appreciate .. its NOT indoors in NY.. lol ... but in understanding where it came from.. you might begin to understand how to deal with it ... e.g. IF!!! ... its an understory jungle plant.. one might suggest.. being understory.. that its ok in shade ... but being jungle.. it appreciates humidity .. which may or may not be available in z5 in winter indoors ... and one thing for sure.. it wont like cold damp feet ... etc ... and please do NOT confuse air temp with media temp .. i did not suggest the needles would be harmed.. what i suggested is that a dampy soggy pot.. wherein the roots are contained.. hopefully... might lead to root rots .. these very warm climate plants .. may or may not like such ... and i suggested that that MIGHT become an issue.. in winter.. in NY .. right in front of a north window ... might depend on your heat source.. and whether it is right under the window also ... good luck ken

hi jaredhello. To maximize your artificial light, your best bet is to surround the area with white surface. In effect you will be boxing them in with, say, white illustration board. Yes, this means you wont see them. You want the bulb to light the plants, not the room. In my own enclosed (but not sealed) plant unit, I use 4 T5HOs which are supposed to be more efficient, wasting less energy on heat. It can probably use a couple of CPU fans for air circulation...someday. Put the plants with highest light requirements closer to the bulb but pay attention for the next few days, they will react differently. Some may burn. That 4th image, I think, is a sempervivum. You have to know that even outside in full sun, I've had them etiolate if they get less than 3 hours of it. They are alpine plants requiring air circulation and full sun all day in relatively mild temperatures. I have to agree with Pirate_Girl. Most succulents will require heroic measures to grow well indoors under artificial lighting. BUT! luckily, haworthias and gasterias could work for your conditions. And there is a wide selection to choose from. And they take up so little space. And they look super. And they don't require heroic measures indoors the way a barrel cactus will or even that annoying cat magnet known commercially as baby toe plant. And they look super. Plus they look great. And good-looking too lol Goodluck! Pagan

Slateberry, from your pics, I'd say the two side windows and the area around the pause marks is original--the colors look right, and it is a pain to change out old glass with stained--I've done that on my main parlor window--as high up as that looks, it would be even tougher--so I bet it's original. As to the balcony, do the prints show spindles, or are they just calling the knee-wall a railing? Worthy, the big draw in old homes for most buyers IS the original details--they are unmatchable today without huge cost--and add significantly to resale value if they are still there for the next owners. Don't care about stuff like that, then why are you in such a house? Newer is usually cheaper to keep up; don't care if you risk losing prospective buyers by altering your house's original details--then go ahead and kiss your dollars goodbye. As to style--old houses tend to be well-built and appeal because of their design--and that is something which anyone can appreciate--don't you have an idea when something appeals to you or when it doesn't? If you change exterior features a house just won't 'look' right, and the parts which don't fit will become obvious as you look hard at a place. Most old house buyers have a basic idea of what fits or appeals to them, and want houses which preserve as much of that charm as possible. I had a vague idea of the different styles, but I educated myself during my years in my house--you just need to look at a few plan books to get an idea; the one thing I KNEW when house hunting was this: I grew up in a 50's ranch, and would never buy such a house for myself--I had to have two stories, and something with some character inside, not just boxes with basic trim as I'd grown up in.

Oh, in NT's words, WHOA, HOLD THE PHONE. Your DH sounds like NT's in the beginning. You're gonna have to SHOW that man what you can do w/that glass. Right now is a good time to take it to your glass company and get them to cut it down to storage sizes. Good GRIEF, it w/fit behind a dresser or chest and he'll NEVER SEE it until you're using it on very beautiful things. That table also screams to be mosaiced. Don't BUY anything until you get into this obsession that it w/become once you nip/glue/grout your first piece. Get one at a TS and mosaic it to go above the table, then mosaic a candle shelter to join a nice little arrangement to put on the table etc. A candle shelter is anything made of glass that you can put a candle inside. DO NOT GIVE IN on keeping this glass. You have a very valuable piece of glass that you w/find all kinds of uses for once you start. GOG - lots of artists w/show you their work here, but it's taking an old window or anything w/glass already in it and gluing transparent colored glass over it to make a wonderful piece of art. I have several pieces waiting in line TBM, just can't get there yet. Here's a pic of just one example. There are several more shots in the album of ones I've made for gifts.