We have a white metal roof, which cost more than the shingles, but we wanted it for 2 main reasons: 1. energy efficiency and 2. hurricane resistance (we're in FL, though not on the coast). Here is the link - 3rd picture down: http://hmp2z.wordpress.com/2007/07/14/we-have-the-power/ Cheers! Heather W Here is a link that might be useful: House Exterior

Thank you everyone for your feedback and photo. Keep it coming! I don't know ANYONE who has concrete countertops. So, cabinfo, I'm impressed that you poured this yourself! My husband and I are only minor DIY'ers and pouring your own concrete countertop falls into the "Major DIY" category. Your countertop appears fairly smooth, is it pretty easy to clean? I'd love to see a photo of your whole countertop. My main concern with the concrete is everything you all have mentioned, the eventual cracking, staining, difficulty to clean and basic maintenance. I'm wondering if it depends on the concrete company doing it or if it's just that "all concrete WILL eventually crack". It's a fairly expensive proposition and I don't want to have any regrets. I do have a friend who has had a copper farm sink in her kitchen for about a year and she loves it. She said she just wipes it out and occasionally wipes it down with some sort of polish or wax. She did say that you have to be careful with acidic things like vinegar and citric fruits because it will change the color of the sink, but she said eventually the color returns back to normal.

Hi Laurielep, I don't have the subway pattern, I just have a simple white sq 4x4 tile with white grout. But my kitchen is white so it works. Below are subway tiles with wood style kitchens. Not sure if any are specifically maple but it does give you a better idea how the white subway tile will look with a wood kitchen. I wish I could say go for a cream grout but I would need to be up close to see the colors. Since your granite is a medium beige brown,have you thought about a cream subway tile rather than white? I think that might flow better. But this is just mho. Best of luck, ~boxerpups A GardenWeb kitchen by Vjrnt Picasweb image Below are kitchens with a beige counters and using a cream or beige tile bs. (not white) See what I mean by the cream going better with the overall look. I love the one below. It is a square tile but set on a V angle to give it a different look rather than the traditional left to right. This same design could be done with a far cheaper plain tile. NewFacekitchenstories I know this is an expensive tile but look at the beige color with the cabs. It seems to flow so nicely.

I don't like the look of granite either. I had also considered slate. But slate does require some maintenance like granite. I settled on soapstone, which has the right look without the maintenance. There is another option too. It's called Pietra di Cardoso. They usually list it under granite because it has the same maintenance. I have read that it's not good choice for a countertop, but I do love the look. I'm also in MA and one place I went to look at slabs is Granite and Marble in Westwood. They have some of everything including the Pietra I mentioned above. I think they will match you up with a fabricator if you don't have one. http://www.marbleandgranite.com/ I got my soapstone from the M. Teixeira affiliate in Newburyport.