Jane, I was not attempting to discourage you from painting your floor. I just wanted to share what I learned through my own experience, because you had mentioned that you once considered using tile. Also, whoever buys the house might choose a floating floor and the paint wonÂt make a difference. Although I decided not to use paint on my porch/sunroom, I plan to go ahead with painting the plywood floor in the finished basement. Like you, I am contemplating a beachy (or summery) look, especially since I am on the coast. I thought about a distressed white or a gray similar to weathered shingles or weathered wood (ThereÂs so much of it around here). The patterned floors look great and seem like fun. The possibilities are endless. You can use stencils or sponging. You can also paint a faux area rug. This year I donÂt have the time or patience to attempt a pattern, but I am trying to learn decorative painting and maybe soon I can acquire the skills to attempt a pattern. For now, the painted floor is something inexpensive to go under area rugs. IÂm no help with a color scheme, but your wicker serving cart is great and will probably look good no matter what colors you choose. With area rugs, lots of plants and that lovely wicker cart, the floors donÂt have to be noticeable unless the paint looks really good.

I am shocked at how everyone is pooh poohing the water saving feature. It is so much better for the environment that we will be leaving for our kids and grandkids someday. In the coming years, water will become the new "oil" as shortages become more frequent all over the world. The water you use needs to be treated before and after it was used and that takes energy and expense. My front loaders rock and I am so grateful for them. They clean much larger loads than my top loaders could have (my old house had a nice size set and my current house had a small set when we moved in). I use cold water now and I could not have gotten away with that in my old top loaders. I had tried, but they did not get clean enough. I don't know if it is my machine or HE detergent, but I almost never use anything but cold with my top loader. I save a little money from using less water, but being able to use cold water saves a ton. The dryer is quicker because the washer leaves things dryer at the finish. I think the reason the washer takes so long is it has a lot of dormant time when it is just soaking. It does not run the entire time a load is in. The wash load does take longer, but it washes more and gets it cleaner. Because they wash a larger load and dry faster, any extra length to the wash cycle is no big deal IMHO. I do leave the washer door open when not in use to keep it from getting swampy. It is because there is such a good seal on the front loader's door (for obvious reasons). I don't find leaving the door ajar to be a hardship, lol. I love vintage things, like the 1940 Chambers stove we are using in our new kitchen, but I would never use a real old inefficient fridge nor would I consider an older washer. I like recycling and living as green as I can, so if I won't use an older item, it is for a reason and not from snobbery.

Painting the whole house gray in a northern climate seems contrary to the warm, livable space you're trying to create. On dull, rainy, snowy days it may not be what you're looking for. With your beautiful, warm-colored floor I would look for a color that is warm in a light tone. You certainly don't want beige, but more something along the lines of a warm white tone. Gray has been so overused that it's quickly becoming dated, and the new trend now is color, so you might want to rethink your choice. I would look for beautiful rugs in warm colors (Oriental rugs are considered neutral and can be used with any style of furniture) and base your furniture choices and accent colors on that. You need to decide on your furniture layout before buying anything and measure the areas where you want your couch to go, for instance, so that you don't buy one that's too large for your space. Pay attention to the depth which on modern couches is often ridiculously deep (like 48 inches) and look for ones that are more along the lines of 35 to 36 inches. Buy leather only if you love it (and please DO NOT pick dark brown or black leather that goes with absolutely nothing in the room). Pick light, warm tones that will marry well with beautiful rugs and pillows. A warm-colored beige is a good option. One couch and two chairs, with the chairs in a different style (although the heights should pretty well match) would be a good start. A glass and metal coffee table would make your space look larger, and then you can have wood side tables (which don't have to match each other but should be close in height). This gives you the basics and you can then buy pillows based on the rug colors, and you'll want to add books and paintings to finish the look. Large plants are always a good accent; small plants should be grouped together if used at all since they have little impact in a large space.

Our floors were open to ground also. We had foam sprayed in from the underside. In some places, where it was a tall enough crawl, we had pink stuff, foil covered foam installed under the floor joists, taped and touch in foamed along edges. We did get occasional leakage between boards, once peeled out, ya don't even notice.