For the birthday girls And, Marian, I think you had asked whether your birthday flower was a wild rose? I forgot to answer you sorry No, it wasnt a wild rose. It is a Pink Beauty potentilla flower. I believe they are botanically related to roses hence the similarity in the flowers. I love the Pink Beauty shrubs and they are the backbone of the driveway border. They are late to leaf out in the spring but start blooming in late June and continue into late October. They are fabulous, tough, carefree shrubs that merge well with perennials in beds and borders. Eden the shed foundation is a lot about 2 ½ cubic yards worth! of compacted gravel, topped by 2x2 and 2x3 concrete patio stones. The ground under the old shed was very soft so they kept compacting the gravel in and it kept disappearing into the ground! They kept adding more until the ground was stable and level. The base is 9x 11 for the 8x10 shed. On top of the stones, they laid a sill of Trex (waterproof, rotproof) boards and then used pressure-treated 2x4s on top for the base of the wall framing. Martie Im glad to hear that Rich has a good opinion of the shingle panels and that they can indeed be put up in the cold. It worries me a bit that this is obviously a product that these guys are unfamiliar with. I printed and read the installation instructions and it looks pretty idiot-proof! (not that these guys are idiots) It looks like the cedar panels are the lumber industrys solution to the high labour cost and time involved in applying individual shingles on site. It looks like a pretty ingenious solution. When I was still living down east 25+ years ago, shingles were still applied in the traditional way. I suspect that shingles have been losing out to cheap-and-easy vinyl siding even down home for a number of years now. A pity Norma yes, the upper four panels of the door will get cut out and replaced with one large Plexiglas panel. I hope it doesnt end up looking like too much glass! All the windows will be Plexiglas Im notorious for breaking things and Id be sure to put a rake handle or something through regular glass! They were supposed to be here doing the windows and roof his morning but havent arrived yet. There will be trim boards in the gable end but thats all. I think that will be enough to balance things out when the front is finished. And there will eventually be shrubs again at the sides. Once they grow up a bit, the shed wont be quite so exposed at is looks right now. Jerri that cat video was a hoot! On poodles A standard poodle was on our list of possible replacement dogs for Chelsea. But not after we baby-sat a neighbours miniature poodle late this summer. He is a very nice dog but I didnt like the feel of his coat! Patting him didnt generate the same tactile pleasure as patting Chelsea or Misty. A silly reason for not choosing a particular breed but Im sure, if a nice poodle came along needing a home, we would adjust On laundry Dreadful chore! But I actually dont do a lot of it. DH (did I say hes a real sweetie!) takes care of most of it. We do have a stacking washer/dryer in our bathroom so its close to where the laundry is generated.. But theres also a regular washer and dryier in the basement. Since that one is not accessible for me, DH does most of the heavy loads there and I just do any of the finer stuff using the stacking one in the bathroom.

Athensmom, The garage is situated like that because the lot slopes significantly right at the back of the house where we will have a walkout. If I turn it, it will stick out too far past the house. That's actually why we didn't line up the garage with the back of the house either. It would be nicer to have a side entry I agree. Another thing to consider is in northern MN we don't want really long driveways to remove the snow from. LL, Yes, there is a stackable washer/dryer in the basement. ppbenn, My wish list includes adding 2 feet to the right side of the living room but the alcove will stay. I added the alcoves to each side of the house for a little visual interest and so the roof would also not be so boring. We have some other measures in place to spread the head such as direct vents to the upstairs and I'm considering materials behind the stove that will reflect the heat. I don't want the stove to be a focal point of any kind, just functional. I thought about taking out the corners to save money but at this point in the design, the bedrooms need the alcove or they become too small and I think it would be more expensive to add sq footage on both sides (3 levels) of the house to even it out. I tried to incorporate a couple of ideas from the "Not So Big House" that I liked so I didn't end up with a big huge impersonal rectangle. Dedeoboe, My design is based on a historical house from 1905 that I fell in love with about 4 years ago. I couldn't afford to replicate it because of the complicated roof design and many corners. I live in Duluth, MN where we have many 100 year old homes, but I can't afford the maintenance, utilities, and taxes. So, to answer your question, I have the stairs because they had them in these long old houses and as I modernized the plan and made it more efficient, the stairs stayed. At this point I couldn't really just remove one of them, I'd have find a central place for them. I'd rather just start over with a different plan if I have to. That remains to be seen still when the final bid is finished. The small bedrooms are a sacrifice in a sense, I guess I should say a give and take. Hope I've answered all the questions!

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions, all are appreciated!!!! I guess I'll have to find some flooring I like and hopefully, be able to get some samples, take them to the house and put them down in different areas of the house and see how they look, esp. against the base of the fireplace. I don't mind the parquet and it may look better once it's cleaned or refinished, but do I think it really looks good, not really. While I think it's okay in the entry, I just don't like how it looks in the area surrounding the base of the bricks. Any suggestions on what may look good against the brick?? Or, should I possibly consider some of the resilient tiles that look like slate in a color that would go with the brick? Would something like that complement?? Maybe a light color tile just in the entry, wood elsewhere? Any other suggestions?

anele -- I doubt a light color will make it feel any brighter, it's currently semi-gloss white! I think it feels stark and depressing. I like light and bright, but cozy would be okay since I don't think light and bright is really possible with just changing the paint. It's a small room, our home is small, so I would be happy with a cozy feel! I don't really like greenish undertones, either! jamies -- I appreciate your comments about choosing a shade depending on how dark the other things are in the room, that is very helpful! The curtains are a little lighter than the teak; they aren't similar colors (the curtains have more gold and the teak more brown/orange). The floors are definitely light, sort of an oatmeal color carpet. If we ever changed the flooring, I would not pick anything darker. I did paint our master bath a medium shade of grey, and I love it. It feels really right, not too intense, and not lackluster. Maybe I should try for a shade about the same in value? That way the change in color will be somewhat muted by them having similar value?