Thought I had started my above response with today's find, but see I didn't. It must have been on my other board. Today I went to a town about 20 minutes away with my sister. She was looking for a pair of winter boots that she had seen there. We stopped in a Walgreens to look. We don't have a Walgreens, but one is being built a few miles away in our sister city. Anyway today I found two 6 foot lighted trees in urns for $10 each at Walgreens. They were originally $39.99! I was really excited. They had three more and I really wish that I would have bought at least one more. The two I got are for the outside of the house in the front. We will be screening our covered back porch in soon and I should have gotten one for out there and I think that I might like the look of one in my entry. The size would be good for it. Oh well, at least I got the two.

So glad this thread is still here. Did a whole house renovation 8 years ago and just bought a new (to me) house, and about to do it again. Stuff that has held up well and I will definitely be looking at closely again this time around are: - Rohl fireclay sink (nice and quiet, plenty big to hide lots of dirty dishes in the sink; I might get 2 this time!) - Pacific Crest cabinets (despite some issues in their shipping (some banged up cabinets when they arrived), the company stood behind their product and made things right and they have held up quite well -- and everyone comments on how nice they look) - Prefinished hardwood floors (wouldn't get Brazilian cherry again because they are too sensitive to light, but with two 50-60lb dogs running around, they have held up remarkably well, especially compared to friends who had site-finished floors. now I just need to find another wood species I like as well) - Kohler Vinnata faucet (after all this time, I looked around at faucets again the other day and this is still the most gracefully sculptural faucet profile; also I had no problems with this at all.) - GE Monogram 36" range, 30" fridge, island hood (the range cooked great and was a breeze to clean, the fridge had no issues whatsoever with the icemaker/water dispenser, and the range, though a real b*tch to install has been a real workhorse around our house; surprisingly had very few issues with these appliances) - Miele dishwasher (this is the one with the top silverware rack; it was called Incognito back 8 years ago and don't know what it's called now. It cleans great and once we figured out how to use the salt/softener thingy left no streaks on our glasses) - Kinawa white granite (husband likes the veins in this and I like whiteness, and we this is as close as we can get to white carrara w/o the maintenance headaches) - Never M-T soap dispenser (what a great tip I got from this site 8 years ago. I give this to friends now, and they think it's genius) - Air Switch for disposal (another great tip I got from this site; likely ubiquitous now but it's still wonderful) - Kohler's Memoirs collection stately pedestal and drop-in sinks, and toilet (very classic looking) Looking forward to another fun remodel

I've been accused by my family of overdoing blue (Kitchen island is Azul Bahia, perimeter granite is Bros Blue, I collect flo blue china, family room rug is primarily blue, even my sheets are blue - pretty much everything I fall in love with ends up a shade of blue). So, last year I was on the search for the perfect gray. I didn't want it to go blue at all. I wanted a simple gray color to softly fade into the background and allow all my blue accessories to pop. I tried paint pot after paint pot. Most turned purple, some green, and some baby boy blue. Finally, I went to the BM counter and asked for a color that did not have any other color in it. I found Iced Cube Silver. It only has one color added - lamp black. How could I go wrong? White plus black = pure gray - right? I was so excited, I threw caution to the wind and had them mix up five gallons. I rushed home and went to town painting into the wee hours of the night. As I was finishing up the third wall, it was a soft gorgeous gray but in a few places, I noticed it looked a little blue. I attributed it to my fatigue. All my blue accents were out of the room with the exception of the granite in the kitchen on the other side of the greatroom. When I walked downstairs in the bright light of morning (tons of windows), it was most definitely BLUE. At night, there are angles and shadows that are quietly gray. The ceiling looks gray most of the time (walls & ceiling are painted the same - broken up with white crown molding). No one believes the ceiling and walls are the same paint. I've decided to live with the blue walls, it's a pretty, light blue-gray, I'm too tired and have other projects that desperately need my attention. All this to say, if you're looking for a pretty blue-gray, you might like ice cubed silver but then again, depending upon your lighting, it might actually look like a completely different color in your room. Good luck!

Having just gone through this process, I can say that, while a roofer may make a suggestion, it's really up to you to decide. Drive around and look at houses. Black roofs in my area are passe (we've been there, done that on our house too...25 years ago!). Here's a chart based on region: http://www.mclean-roofing.com/PDFfiles/LandmarkColorChart.pdf You can't go wrong with Certainteed Landmark architectual singles. They are all beautiful. We love ours! What you need to keep in mind are: region, weather, contrast and style of your house. Personally I would not defer to the roofer. I think the Moire Black, while lovely, is not right for your house. Perhaps something softer would be more appropriate (others have made good suggestions), given your future plans to change the landscaping and the lighting. If your future plans include changing out the front door, I'd suggest beefing it up w/ one that has side panels of glass. That would be more in keeping w/ the sytle of your house. Also, if you are working on curb appeal, there are ways to diminish the stark look of garage doors that face the front of the house. Re: metal roof. IMHO, don't go there unless you live in a frigid climate like Norhtern New England. My grandparents had that on their house in North Conway, NH. The advantage: the snow literally slides right off. The disadvanate: it's rather ugly (beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right?)