Rick and ABGardener- Thanks for your answers. I found mention of a sedum mat today trade-named "RoofRug" by a US company. It was mentioned on their site in a paragraph describing installations, but is no where else on their site. I e-mailed them asking about sedum varieties, dimensions, cost, etc. and am waiting for a reply. Other than that, no dice. This is a product readily available in Europe. Most greenroofs are engineered to the point that they are un-doable w/o a lot of $$$and expertise. I'd like to figure out a simple, DIY methos. I am trying to experiment on my own garden shed roof, will be taking digital photos to record the installation and maintenance over a year or so. If successful, I would like to add the sedum roof to the services we offer in my gardening business. This would be greenroofing primarily for aesthetic purposes, for wildlife, and perhaps for insulation if the small building were a studio or other building that is heated or cooled. In looking at the many photos of greenroofs on the WWW, I find that aesthetically I only like the low groundcover plantings for the application I have in mind. Other plants look too weedy. Also, sedums are comparatively low-maintenace and can withstand drought. If the pre-planted mat works out, my next effort would be to set up my own system of moisture barriers and soil/medium layers, then plant with perhaps a single variety of sedum. Anyway, the sedum mat seemed like a nifty idea. Hope I can locate a source somewhere. I think roof iris would be a bit more fussy than sedums--needs more water, fleshier, heavier root system, hardiness is in question--you don't see it around here, Whereas sedums last forever here - they like benign neglect. Just right for a difficult-to-tend roof garden. Might be nice to try a few along the gutter edge, though. Rick- Does your fellow Rock Garden member have photos of his or her roof posted on the internet anywhere? I would like to see it. Sounds like Heidi's grandfather's cottage. Ginger

The strict definition of antique is something 100 years old or older. I know that the term has been changed through use to encompass anything with age but "vintage" would be the correct term for it. Also, with rugs/ carpets, there are many truly antique ones for sale and that implies certains dyes and knotting techniques and patterns--- some no longer used. It could certainly be from the 1920's. Aubusson rugs did/do not have the pile yours shows in the picture, and a close up shows that the pile is not very dense, which means it won't wear well and was not of really good quality to begin with. It's very striking and I see the appeal :-) However, I think they are asking that much for the rug based on both the size and unusual nature of the color combination, not the quality or provenance.

Trunks as coffee tables are called toe-smashers in my house. I've gone through three. :-) There's gotta be at least a little bit of room underneath for the toes to go. While storage is a nice idea I also found it a PITA since if I wanted to get something from the trunk I had to clear everything off the surface to open it. I would rather have drawers or even a lower shelf I could put flat baskets on (maybe those tailored leather baskets/deep trays?). I rather like something along the lines of the Map Table from Pottery Barn in a satin black painted finish, if you want to bring some of the black from the bar area over here - it's severe enough to play well with Mission furniture without being matchy-matchy at all: I don't think the ottoman-with-tray-for-"stuff" routine is a good idea for the sports-and-beer crowd. It's just asking for something to get tipped over. As for the glass rings, we have not had problems with tables and nightstands with good quality finishes - although I have my DH trained pretty well, there are a couple of my goonier friends who will set a sweating glass down on a table right next to the coaster. We put our feet up on the coffee table too (barbarians! LOL)... this is why I bought an old table with the top wrapped in old copper sheeting, because the more it gets bashed up the better it looks! ;-) However, if this is expected to be a major, major problem, a tile-topped table is right in line with the Mission flavor of the furniture. This one is quite pricey but it gets the general point across very well:

Shee, do you really want an ottoman? Don't get me wrong, I think most of them are very pretty, but I also find them to be a fad right now. I don't see too much wood in your house at all. Have you thought about an old fashioned coffee table? It would cost next to nothing compared to an ottoman. And they're more versatile also. You can soften the looks of coffee tables by adding doilys, table runners, toppers..in all sorts of fabric and prints. I doubt I'll ever get rid of mine, even though the top is getting some wear and tear, it adds to the charm. And it's great to plop the ole feet on!