We purchased a Samsung '419 two years ago, and have been happy with it so far. The tipping point in our choice of the Samsung was the "diamond" drum (a patent-avoiding copy of the Miele "honeycomb" drum) that minimizes the pull-through of fabric tufts of clothing in the drainage holes during the high-speed spin operation. Only Miele and Samsung have a like feature. From the get-go, we have had an inexpensive surge-spike protector (ours is a Tripp-Lite Spike Cube) on the outlet where the Samsung plugs into the mains circuit. The few complaints you may read about Samsungs tend to relate to circuit board failures -- which could reflect a power supply not robust enough to deal with "dirty" electrical power; surge/spike protection is cheap insurance against damage to the circuit board.

Use door toppers: http://www.corallight.com/shop.cfm?tgt=dept&DID=8 http://victorianwooddesigns.com/headers.htm http://www.norsecrafts.com/doortops.htm http://www.wroughtirondecorstore.com/lowaddoto.html http://www.saladotex.com/WALL_TAPESTRY_TOPPERS_RODS_HARDWARE.html http://www.craftcompany.com/sticks-door-toppers.html http://www.kccreationsinc.com/ http://www.ruthconklingallery.com/doortops.htm Or do a search for door toppers on eBay. Or find an architectural piece you like. There are some cool things at Michaels. They also have plaques you can paint. You may find something fabulous at a salvage yard. Or, letter a sign over the door. Or, buy antique signs on eBay. Or paint flowers/vines over door tops. Or stencil over the door. Or put up a pretty silk flower swag. Or do raised plaster stencils. http://www.victorialarsen.com/Plaster%20Stencils/plaster_stencils_home_new.htm

Thanks for posting your photo (again), lacombe. That's a good close-up view of the Phantom Screen Door. That must be the cartridge on the left. It looks neat and it seems that it doesn't interfere with the threshold. And by the way, that's a lovely color blue on your door trim. So if I understand correctly, Phantom Screens are installed professionally and RetractAway Screens, on the other hand, come in a kit. And chay, it sounds like they're not so easy to install. Bug Off screens sound good for a temporary solution during those perfect days - would probably save on air conditioning also. Also, I'm curious. When I looked at full-view storm and screen combination doors I wondered how long it takes and how much strength is required to swap the window for the screen. Do they come with some kind of sleeve for storage?

RE cpartist suggestion of repeating the pediment dovecote detail in all 3 gables. That will be too much of one thing, in addition of scale issues. That vertical thingy is a trim and not a post. Getting rid of the trim is optional but I would not replace it with dovecotes.