Oh people I feel your pain. Here I am, awake again at 2am, stressing about windows, when the next phone call will be coming about the kitchen which we put a deposit on last year and the kitchen appliances which were bought in September and are still at the store (they are expecting them to be picked up by Easter). He is a carpenter and 5 years ago it was agreed our house would take priority over other jobs as finally our mortgage was down to almost nothing and I work full time. That never happened. Some people still got their jobs done, quite a lot of fishing happened and he earned sweet FA to top it off, which has caused a lot of resentment on my behalf as we have lived in the ugliest house on the street for 17 of the 20 years we’ve been here. 2 years ago I took long service leave as I thought if I was there helping/supporting him things might happen. LOL. He decided to take a job on a boat with a mate and bloody COVID happened literally a week in. With lockdowns and the QLD border closure we ended up at a standstill. Trouble is, since the border opened he still hasn’t made any effort to order windows or flooring and we can’t install the kitchen until they are in place. He even told me I should ring the window people which REALLY pissed me off as I already work 40+ hours a week and have no idea what to tell them. I just want to scream. Our eldest son has literally no respect for him because of his Reno ADD and the tension in the house is awful. We are living with a cheap Kmart benchtop oven, single hot plate and a metre of free bench space so cooking is a nightmare and our dining table is in our 5 x 5m lounge room with 2 couches & tv. It’s just so frustrating coming home from working my ass off all day to find that he’s been watching Netflix or shows he’s recorded instead of picking up the goddam phone and calling a window rep. I’m torn between staying and hoping he pulls his finger out as he said he wants it done by his 50th (May) or moving out and throwing our reno money away into renting somewhere for myself for the sake of my sanity. Thanks for letting me rant!

One of the things (item #4) that I was asking for help on adding to the plan was a small laundry room on the left side of the home. The master laundry area is just for my husband and me. Also worth noting is that we are in our late 20s/early 30s and do not have children (other than a great dane and beagle) nor are we planning any either. I understand the need for another small laundry area for guests, etc which is why it is on the list to add to the plan. This post was edited by MandBJ on Sat, Jan 31, 15 at 8:41

So your architect didn't have any suggestions on cladding colours? Here are two GTA builds in a similar style, sans the traditional hip roof. The above Toronto area build some might say illustrates the confusion of too many materials (4) on one facade. Your facade has the same number--brick, stone, vertical wood siding and aluminum composite panels. For that reason, I would keep them in the same colour range to avoid the jigsaw look. (Unless that's what you like.)

You're welcome. To answer your initial question, if I had control/choice I would choose Aura matte for my new house walls. Maybe Regal on the ceilings. Painters are going to try to talk you into what they want to use. Sometimes it's about margins, sometimes it's simply what they prefer to work with (can't blame 'em). Exterior - I never tell a painter what paint he/she has to use because they're the ones who have to guarantee the paint job and exterior can be rough. Interior, however, is a different story. Weather isn't a consideration so I'll push harder to get what I want in terms of product. Most of the time the reason I push for a specific product is because it's color critical. It's not a true picture to compare paint price per gallon. You need to compare price per square foot. And the top tier grades like Aura cost about a nickel more per square; that puts the difference into perspective and gives you a more realistic view of affordability and value. In addition, the Benjamin Moore Color Stories colors can only be mixed in an Aura paint base. So choosing Aura gives you the option of full spectrum color if you want it.