I agree with both of the above that you would do best to choose the brick for the house color first, and not for the plants. Your new taupe isn't the same as the old taupe? Your word descriptions wonÂt help. For example, if that dark grey tone in the first description tends to be blue-toned, it might look awful with the taupe, which may have mauve tints or olive tints. Borrow or buy several bricks in each color you are considering. If you buy them, you can probably return them for a restocking fee. It's worth it. In short, do whatever you can to see large samples of siding or paint that matches siding, and bricks, on site. Maro

We have the BiltBest casements - you will love the single lock. One thing we ended up doing - our architect had drawn in windows that were 6" larger than we ended up installing. Four rooms have very large windows on 2 or 3 walls to take in lake view. By going down 6", we went from "Mansion Series" size windows to the next lower cost level. Saved a small fortune. He had ALL the windows as functioning - we changed numerous windows to fixed to also cut cost. By doing these two things, we cut 30K from the window bid. Here's a picture of the breakfast area during construction (9ft ceiling):

It would be a shame to take off all that beautiful original siding and replace it with garbage vinyl. I'd put the budget into a good brush stain and seal. Cared for cedar should last a hundred years. Derek Hurd Studio 1212 Live/Work/Create District 112 E. 33rd Garden City, ID 83714 208.841.4112

I think the photo Patricia posted is beautiful -- I'm not sure sage is going to work well on our home, as our brick is orangey, while that brick has pink undertones. Also, they have siding, with a farmhouse type of feel, while we have a stucco-esque material. Anyways, I've put together my four top options, here they are!