Whoa, if you get a degree in industrial arts you get to acquire carpentry textbooks along the way?!? Sweet! Kim, I've always enjoyed/appreciated your contributions; given the wisdom of trial and error that was behind them, I see why they stood out. My mom got us a couple of the Reader's Digest fixit books (have to run downstairs, one of them might be the very one you have); I like the way they are encyclopedic and detailed. I know Jane Powell but not the Small Houses books (do you mean The Not So Big stuff by Susanka, or the Small House anthologies from Fine Homebuilding?) Thanks for mentioning books; I think I might start a reference book thread for this forum. Hey Casey, THANKS for taking the bait. And you are NOT a bloody genius, you are an old house DEITY for crying out loud! Would you please start your own show on youtube? Or maybe just a house tour? Even Petch house has youtube videos. Or, do you already have a project blog and everyone knows about it but me? Actually for someone with a degree in historic preservation, I am impressed with how low-key your posts come across; they read more like an old friend who's "been there" and wants to pass along lessons learned along the way, it's really very nice and encouraging. But if you ever want to browbeat me feel free; I would take it as a compliment. To be honest if I post about something I'm thinking of doing to my house, and you don't opine, I figure one of two things is going on: 1) you're not on the forum; or 2) you're politely disapproving. Most of the time I assume it's 2 because you seem to be pretty consistent around here. But I just want to say, and I hope I speak for many, that I love love love your posts, especially when I'm searching on a problem I'm trying to solve and something from you pops up! (PS I finally got around to using that general finishes gel varnish you recommended and it was fantastic, thank you; I will post photos to the woodworking forum sometime before the next census.) Oh, and I love the way you "aged" the color tones in the new pine beadboard in your kitchen; reminds me of the pine in my grandmother's kitchen. When I was really little I used to look at the gleaming pores and think it was the closest wood could get to 24K gold.

You haven't been in the middle of this project very long for all of that work to be completed. And I'm not sure why you want to paint your deck. That does nothing but create a lifetime of maintenance issues for you. Decks should be stained, not painted. And that should wait about 6 months for the pressure treated lumber to dry out enough for the stain to stick. Stain it too soon, and it will all come off. Combine paint, and doing that too soon, and you'll be painting it every year rather than staining it every couple of years. Did you have the structural engineer's report about redoing all of those window openings and wall openings? That should have told you what wall depth was possible and wasn't. If the wall needs to be reinforced for support, that will add depth to it. If it didn't need to be reinforced, then that should have been spelled out as well. Did the contractor talk with the engineer directly about the requirements? Lots of contractors have poor communication skills. That's not unusual. It would be unusual to have poor construction skills and poor communication skills and still be a licensed and insured contractor who gets decent references from people who've used him before. What does your written contract say about parting of the ways? The written word rules. Did he pull the permits? Or did you? If he pulled the permits, you need to talk to your local codes office and see if it's possible to transfer them to a new contractor or if you will have to apply for entirely new ones. If you aren't careful, you can have a lien placed on your home by the contractor. Getting someone new may be difficult. Most contractors do not like to come in in the middle of another's job, so you may find it difficult to find someone to pick up the pieces here. They don't know if the homeowner or the contractor was a problem, and they'd rather not take the chance that it was you. Checking out a contractor's license, insurance and references and past work does help to prevent getting the duds. Not always though. I'd recommend trying to communicate with him about your expectations as the first solution. However, some of those expectations are a tad unrealistic, so I'd also recommend that you talk to some other neighbors who've had renovation work done to be able to get some perspective on exactly how long things take and how expensive it is. You are in one of the most expensive locations in the country, with some of the most difficult to access property which makes it hard for contractors to get work done. It takes twice as long, and twice as much money to do the same project in NYC as it would in a suburb with plenty of parking and plenty of room for materials to be delivered, etc. And if it does come down to a parting of the ways, you will want to be sure you do it correctly so that you don't create more problems for yourself. It might be worth it to consult a construction attorney before you go down that path...

The concept of negative space means that not every nook and cranny have to be filled. Let the eyes rest. One thing you could do if you're looking to do something different is instead of the basic wall art, how about framed prints in a vertical column? That way you can use a number of pieces without it filling up the wall. I've had that for many years, and it looks great. Another idea is a tapestry. Take your time and get pieces you love.

Nope. I'm lousy with dates. Fabulously awful. I can't even remember the dates my parents died without looking. Christmas, New Year, July 4th (😆), my birthday and my spouse's birthday might be it for me. Oh, and 9/11. Been a weird issue my whole life. 🤷‍♂️