if you aren't spraying the doors and drawers you are going to get an inferior finish, sorry to say. You might get away with brushing bath vanities and other floor bound items , but that brush stroke look isn't going to fly with kitchen cabinets up high with kitchen lights reflecting off of them highlighting all the brushstrokes. I paint cabinets for a living and there is no way I would ever get paid for that hand brushed look. The goal of painting cabinets is to make them look like they aren't painted. The last thing you want to hear from visitors coming into your home is hey I see you painted your kitchen cabinets. Have to spray them for that.

Use a good latex primer, then 2 coats of satin or eggshell. The primer will prevent the paint from chipping. My one faux paneled wall has been painted 3 times with different colors and has never chipped. To make covering that color easier, have the paint store tint your primer with your new paint color.

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback. Please keep your thoughts coming. We have now decided we definitely want to do a COMPLETE INSTALL and not just an insert. We live in WI and are considering the following few companies as of now: 1) WASCO http://www.wascowindows.com/ They come recommended by others, have a great reputation, build their own windows (can visit the local plant), and a solid warranty. They get the highest ratings on AngiesList.com. Salesman did a nice job. Our main concerns exist with almost every vinyl company which is matching the interior vinyl wood grain to the 1 x 4 wood trim we have around every window (and throughout our house as trim on everything such as floors, entrances into rooms, etc...) AND losing some window space because vinyl takes up more space. 2) STANEK by "Great Day Improvements" http://www.greatdayimprovements.com/ They too came recommend by others, have a good reputation, sell Stanek windows, and receive a solid review on AngiesList (WASCO has higher reviews). Salesman did a great job - very personable and not pushy at all. Our main concerns exist with almost every vinyl company which is matching the interior vinyl wood grain to the 1 x 4 wood trim we have around every window (and throughout our house as trim on everything such as floors, entrances into rooms, etc...) AND losing some window space because vinyl takes up more space. 3) Lowes. A local contractor we trust dearly is recommending the local Lowes store because the installer does AMAZING work according to this contractor we trust. The contractor is telling us to make sure we get this specific installer. He trusts the head guy and this specific installer to do a fantastic job. We meet with the head guy next week. They did this installer's house and he loves the results AND the price. The contractor has high standards. Thoughts and/or things to consider?

It strikes me as not taking advantage of what you have to place the house a mere 40' from the road. I would add another 10' at least, but more likely another 20' or 30' or more since, after all, the space is there for your taking and the potential to create a much improved setting for the house correlates with it. You would end up with two areas that are maintained very differently. The roughly 1/2 acre or less house and yard would require maintenance similar to any house and yard located in the suburbs. The remaining roughly five-acre pine forest would be essentially unmaintained outside of any particular projects that you wish to undertake, such as cutting & maintaining a trail through it. You will want to remove the dead lower limbs from the trees where they are highly visible from the yard, on account of their being unsightly. It will cause no damage to the pines and can be done anytime. It would be pointless to remove them from the remaining 5 acres as you would not see them. You'd also want to remove fallen branches within view of the house on account of their being unsightly. The way you keep weeds at bay is to first kill them by digging or pulling their roots out of the ground, covering them from light, smothering them with mulch, or killing them with herbicide. Then, areas must be planted solid, paved, heavily mulched or have a building on it in order to keep weeds out. Lower growing plants will begin to grow where sunlight reaches the soil below the trees, but at a distance from the house and yard it will be inconsequential. in the yard itself, you'll have lawn, landscape bed and perhaps some trees other than pines. While mulch alone is sometimes used in landscape beds, it is inferior to beds that are planted solidly with shrubs and low growing plants, especially groundcovers for areas of much size. It is inferior because mulch deteriorates in appearance and must be top dressed. Neither does mulch alone hold soil well from erosion. Planted areas are also mulched at the beginning but plants end up covering the mulch, so no more is needed. It would be necessary before building starts to create a drainage plan for the yard that surrounds the house (not the outlying 5 acres) so that you don't end up with drainage problems. Soil MUST slope away from every exterior wall of the house, ideally for at least 10'. From that point it must be carried to where it can run harmlessly into the surrounding land or road. Be sure to factor in grading for any outdoor areas, such as a patio at the back of the house. A "heads up" I would give to any home builder is to pay special attention to the front walk that leads to the home entrance. As a rule, these walks are of inferior design for the vast majority (upwards of 95%) of new homes. They are usually too small and too close to the building, killing opportunities for even decent landscaping around the home. If your walk is not designed by an experienced landscape designer or architect, I'd return here with a site plan and hash it out yourself with help from the Landscape Design Forum.