Juliehc, it sounds like you're cooking. I like the cozy sound of saturated gray, but a white ceiling sounds both rather harshly contrasting and as if the white will set it off as not belonging with what's below it. That's a cousin to the problem illustrated in those initial pictures of a room that Hhireno so accurately described as decorated for a lower flat ceiling, with the rest just sort of...up there. A lighter neutral paint on the ceiling that was dark enough to blend calmly into the walls, or more accurately walls into ceiling as the eye travels up, would help make the ceiling part of the room. (I like beige with gray and wonder if that would be a place for it.) I was also struck by Hhireno's comments about the effect of furniture shapes in the pictures Palimpsest posted. This isn't the only way to decorate high volumes, but it certainly works exquisitely in those pictures. Allied with that is my own observation that in every one of those designs, which are meant to celebrate their wonderful high spaces and make them look their best (rather than "deal with" or ignore them as problems), is that dark, contrasting colors are kept low, while the rest of their volumes soar with little interruption to their lightness. Julie's going warmer and richer with grays and beiges, with a very different feeling in mind, but I feel sure there're lessons in there anyway.

I like the idea of a nice deep grey.I'd do a vibrant color front door, maybe in red as well.

New poster here in this section of the forums. Long post too. I have enjoyed reading the forums and the advice given to other people on their windows. Thanks in advance for your opinions on our “window improvement” project. My questions What can be done to improve sealing when re-wrapping metal on a frame? Same question on installing the pocket replacement window (seems limited). Any recommendations on window installation services companies in the Northern Virginia area? I'd love to get 5 install quotes. Any decent mid-range window hardware companies you like? I have a low-end quote, and I have a Kolbe quote. I really liked the quality of the Kolbe operation. I'd like to get at least 2-3 more midrange quotes. What do you think of the DC area renovation average figures for 10 3x5 vinyl replacement windows installed of $17,462? Here’s the link to the general web site: https://www.remodeling.hw.net/cost-vs-value/2020/south-atlantic/washington-dc/ What amount or range might I budget for the services in the DC area generally? (I looked at the 2020 cost vs. value report for their “10 window” project - but I’d like your opinion too.) Is $200-400 reasonable, depending on the wrapping needed? Anything else I’m missing? Maybe quite a lot :) General Background. We live in Fairfax Virginia. Our neighborhood is nice, but not “historic”; a “tract home”. Background details are here (http://levittownbeyond.com/Greenbriar.html ) We have the “Essex” model. Our siding is white vinyl, and is in decent shape. We carefully clean it every fall. Hopefully it will last our time in this house. Our attic is well and fully insulated. Our time horizon in this house is 10-15 years. The front of the house faces due south. There will be a lot of sun exposure in 1-2 years time when the two old Norway Maples (invasive, non-native) die back completely and turn into log compost. Maybe a solar project is in the future, but not now. There are a lot of windows. There are some fairly nice Andersen windows, and they will be part of a future phase to clean, restore, or renovate their hardware operation. Glass seems fine there. Project The focus now is on 16 windows on the house. Almost the entire neighborhood has double-hung pocket white vinyl inserts on what appear to be OK white frames. We have the same. The size of the windows is W 35.75” and H 49.75” . There are a couple smaller, and a couple need tempered glass for bathrooms. Current Frames: seem OK, possibly some extra sealing would be in order to improve air-tightness. The same window veteran recommended a refresh of the exterior metal wrapping “as needed” because our current wrapping is pock-marked with a few small holes. Current Windows: these current windows now seem somewhat compromised through old age and use. Our current windows are vinyl. The labels are very faded, and almost illegible. A few numbers are visible. They appear to have “HECH” as a recurring word. One windows veteran suggested this might mean the former hardware company Hechinger (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hechinger ) might have been the local distributor of these windows. That means the latest date of installation would be the late 1990’s; 20+ years of service from a vinyl window does not seem so bad. The weatherstripping is of the “fur pile” kind, as is fairly degraded or flattened. There is some warping of sashes. Some glass is degraded. Some example photos 1. Some degraded glass 2. A warp on a frame Assumptions Given our time horizon, the good condition of our siding, and the context of the wider neighborhood we are considering a pocket white insert window as the replacement. We don’t need to have the “fanciest windows in the neighborhood”, but we would like them to be good quality from a decent company, very well-installed by professionals who can help us with other projects in the future (doors, other windows, etc). I do like the idea of the windows being “nice” to operate for their lifespan, and with a good, simple, and efficient warranty. I liked the Kolbe windows for that. I do like the concepts of the “passive house” movement on sustainability end energy efficiency. What I have had quoted so far. Local contractor recommendation: Interstate windows combined with installation. This was very cost-efficient, but the services were rated extremely poorly on review sites. $11K. Kolbe ultra pocket. $15K before services. Weather Shield pocket replacement $12K before services

One thing I noticed about rock beds is that if you don't have landscaping fabric under the rocks, they end up embedded in the soil. I removed 3 layers of different kinds of lava rock, river rock and quartz from in front of my new/old house after we moved in a few years ago (The former owners had refurbished the area with different kinds of rocks each time). Only to find out that the ground beneath them ran downhill (10" in 3 ft.) towards the house (there was fabric underneath). There were other places the former owners used rock also and didn't put fabric underneath and those were the place where the rock was embedded into the soil. Rocks not only sinks when it's muddy but rotting vegetation & soil blown by the wind fills in between the rocks adding to the effect. Being I had all the rocks piled in the driveway, I leveled the ground along the house (slightly slanting away from the house), relaid the river rocks (using fabric underneath) that I washed with the power washer (it only took a portion of the river rocks to get the desired depth after I leveled the ground) and then had a guy come with a loader to remove several yards of excess rock/quartz/lava from the driveway. The area by my house has a northern exposure so little sun gets in there but if you have a southern exposure, rocks will get very hot during the summer sun and will cook any plants planted there. You may get by with potted plants laid on top of the rocks but you'll be more limited in what you can have. Just wanted to share one of the nightmares you might run into doing that. A wheel barrel comes in handy removing rock. You can load it according to your strength or ambition, or both. :-)