Very short driveway, and that safety orange cone by the boulder? Does that remind anyone backing out of the garage to be careful? :) And Don, it was no less than what I expected to find in any garden you touched, or really any project you set yourself to accomplish. Great detail in the use of white to define the hardscape. Love the shape of that arbor, breaking away from always straight lines one comes to expect with wood structures. Honestly, do you do all this work, including maintenance, yourself? Do you have hired help? How large is your garden anyway, to have all these well laid out non-cramped beds. Did you landscape it, because it is very professional looking. And, I've lost my way to THE LISTS....where are they now? I know some were moved to Pieterje's site, or so I think, and I cannot find it. Looking for the THEME GARDENS specifically. Need to submit a few more. I now have the HOSTA FINDER to browse through, need to see your lists. Sorry if it is off topic a bit, but I was going to email you with this question, and here you post, so......excuse please? (but where is it)

I live alone. Never. Unless I want to change color. This question can't be answered with a definitive. It's going to depend upon the usage. Is it a factory finish? Painted over one? Small kids? Active cook? or someone like me who used to cook but doesn't, so it's just a place to nuke soup. Goo dluck with them. You have my dream cabinets.

I used a similar color, Glidden Silver Cloud. Mine is a bit more grey than blue, though. It was shocking at first, as the room was originally antique white, with a very dark merlot accent wall. The new paint felt very pastel (which I don't like) at first. I hung charcoal grey linen curtains with white sheers, tufted chairs in front of the fireplace in the same charcoal linen, a white Matelasse on the bed with a white/grey duvet folded at the foot. I added pops of color with turquoise velvet pillows and art above the bed that included the silver blue wall color, charcoal curtain color, and turquoise. Now, I love it.

Not to pile on, but your 'painter' sounds a bit out of her element, and the advice she received from the Store is equally awful. 1. Deglossers are not helpful. I only stocked them in the store because corporate required it at the time. As noted, they are fickle and can tend to leave deposits on the surface that the topcoat may not adhere to as well as they should. 2. Why in the world your 'painter' felt the need to put poly over your new paint job is just exacerbating the the problem. 2 different coatings, both with different cure times. Also, was this oil poly, or polycrylic (waterbase)? If she used oil based poly, in about a year you are going to have the most golden yellow cabinets you've never wanted. I shudder to think if she used WB PC, and Oil Poly, or the reverse. 3. The advice received from SW was politely 'crap'. At this point, a stripping is in order. Like down to bare, coat with either BIN, or similar. I prefer BIN due to outstanding adhesion and quick dry. However, it is think and can easily run. If your painter is unsure, try another product. Spray finish, 2 coats. 4. Paint can take a MINIMUM of 30 days to cure, sometimes longer. That doesn't mean you can't use them, but as you've seen they are much softer initially and it's quite easy to damage them.