I have been using cabinet coat on my moldings and trim and it is great. It has a subtle sheen to it, but not too much. I'd recommend the foam brushes for the primer coat and using a brush for the paint. Since your surfaces are wider, you may even want to try a 1" foam roller for the primer. My moldings and windows all have tight spaces. My most important tool is my ipod that I download audiobooks onto. They are free from the library and keep me from losing my mind. I have had to sand, prime and then paint (2x) all the old windows and trim, paint the new windows and trim (2x) and paint most ceilings and all walls in the reno (involving 5 rooms, a bathroom, 2 closets and a laundry room). Luckily, I have discovered Aura, so did not need to prime all the walls. I bought one can of "oops" in Regal though, but that is for the closet and will be used for stenciling as well. The ceilings need primer though :(. I have been painting every single day for weeks and sometimes more than 12 hours in a day on my days "off", although with 2 kids and a dh to also clean up after, feed and clothe, it has tested my sanity in many ways. Luckily, I work 4 days a week from my office usually and have been able to do more from home, although my business calls have been all on speaker phone while I am covered in paint, lol. The funny thing is as I survey each element, I have a clear memory of what book I was listening to as I painted or prepped. It is a great way for time to pass faster because your hands are engaged and you mind is as well. The cost of hiring out was $3,500 for priming everything and painting the ceilings with me still painting the master bedroom, living room, dining room and den walls, PLUS all the moldings and trim. The painter would have painted the kitchen walls. Our budget has been stretched to the breaking point, so I just added to my list and am plugging away at it all. I can say that the painter seemed very qualified, but no one will paint as carefully as I do. I may not be as fast as he'd be, but the end result will be as good or better. When you are doing it on your own home, you just care more. If I am going to live with and take the credit/blame for how it comes out, there is no way I'd do a sloppy job!

Yes, the market is indeed pretty hot. Bad timing. I wanted to be the GC for the project but my husband wisely vetoed it since this is our first time. The current arrangement does feel like a strange hybrid of owner-builder + a fixed fee project manager that is a GC who by contract provides warranty, liability insurance, and technical decision making. He's in charge of full supervision and communications with all subs; but I'm not paying him as an employee by time so he has control over how much time and how he does it (though we did ask for a minimum four days of visit a week in the contract without stipulating how much time spent each visit), and he's not guaranteeing a lump sum though he is supposed to guarantee quality and standards as per our contract. The numbers look like we're splitting the differences in cost between owner-building and full GC.

I agree with Jan Moyer mostly except for the shipping costs—-I have always been billed the exact amount for freight / shipping of all fabrics with our ID. That said, he was perfectly clear that frieight was a separate billable, at cost. Transfer of knowledge is a hidden benefit of hiring a professional like an interior designer.....or maybe transfer of taste? :) There are thousands of fabrics that could have looked just fine on your windows. Based on her taste and experience in how fabrics look in different treatments and sizes of treatments (huge difference in curtains pleated at the top or not in terms of how much of the pattern shows, same with Roman shades) she narrowed that down to a manageable choice. Our guy always gives me at least three possibilities, and as many as six if there’s only one fabric involved. I would not feel comfortable taking that knowledge and purchasing the fabric outside our contract, although I would definitely ask him for a lower priced workroom if the costs were ridiculous. With reupholstery I have used my own guy and the fabric was shipped to him. However, ID did not guarantee hose products’ quality or timeliness. That said, after paying him a flat fee (and one I considered a lot of money) to do a floor plan / furniture placement, I purchased my own curtains (combination of off the rack and custom) and saved at least $15k on window treatments alone doing an entire house from scratch. I did not use any of his suggested fabrics. If I had I would have bought the fabric, at least, through him. FWIW, I like the first fabric you posted. It is definitely more of a type, but looks more refined (for lack of a better word) and has more colors to pull from when accessorizing the right side of the rooms picture. Is that a sitting room, or hearth room? I remember your family room redo year ago , wasn’t your husband involved with the beautiful moldings and trim?

Thanks! Ideally I'd like something that is similar to what's there now, not I'm not super picky. As long as it somewhat goes with the exterior rock. I just don't want white or black, honestly. I'm not crazy about Don Young (they do sell their windows here, didn't realize they did doors as well), and did get confirmation that Okna isn't I'm my area. I'll get info today on a few options from the guy who came yesterday, and I'm waiting to hear back on scheduling 1-2 others.