"75% is obviously better than 60%".... Not necessarily. There are competing goals with shade cloth - reduce heat and keep light. In trying shade cloth ranging from 30% - 70%, there is a substantial difference in the heat load reduction. 30% does relatively little. 70% shade cloth dramatically reduces GH inside temps. Of course it also reduces the light by that much as well, the plants will grow slower, but are not damaged by high temps. It should also be noted that aluminet 50% produces the same heat/light reduction effect as standard woven shade cloth 50% ,if installed outside the greenhouse, but at a higher cost per sq. ft. My solution was to get several correct sized panels of standard shade cloth, 30% - 70%, and throughout the season shift them around the GH. Early- 30% on south. later- 30% north, 50% south, and mid-summer - 70% south, 50% north. It has worked well, even with last summers 112 deg. heat wave.

I'm in the same camp as RoccocoGirl. I have sets of china. And I use them all. AND I'm probably going to acquire at least another set as we shop the resale and consignments shops on the SouthEastern US coast. I managed a china and glass store first out of college, and I acquired a lot of knowledge about and affinity for dinnerware. For durability, buy porcelain as opposed to stoneware. Several of the sets at W-S and C&B etc are porcelain, several are stoneware. Stoneware is fired at lower temps, therefore has to be heavier to have the same durability, and is way more susceptible to chipping. The white and grey bases also mark up with cutlery. Which is why the Mikasa French and Italian white sets all mark up pretty quickly, they're stoneware. I had a full set of that stuff for 12 that I picked up very cheap at an estate sale, because I needed some plain dinnerware about 12 years ago. Hated it. Hated the feel, the weight, the fact that it marked up so bad. Gave the whole set to my eldest stepdaughter. IMO the ultimate warm white plain dinnerware is Wedgewood White. It has a large rim, so portion control is easier, the base white is so opaque, and I love the feel of it. But it is pricey. I think I'm going to get it for our new house. I have quite a bit of serving pieces and bakeware in V&B botanica and Port Merion Botanic Garden that I want to mix with a plain white set. I also have sets of salad plates that I like to mix in. When shopping for white dinnerware pay attention to the weight of it - you have to lift it in and out of the DW and the cabinets everyday. And the base color - the differences between whites are myriad. And most of all the surface area. There is such a trend, especially in the W-S and C&B type stores, to oversize. Remember that you need to put food on that plate, and you're likely to put more food on a bigger plate so that it looks in proportion. Lastly, the biggest regret I have is not purchasing the Coalport Countryware white when it was available. Evidently they discontinued it in the last few years. ;( If anyone comes across some for sale or has it and wants to dump it, let me know! Here is a link that might be useful:

People often forget (and some never knew), that garage doors are often the single largest architectural element on the façade of a house. When there are more than a single car garage door, the dominance is usually overwhelming. Compare the image of a house with 2-3-4 or more garage doors visible from the street with older houses which had an alley and the garage behind the house. Which of the two houses looks more appealing and retains its inviting residential image longer over time? So...add to the size, scale and proportion of the garage door(s) the façade in which the garage doors are located, and you usually have a scale buster (architectural jargon) on your hands! It's one of the primary reasons many professionals on this forum advise against having the garage doors visible from the front of the house, especially if they project forward of the rest of the house and create the dreaded "snout garage".

I go with the sunroom, too, and here's why. You can build a shed for cheap at some point, and until then you'll probably keep one car inthe driveway, and all the bikes and basketballs in the garage along with the yard and snow tools. The sunroom will make a great playroom while the little ones are little. I've seen that sunroom with nothing in it but a low-pile play rug and Lego. Or balls. Or plastic hockey sticks. Or those big Little Tykes (slide, trikes, trains) Or Hot Wheels. Or dollhouses. Or art projects (easy-to-clean tile floor). Usually just one or two of those. But a great playspace, near you but not, outdoors but not. After they are done with those types of toys, it can be dining space and added living space. You don't need the shed until Boy #1 gets a car. Oops, didn't mean to scare ya lol! Upstairs, I wonder if you can steal some space from the game room to make a reach-in closet for Bedroom 2, and use its walk-in closet to expand the bathroom. 5 boys will need more counterspace, more drawer storage, and (I can't believe I'm saying this, I'm usually a 1-sink gal) 2 sinks. Downstairs, consider eliminating the study closet and adding a shower to the powder room.