I have to admit that while I'm great at reading floor plans, site plans confuse me a bit. I know that they matter, so I defer to others on this topic. I do understand the concept of having 12 acres, yet having only one good spot on which to build. I have 40 acres, yet I have one "obvious" spot where the house will be located. Oh, I COULD build in other locations, but it would be more costly (not adjacent to the existing gravel driveway, need to run utilities farther, etc.), but one general area is superior to the others in numerous ways. I don't want to disturb the roughly 50% that's heavily wooded, I don't want to move too close to the little pond in the woods that floods its banks, and I do want to maintain the open field that I rent out to a farmer (this gets me a drastically reduced tax build, and I'm fine with having a corn field behind my house). As for natural light, YES, it matters! Natural light is one of those basics I keep harping upon. Look at some photographs of rooms you like; natural light is most likely the key factor in why these rooms are appealing. To give an example from my current house (though the more examples I give from my sorry old house, the more I wonder why I live here at all), my kitchen /breakfast room /family room faces East. Although I have a covered porch off the back, I get the morning sun in those rooms, and during those morning hours these rooms are at their best. They are MUCH more inviting. The colors are warmer, the room even looks more spacious. By the time we get home from school/work, those prime hours are gone, and although the rooms aren't "dark", they also don't have much life. Colors, window choices, and other things can play into making the most of your natural light, but don't ignore this all-important topic.

Cheri, I am just reading your post for the first time tonight.... I am glad you are considering wood flooring for your kitchen! After looking at your pictures - I can see that you are going for a very "high end, authentic" look. I think checkerboard tile would be a mistake and not in keeping with the great details that you already have, so carefully selected. I would do the wood floor stained medium to darker brown and use a rug to achieve the look you are going for. Your style seems very classic, simple and elegant and authentic. I have a great picture of a rug that could give you the look, but I don't know how to post pictures in this forum. I have just started posting tonight for the first time. Keep focusing and best of luck to you.... Your choices so far are very nice.

Yes, the info is outdated. Also, clerks in paint stores will still recommend painting one wall at a time by cutting it in and then rolling it out while the cut-ins are still wet. They are outdated too. I'm a fast painter. If I cut in a 12 foot wall, some of those cuts are too dry to roll over by the time I get about halfway done with rolling the wall. Honestly, I think you have about 3 minutes before they are too dry. If you can cut-in a whole wall and roll it out in 3 minutes, you are good and fast! Of course this depends on humidity, temperature, etc., and adding Floetrol will always give you more open time, but that's just the general idea. Most paints used to be a vinyl and acrylic mix. Those didn't dry as fast as the paints we are seeing all over now that are 100 percent acrylic. The hatbanding effect can also come from rolling over a dry cut-in line, but I have not seen that happen for some time. It probably only happens with certain products and I guess I stay away from them and use what I know works. Usually if I cut-in a whole room, the cut-ins are ready to be painted over within an hour or so after. Just make sure they are not tacky at all. You can do both coats in one day easily. The best thing to do is read the can to find out what the manufacturer recommends for recoat time and again make sure the walls are not tacky at all before recoating...usually most brands can be recoated in 4-6 hours. My normal pole for rolling normal walls is the 2' to 4'. You want to spread the paint on and then on your final pass roll from ceiling to floor. Don't stop in the center of the wall and change directions.

Ksus, can I ask why you want them from "native" trees? If that is really what you are looking for, they shouldn't be that hard to find. Pawpaws are actually very common in woods and forests around the area. Finding the fruit may be a little bit more difficult because pawpaws growing in the shade produce MUCH LESS fruit than those growing in full sun AND animals love to eat the fruit (before you get a chance to find it). But, it is out there. I see pawpaw seeds in animal scat very frequently. Most of them are probably completely viable, if you are brave enough to dig in and collect them. Now, if you are wanting the seeds to grow trees for the edible fruit, I would strongly suggest that you consider buying grafted cultivars. The fruit is almost certain to be much better quality for eating. If you need info on growing the seeds, do a little Googling and then email me, through the message link on my GardenWeb profile, with any questions you can't find answers for. I will be happy to answer what I can.