Wuff, that's how it should be...unfortuntely things are hardly ever as they should be and mny people these days haven't a clue about ettiquette....that applies to some adults in particular. I agree that fine dining restaurants are not suitable for children...unless of course, as you describe, the children hav been schooled in proper behaviour. One restaurants I've been taken to on specil occasions actually has a policy of "no children"..but in order not to breach discrimination ettiquette they have a special chidren's dining room with waiters dressed in colorful uniforms. There's also a fine dining children's menu. The children are called 'maam' and 'sir' and have their chairs pulled out for them....they have their non alcoholic drinks served in lovly glases as if it were champagne or wine....it really delightful. They also have themed evenings. There's a dining etiquette that the children are expected to observe..and how to hold and use the cutlery. Parents are given a little booklet about it.. I thought it a good way to instruct the adults under the guise of instructing the children. It works well and the restaurant owners are to be commended for such a novel approach to...well, it "manners" isn't it? And not many know the mening ot the word these days. The children come away from such an experience feeling important..and I think some parents learn a few things too. There's nothing worse that not being able to go out for a dignified meal because other people don't realise that some places are just not for children..especilly their chidren. Its one thing being well-to-do and completely another having manners. My dear old Mum was the eldest of 12 children...their Dad was an Engine Driver, but he insisted that each and every one of the children learn manners.. As disadvantaged as they were, they "dressed" for dinner in their best always clean, pressed, starched clothes,,, darns, mends and all, and he'd inspect them all before they were allowed to be seated. Mum's Aunt Laura taught her to..."be a lady" and educated her about the arts, taught her how to dance, how to set a table for a three course meal, how to dress, how to be polite, and..how to cook and manage a home...so she would be able to "mix it with the best" and not be thought out of place. How things have changed...its all more relaxed. Manners and respect for others seem to have..."Gone With The Wind"..regarded as outmoded and old fashioned. Pity! Wonder how we can get a gracious, respecful society back?

Oh C'mon V Richards...every epoch has its treasures. B4 you make a mad run for it stop a while and consider the period and the reasons for the style...it can be extremely enlightening....unless its not the period you want to escape from but from some of the opinions. I spent many years of my youth outside of Australia living surrounded by old ruins in Europe. I forgot what it was like here. When finally I returned to Australia and found myself living in some of the 60s and 70s places..I found much to admire and wonder about. I may not have fallen in love with much of it but there was a certain mistique and a feel that I can still conjure when talking about certain places. Not saying that it was all romantic and pleasant but it conveyed something of the era and the kind of Aussie from those days.

Custom Orb looks great. But.....your flashings and trims can cost a lot of money and labour to finish well. If you use it in a few select areas that need little or no flashings then it works better. It becomes even more of a 'cool' feature then as well. Installing it vertical rather than horizontal could be much easier to install as well. We cladded our house in it about 7 years ago. While it looks great I probably wouldn't do it again due to the cost (and mucking around..) and also the fact that a change of colour isn't a paint brush away...... My preference would be FC sheet with battens over the joins, a bit of Custom Orb in a few selected areas that are hard to maintain/paint/etc and good old face brick. Recycled bricks rather than new would be a nice feature as well. Face brick needs little maintenance and doesn't damage easily from kids running into with bikes, etc..

No offence Dreamer , but personally I think all those pictures reinforce my thought , that a sloping roof above the garage door is too predictable , too cliched , too expected . I assume the designer put the gable there to take it away from the expected , but by having the 'other' roof style ( I think its called a hip roof ? ) above the balcony , it doesn't look right . Risky , but thats why I'd be tempted to do 2 gables ( a 3rd one above the 2 upstairs windows would look too square IMO ) , as they don't offend , but conversely aren't what 95% of people would do -- adds some individuality without looking too outside the square .