It's a common issue. It took over a year and a half for my house to be built far enough for me to be able to move in. Even if your GC wants to work all the time only on your place, he has to wait on subs and professional electricians, plumbers etc. On supplies to arrive. For inspections to happen. In my locale, permitters and inspectors only appear to work one day a week or pretty close to that. And yes, my GC had his slow moments I still can't account for on top of that. I took over the painting of the basement and a few other minor things after I was legal and living here. (Pro work in the way of aesthetics in an unfinished basement was not necessary, since I never plan to "finish" it anyway. I like seeing where pipes run so I can spot leaks before they get out of hand.)

It's both whitefly and mold. Sooty mold grows on the honeydew excreted by the insects.

re colors cant tell because your fireplace wall looks blue on my screen for example. sample cards for starters from the paint store. There will be considerable cost to paint those kitchen cabinets. I might get an interior designer to work with color schemes throughout and make sure the lighting is updated properly for this fairly big project to produce cohesiveness if that is your goal. Things like a pendant over the table....a rug under the table..a different backsplash will help w finishing this off in the sense of details matter. You have oversized spaces so handling the right proportions and the right amount of things is where design services can help. If you are truly wanting to work w grays..heres a greenish gray for an area in the kitchen which might work w grays yet be a little nicer . And shown is a room in a lighter neutral feel which is just a preference I would have...I like the way the chunky shelves and one big art piece on the stone seems to be a nice focus....and a few larger chairs for conversation.....cant tell if your living space is done yet w furnishings...anyway....you have a lot of interesting things you can do. Certainly take time and figure out your various schemes.

Hallett, these windows all face the side yard, so they won't affect the look of the house at all. I would be interested in learning more about the opening restrictors and locks you mention. Can you recommend some? thank you! toddinmn, thank you! it is good to know it is a possibility. I am still thinking through things, but was contemplating a short 20" tall picture window on bottom and 50" tall casement or awning on top. Do you recommend awnings or casements when stacking them like this? palimpsest, very good point on egress. I just looked up code and it seems maximum sill height is 44", so I think it would be ok if I stick with a shorter window on bottom. But i will read up on the code more to understand it better. thank you! blisscottage, i have very old windows without screens. they all need replacing, so I thought we could look into a safer configuration. I guess my default would be just to do another double hung, and try to lock it from opening on the bottom. thank you for the suggestion!