Great advice from klfische. Though you can certainly pick art from more than one artist! You should also pick art you like, not only to fill wall space... And use it to draw your attention to a space that you want to draw attention to. For example, that fireplace is a great focal point so aim to choose art (if you decide on art) that complements it, rather than competes with it. Try taking away the side tables and place the chair closer to the couch. Does the fireplace look better with more restrained decorating? Usually when something highlights natural materials - as your fireplace does - less is better. If it does, try adding a more interesting rug as the art piece in the room. It should also be larger as right now, the chair is floating rather than anchored with the couch. Your home has a neutral base to work from which makes it a lot easier.

Unfortunately, the paint is chipping, and buyers at this price point require move in ready. Not to mention I am at risk of being fined by my HOA for chipping paint as of today. We are not selling till spring. Leaving as-is is a nice thought, though. Would love some color suggestions that would enhance the house.

We started the pandemic at our winter house and are currently at our summer house. I love our townhouse in California. It's the smallest house I've lived in, but I got to renovate and decorate to my current taste. We were very comfortable there, but really bored staying in. All the projects have been done, landscape maintained by HOA, only a small patio with a few potted plants. Really easy to house clean. I spent hours and hours reading. All my usual activities there are outside the home. We are back at our lake house in PA. Always house projects to do. Vegetable and flower gardens to tend. I tend to be much more of a homebody here. I'm happy to poke around in my gardens and kayak out on the lake. I don't love this house as much. It has a somewhat awkward layout(fixed as much as we could when we reno'd). More of a mishmash of furniture styles. If it was up to me, I'd live in CA year round. But my DH loves it here so this is my 6 month compromise.

I'm neutral on whether you should buy this particular house--only you can really weigh that. Here are a few random thoughts to consider or ignore. 1. Buying your "forever" house right now isn't crazy. Buying one house and holding it a long time is a solid financial move, for many many reasons. And sometimes, it's the only possible move. I remember 2006. People threw every dollar they had to get on the property ladder. And when prices went down, they were stuck for a long time. There is a real risk right now that prices are going to slide. That will make it difficult to move. And difficult to build enough equity to get a HELOC loan for remodeling. Buying something you really can't be happy with for 10 years is a huge gamble with your happiness. And buying something that one spouse loves and one spouse hates is a huge gamble with your marriage. 2. Stairs have pros and cons. Pros: They make more house on a small foundation--our 2-story house does this. Or they optimize building costs and land use on an uneven lot--a bi-level is often doing that. Cons: they eat up interior space, they make the space useage less flexible, they limit remodel options. If you want stairs, great. But think hard about what a staircase is really doing in a particular house. Is making the interior better or worse? Because some stairs definitely make things worse. It's not a terrible kitchen--I've lived fine in several houses that had far worse. If you decide to go for it, I'm sure you can built a great family life there. Best of luck finding the right decision for your family. Edited to add another random thought: 3. Renting isn't always throwing money away, especially in an uncertain market. In our market, the rent/buy price ratios make renting a much better financial decision, even with very high rents. We rented for 8 years here, as family shouted at us over and over to buy. We saved the difference between rent and mortgage payments. We finally purchased in 2012, when the rent/buy ratios were finally in the zone that finance writers recommend. And we got a much better house than we could have bought anytime before then. Don't be afraid to rent if it gives you space to look around and make a considered decision. Definitely run the numbers on renting vs. buying for your local market.