I have a pretty small house overall myself. And being built in 1931 back when people seemed to own one change of clothes and one coat, there are no closets and what few closets I do have, are tiny!! I have to keep my clothes in another room because my master bedroom closet is tinier than tiny! Keep the ideas coming! There's no worries about anyone "stealing" my thread! Storage ideas for one person can be adapted by everyone, so all discussions are welcome! I'm getting some great ideas I never would have thought of. I think I'm going to use the back of the kitchen door leading to the basement for storage as well. And I have to organize that "landing". I have a big box of cat food and litter, all the paper bags for recycling and plastic grocery bags as well, all the mops and coats ontop of the rest of the mess. You can barely get by to get up and down the stairs. I wish I had a place to keep my recycling bin in the kitchen. We have it out on our 3-season porch right off the kitchen so it's not bad, but I'd rather keep the porch less cluttered and not have to go out there when it's freezing winter to toss things. Recycling tends to collect on the one tiny piece of counter I have next to my stove as it's closest to the back door until it's falling all over the place before anyone will walk the 4 feet to the door to put it in the bin!! I did take some time this weekend to pull some things out of the backs of the cabinets and rearrange now that I freed up all the space by hanging all the pots and pans and lids. I now have easy access to all my French White casserole dishes in one place, on one shelf. Then I have all my 13 x 9 pans and cake/tart pans together. Right next to the stove I put all my old casserole dishes - the pyrex & Fire King stuff. That freed up space to have all my small serving dishes and trays/platters on another shelf, then I have all the bowls I use for dips and things when I have company and the bowls for the popcorn on another. I will still have to crawl in back of the cabinets for a few things, but those are things I only use a few times per year like my crockpot or the hand crank pasta machine. I do need to figure out what to do with my "machinery". The KA mixer, blender, espresso machine, pasta maker, etc. I just spent a small fortune because I'm cleaning and painting my son's room and I had to get him new furniture and a computer desk and I'm about to start a bathroom remodel as well, but I really could use a new cabinet for under the window in the kitchen that overlooks the back porch. I have one of those build it yourself partical board bookcases there now, but something nicer and with doors so the mess isn't open to the public would be better. I need to take some pictures and load them up so I can post them as well. I'm very visual - I learn by seeing way better than reading descriptions, so pics are great! Lisa

Arapaho, Thank you! I am pleased and a little surprised that people like the chandy, which I view as unconventional for the room. A, and K If I switched spots, then, upon entering the front door, one would be faced with the back of the sofa. I always feel that closes off a room.

Olychick , I would use the chaise mainly for watching TV and if I understand your idea, I would be sideways to the TV, facing the door which I don't think would be comfortable. I like the rug suggestion and getting rid of the end table but I wonder if the round table is too tall for in front of the fireplace. Always1step behind, I go back and forth on sectional or not and on the chaise. I like the sectional look but it does cover the lower cubbie. Not a huge problem. The ottoman idea has merit as you point out the chaise cuts off the walkway and because you can move around an ottoman. Celticmoon, I can see many possibilities if as you suggest I move the tv to the wall between the door and window. I am going to give that some thought. I recently spent $1,200 to modify the entertainment center to accommodate the flatscreen which tells you I hadn't given thought to moving the tv.

Outside playing, we have a linen slipcovered sofa now (Lee Ind.) and it has held up wonderfully (3 years). I really love it, Maybe I should stick with the same one if other linens don't hold up as well. Another issue is that this is the only fabric in the house that the cat doesn't scratch. I'll have to see if it comes in a lighter colour (but I'm pretty sure not). lukki, I really like the variation in those floors. That may account for it not showing the dirt as much. Ours are going to be stained on site, so I'm thinking if I start light and it doesn't look right, we may be able to darken it up a bit with more stain. crl, that is what I am most afraid of. I am willing to put form over function to a certain extent, but I think this is something that would drive me nuts. mlc, I know! I know! painting the wood may be the end of me. I'm starting to realize that the only way I could paint all of it would be if they wreck it while removing it and have to replace it with new wood. So if we just paint the coffered ceiling and leave the other millwork as is, could we paint the fireplace? We are planning on having builtins made on either side of the fireplace and I think those will have to be painted. Painted fireplace and builtins with everything else stained? Will that work?