mccall, i'm not sure which jc penney pans you looked at, but Gourmet Standard used to make some pans for them. They're the ones whose pots are sold by KA Flour on their website, and these are made in China, so not AC, as far as i know.

West Elm curtains arrived and they are perfect!!!!!!!!!! Totally transformed our room; we are so pleased :) Thank you all so much for your help and encouraging me not to settle. (and I fully admit I do not have good decorating taste, so if you have any suggestions, I am open.) And I was really confused about what West Elm's color "zinc" was... if anyone is curious, it is a dark, metallic grey with a slight beige hue... I would rename it "Gunmetal." The material is great... I have not ironed them yet. I am hoping over the next week the wrinkles will fall out. If they do not, I will ask my mom to iron them ;) I'm horrible at ironing and also due to have a baby any day now :) :) :) Now onto finding a rug!

mleaving_Marji: Thanks for the detailed specs for the measurements. I do prefer a center draw as they are presently. Here is a better picture from before when they still looked good: Overall I have decided I'd like to keep the same orientation, dimensions on the wall and similar color (other possibility I am considering would be a ivory/tan linen). After getting a quote for custom window treatments (WTs) from JC Penney's I am back to debating the grommet top drapes with sheers layered below. I now realize my inner rod can be placed closer to the wall, esp. if I do not require a traverse rod, and so the outermost rod need not extend so far. Are grommet drapes really not practical for daily opening and closing? I could do that for about 1/4 the price of the JC Penney's draperies and I don't think I'll find a much better price elsewhere. These are the ones I am considering which is similar to what I have now (the sage/moss green color): I could get similar fabric in custom, which I like now, but would then feel locked into using for many years; then I wonder if it'd be safer to get an ivory color - but does it really make sense to spend so much on something that I don't really love? With the grommet top ones, I could always change them 3-4 years from now if I feel the need for a change. It must seem like I am very indecisive. I just don't want to make another expensive decorating mistake as even without custom these is a sizable expense once you factor in the rod(s), sheers and outer drapes.

Yes, that is exactly where we started with Les' arrangement--except there would not be enough space behind the sectional for the bookcase as it would put the sectional too close to the TV. The room is only 17' long. It did not work for us--as we are a family of five with two teenagers and there was too much contention for seating when watching the TV. Having it this way so we have an extra chair facing the TV works so much better and when we had friends over for Thanksgiving who'd been here before we switched it commented how much more spacious it felt. It's hard to tell from the pictures, but the kitchen table really is quite close to the family room so putting any furniture in the middle closes everthing in and makes for awkward walkways. Here's a couple before shots so you can see what I mean: I tried the sectional as Johna had suggested earlier, while it looked better, unfortunately the sectional is not oriented best for that (there are two pieces that butt up to the back wall) and would just come apart (think teens that are not overly gentle on the furniture and like to lounge here)--so reality having it pushed against the wall is the most practial solution. We just had the electrican over two weeks ago to get the cable moved. I tried moving the bookcase down further, but it looked squished since part of it looked like it was hidden by the console/TV and it's so pretty that I want it to be visable from the kitchen area. I could probably center it under the window, though if I remove the floor lamp--which is a possibility since we do have recessed lighting for this room. So, no one is liking the dried flowers from Michael's? I need to go there later today so am wondering if I should return them or not.