Thanks for the vote of confidence, desert_solitare. I will find mtnrdredux's thread. Good luck on your upcoming room as well! tinan: Great idea! I love IKEA and am always up for a trip there. :) They do have nice curtains that are affordable (and long enough-we have high ceilings and extra long windows). Kyshine: Thanks for the suggestions. I have several subway art ideas pinned on my pinterest boards. I agree...I like the chandelier and the subway art. I also like the idea of doing a grouping of family pictures over the sofa. Just have to figure out what/how, etc. What color are you suggesting to spray the fan if I decided to? lizanne: Love your and tinan's ideas about the curtains. I like it going up to the ceiling as well, esp b/c we have high ceilings on this floor. I hadn't thought of putting 6 frames over the sofa either...I always think one big one or 3 next to eachother. 6 would fill that space nicely I think! Thank you for your kind and encouraging words! arcy: Any suggestions on what light fixture to replace the current one with? It's 4 individual ones now. Do you mean just change the glass shades? I do like the wood blinds that are on the windows now, b/c it's a sun filled room during the day and I tend to like some privacy in the evening. And I guess b/c we spent a good chunk on $$ on them, I am hesitant to get rid of them. Thanks for the valance idea. I like that idea as well. I'll have to do a few mock ups to see what I like irl. Oakley: Do you think deep red would work, as the accessories are a rust orange? Agreed on the coffee table. Any suggestions for what type? Round/rectangle? That's where I'm stuck. The ottoman is only there b/c I haven't decided what would look best there. In the pic I posted above, the crown molding finishes off the room as well. Perhaps that would help pull the room together as well for me. I'd have to sweet talk DH into that one though! He did the dining room for me a few years ago. :) Thanks again to all of you! I've got my dad staying with me for a few weeks right now, so I may not get a lot accomplished. I do have another dresser (that was my grandmother's from the early 1900's that I'm refinishing). I have to measure it and will take a pic to see if it would work in the family room.

Well, I say, let the dogs pick what they like the best. While we have a leather recliner, it's really for the Man of the House. Dogs have to beg to be allowed up and in position on Man's lap. Sometimes they want to displace his Real Laptop and that poses a problem. So, for their enjoyment and comfort, we have a Flexsteel sofa covered in a beautiful corderoy looking fabric in a deep moss color. It has been in place for almost 7 years and looks as good as when I bought it. I considered a warm color to coordinate with Dachshund hair, but decided that a bit of contrast would just make the room! They occasionally (anyone familiar with doxies????) like to scrape and paw their sofa, digging into the cushions to fluff them up a bit. Mom doesn't really allow this when she's home, (Stop that!!!) but who knows what evil lurks in the dachshund mind when all the people go off to work for 8 hours? I bought the Guardian fabric protector when I bought the sofa. The cute salesguy told me that if my sofa stayed with me for the California mandated life of a sofa, 7 years, my protection would only cost me like $13 per year. Well, my sofa is going strong, have kept it vacuumed (about 6 times per year) and have wiped off spills and whatnot when needed. Have never invoked the protection plan, since the fabric is tough as nails, soft to the touch, and seems to evade staining. My son, who was 17 at the time I chose furniture, ix-nayed the tougher fabrics and INSISTED that a sofa needs to be soft. He said that's why it's called a "Soff-a". He says most people mis-pronounce. Anyway, I fell for his schtick and here we sit. Comfortably. Two dogs. Two people. And did I mention that for several months of 2005, we had my DD and her husband, plus two Golden Retrievers living on my sofa? Red

Well, it is cute, but should we let children 'play' with dogs like that ? Where I live there was a recent dog attack on a little girl that killed her and everyone is upset (justifiably) about that. There is talk about banning certain breeds, or more breeds. But really we need to teach children about appropriate behavior around dogs, to protect themselves. Any dog can be a danger.

Bestyears, I was keeping it vague because discussing dog training methods can be equal to politics! Try telling some of the militant rescue groups that you will be using a different training method than the one they strictly follow ... you will never get a dog from them! Here are two articles from two opposite theories that gives you an idea of how they think. 1) https://positively.com/victorias-blog/balanced-dog-training-theres-nothing-balanced-about-it/ 2) https://www.nitrocanine.com/blog/2015/06/12/in-defense-of-balanced-training/ With my rescue I started out with a purely positive trainer. It worked great in the house and yard as the dog is very food motivated ... BUT outside none of the training made a difference. Critters and the chase were a much higher reward than anything I could offer. I even tried carrying filet mignon! I was being dragged around town by a crazy dog ... even with the easy-walk harness the positive trainer told me to buy. The dog just walked sideways and pushed into the harness. The last straw was when on a walk the dog nearly knocked me, and my father, to the ground when trying to get a squirrel. I had to kick the dog to stop her lunging and get us untangled (my Dad also had our smaller dog on leash). I looked for a different approach and found "balanced" training. The trainer I found is slightly different from #2 above in that they do use food rewards. Happy to message you a link to the training program website and the actual trainer I used. We now go on off leash hikes and I get stopped regularly by people who comment on her behavior and level of training. I got so many questions that I started carrying business cards for the trainer!! One of those people actually contacted and used my trainer, even thought she isn't local. Do your research and choose the trainer and method that best works for you and your dog. The best method will most likely be a combination of several different ones.