willet, lol, you may confuse me with rhome any time! That is quite a compliment for me! I do hope the SS works out for you if that's what you want. For us, aside from the layout, this was the biggest and most difficult decision. Keep us updated! I meant to mention earlier, the marble.com site has much more than just marble. It's a great place to see all kinds of stone and has an extensive gallery. doraville, somehow I missed your laminate suggestion. I will have to keep that in mind when we redo our bathrooms, though I am hoping our remnant of Impala will at least fit our master. want2bsure, I couldn't for the life of me figure out BB, though I looked at all the previous posts. (I wouldn't be surprised if I missed something obvious, but wondered if you meant SS.) The main two colors I see are dark gray, almost black, and a slightly lighter gray. If you've only seen Impala online, there are some pics that show it as looking browner, but I think that's the light. There are flecks and patches but those are silvery rather than coppery. I think they show up better being leathered than polished. Leathered Polished Also because of the lighting, I'm not sure what is the primary tone, but there is no red or brown at all. However, it's about the same in tone as an oiled SS (but more a gray than a blue or green tone). With my warm red oak floors, I think it's a good color. I was skeptical about ordering a walnut colored butcherblock (oh, duh... there's the BB, nevermind!) to go with the dark gray tone of the Impala, but I did it anyway and I think it will be fine. Look at Marron Cohiba (also called Antique Brown) and Imperial Brown. They are slightly warmer but don't read all brown. In fact, the MC reads more gray than brown to me but has some beautiful grains that change colors depending on the light. jrueter has a beautiful kitchen using this stone for her counters. I'm sorry I don't have a link but if you search as suggested above or on GW, I'm sure you will find it. If not, I'll pull up a link later. Stick with the plywood as long as you can stand it to give yourself some time!

As far as inside mounted blinds or the curtains, look at shades and see what you can buy or make. Off the shelf blinds/shades tend to be neutral and most often solid colors. If you sew even a little, you can make Roman shades with supplies available from the fabric store and your choice of fabric. That would allow you to get a print in your choice of colors. That said, just moving the sofa and still having the sheers there has let in a lot more light. Pushing the curtains back to clear the window space (extending your rod if necessary), would allow even more light in. The sheers don't look bad, but they don't look necessary, but you may feel the need for some privacy. Raising the rod will lift that heavy eyebrow over the window. Annie has given you great advice and as nosoccormom pointed out, there are a few years where the little ones are underfoot and their toys are in the view are part of the scenery. You want that closeness now -- pays off later. I don't know if those things have been pushed aside while you've been rearranging furniture, but it looks like you could factor them into the room better. The minion chair could be moved over next to one of the larger furiture pieces, or even in front of the coffee table so your son has his own TV viewing chair (when he doesn't want to be sitting next to you). I'd consider moving the ottoman to the other end of the sofa (if necessary) and putting the toy table and rug over in front of the window. Give your son a play spot that doesn't dominate the room and clutter the view of the TV so much, but still keeps him playing where you can watch him. Get a couple of larger art pieces with some color -- and repeat the green in the room. Don't be afraid of color (right now, the play rug and toys are the only real color in the room, so they attract even more attention). Places like World Market, Michael, Hobby Lobby are good for getting large wall art at reasonable prices (wait for a sale or use a coupon). While you're at Michael's or Hobby Lobby, you could even buy a canvas and some paint (finger paint or arcylics) and do a canvas you apint with your son -- a colorful abstract, finger and hand print art (they have books with ideas and you can probably find lots of examples online). If it doesn't turn out like something you want in your LR, you could hang it in his BR. Gottadrun, but I'll check back.

But everywhere I look for info has basically the same thing as far as info? And planting 5' from the house would be a problem with a tree of that size, really? I feel like my rhododendron is double the size and it's RIGHT next to my house..not by choice, it was here when I moved..I just never got rid of it because it still seemed healthy and still flowers nicely..but yeah I wouldn't think it would be an issue there?

Thank you all for your comments! And thank you RL for the picture mock up. So cool! Your comments have helped us to see things that we easily over looked such as the shutters and black hole that is our front door. Much appreciated and will help us to make improvements to the overall look of our homes exterior. To answer some of your questions ... The function of the window that needs to be replaced is a bedroom. The little window in the leak can definitely be changed to a vent instead. Any suggestions? The lights on either side of the door are brown. Something I have wanted to change - at least painted black? Can I bounce some questions back? Our double front door is wood. Would it be worth the effort to strip the coat of black paint (looks like only one coat) and then stain it, keep it natural? Or just paint it a different colour as suggested. Our brick is more of an orange-red (pictures were taken just before a big storm, everything looks darker). We are grateful for any additional suggestions to improve the overall look of the front exterior of our home. Thanks!