Hi Katie, my apologies for the delay in responding to your comment. I've been traveling over the holidays and rare access to a computer. I did end up caulking the gap between the baseboard and the wall. For cleaning gunk out of cracks, I'm starting to like using the bamboo skewers used for grilling that you can get at the supermarket. I had a batch of them in my cupboard and gave one a try and it worked so well, that I'm using them first in situations where I need something pointy. The bamboo is soft enough that it doesn't scratch anything, and I can dampen it and it'll pick up extraneous paper that's stuck in the crack. For some pieces of gunk in the crack, I also used a pair of needle-nose pliers, to extract the pieces. And, while I don't know if it's a bad thing to do, sometimes a piece of gunk would just fall more into the gap between the baseboard and wall, and I left it there. :-) I figured it would just get sealed under the line of caulk afterwards. Wear eye protection! Even if you don't think you need it, wear safety goggles, or at least your eyeglasses if you wear glasses. One day, I was caulking the baseboards in one of our bedrooms for the insulating value, and as I dragged my finger along, a chip of paint flew up off the baseboard toward my face. Since then, I always wear my goggles. About tips for caulking: - Do a search on YouTube for caulking. It really helped me to see videos of people actually doing it. - Get a good caulking gun. I got one from Lowes or Home Depot (I forget which one--I've been in and out of each so much these past weeks!) that was in the $10 range. I love its trigger mechanism. - Hold the gun at a 45 degree angle to both the wall and to the baseboard gap. I mean, this is in three dimensions: as you put the tube tip to the baseboard gap, make sure that it is a 45 degree angle between it and the vertical wall and a 45 degree angle between it and the horizontal-running gap line. (Hope that makes sense--it's hard to explain in words vs a picture. That's why the YouTube videos are so helpful.) - Do not make the hole in the tube too large when you cut it. The hole should not be larger than the gap you're trying to fill. And there was a post on one of these forums about tapering the hole that I thought was useful. While I can't find the posting this moment, I'll add the link when I locate it. Hope this helps! Lee

My thanks to all of you who posted comments, both good and bad. I can't begin to tell you how feedback about my florals opened my eyes, so I was able to change things for my next set of photos. I'd never think that removable "props" would turn someone off. I also have to say that you're taking it well and seem to appreciate the feedback. Those of us selling can now see our house through strangers eyes and what a potential buyer might think when seeing our house online. How the photos look will dictate whether they take the time to actually walk our houses. The last time our house was for sale we did not get any feedback, so I'm very thankful for this forum and hope that the feedback you got helps you. I noticed that the wallpaper in my home got some of the most frequent and critical remarks and it's left me wondering about something. Is wallpaper no longer in vogue in new or remodeled homes or is it that my particular wallpaper is not to the liking of most of you? I've walked a lot of new communities with model homes and can say that here they are still using wallpaper but not in all of the rooms. You might pick the nicest rooms to keep the wallpaper. I love the foyer wallpaper but not with the door color and not with the flooring. You might think to leave some of it up and paint other walls, using it as an accent. Back entrance wallpaper - I would take it down. Half bath - I like the wallpaper but not with the light fixture. Study - I've seen similar paper used in homes I've walked. Utility - dislike the walls - would sheet rock & paint 1st floor master - would paint 1st floor master bath - I like the paper but not for a room like this. I would paint and think about putting up beadboard 2nd floor master - while I like the top paper, I think it would look better painted. The wood on the door is much too dark. I'd also think about putting up a scarf on the windows, then opening the blinds for the photo. While I like pink, others do not :( Second floor vanity/dressing area - this paper you could get away with leaving. Bath 2, second floor - I would try to lighten this room up or leave the picture out. Living Room - I would paint this I also realize that the paneled family room is dated but my thoughts on that is to either paint the paneling a neutral color or rip off the paneling, put up sheetrock and then paint. I also want to install engineered wood flooring in that room and perhaps extend it in to the foyer where, I admit, the tile color is also dated. Another area of critical comments was due to my home having so much carpeting. Has carpeting also gone out of style or do I just have too many rooms with carpet? We just did this in the master bedroom. I would sheet rock. The carpet wouldn't bother me here. I'm one of the weird ones that actually likes carpet, especially for my bad back. Walking on wood floors kills me. BTW, the Saint Bernard that appeared in at least one photo and brought about a comment or two that some people wouldn't even consider buying a home where a dog had been passed away on June 10 much to my hurt. I'm in the process of cleaning up all traces of his presence here. That is, everywhere but in my heart! Very sorry for your loss. After 22 years, I still miss our German Shepherd.

Could I just add to what Rhizo said? I had hip surgery 10 years ago and I turned into a control freak like you wouldn't believe, even I didn't know I had it in me :) I pre-planned down to a gnats a**, from stamps, thank you notes, books, foods I'd made and frozen, completely spotless house and house was stocked full of anything I could think of. I had lots of offers and other than one SIL who stopped by with a latte each morning after her gym, I declined them all and was on my own until DH got home each night. Looking back, I realized it would have been a lot more generous on my part to accept some help, people who cared about me would have liked the opportunity to do something, anything. Another effect my behavior had, when things arose where they later could have used a hand, they didn't feel free to call me after my flaming show of independence. Live and learn.

Not to worry Butternut. DH really wanted it and I liked it, but I couldn't put it together wih everything else so I let DH down easy and we found a totally different rug that is waiting for the new table to arrive. I did notice that there were a couple of different but very similar designs as well as the same design on a cotton backing and on a latex backing. ISn't rug shopping fun? Getting to be like mattresses and the covers with different color fabrics or different patterns in the stitching.