I had the trim paint halted when I drove by at 5:30 and saw it, still being sprayed, what looked like a yellowish cream. I freaked. The painters were called off. I went over the next morning and it looked fine - yellow had disappeared - but it was cloudy and I wanted to look at it in the sun too. No yellow in the sun, and all is fine. I don't know how stucco works but I think the whole thing is very deceptive with all the construction debris, red clay (in our case), etc. I know the outside colors will look so much better when they are surrounded with green grass and boxwoods and trees instead of red clay! It may not be the color you want or what it will end up being, but it is a nice color and goes with your brick accents and your roof . . . unlike my trim paint which totally clashed with everything and almost gave me a heart attack!

"Speaking of clear bulbs, if I put one in a table lamp with a shade, would I get a brighter light?" Yes! I've been so impressed lately by the bright light I get from led bulbs. I had a halogen floor lamp next to my bed for reading that used a 100 wt bulb. It was one like this that I could swing right over my book and was on a dimmer. But it would get HOT, as halogen bulbs do and I always worried it would swing into the headboard and cause a fire. Recently I shopped for a new lamp and found a similar style that uses an LED bulb and worried it wouldn't be bright as I like, but it IS! It's wonderful, no heat generated at all - the metal lamp shade doesn't even get warm. And it's every bit as bright as the halogen, plus it is also dimmable. I am sold on LED.

I would hold off. Is it marble? Is it original to the house? Your house is older and the fireplace did work at one point. Have someone in to find out what the problem is and whether it can be fixed. Then think and think some more... In other words the only thing I would do immediately is get rid of the paneling (it might be brick underneath) and strip the paint off the mantle and surround, which is VERY pretty... This house needs tlc by undoing the various "updates" from past owners...

I would also add that you want the heating ducts and plumbing pipes wrapped with insulation as well. Right now is the PERFECT time to do it because everything is exposed. Metal (like duct work) LOVES to transmit noise (telephone WIRES are METAL...ahem...just saying). Wrap those puppies and you will have removed a HUGE source of sound from multiple areas of the house (there is NOTHING like hearing the details of someone's day via the duct work from two stories above...at 1am). I've always liked the 'double stuffing' of the ceiling. If you double stuff the joists (two layers of mineral wool instead of one) then you can probably go with the lower priced product. So long as their densities are the same and the material make up are the same then you should get awfully close to the same ratings. Use the resilient channels throughout...you can't think of the bedroom as being one area and the rest another...if one part 'leaks' noise then the other part will too. Think of the entire space as a bathtub. If you have a hole in one end of the bathtub, it will leak because the water will find it's own level. Noise kinda does the same thing. The other option, if you don't want to use the resilient channels (because you want the ceiling height maintained) then you can look at Green Glue liquid acoustic barrier. There *MIGHT be an application where they apply the liquid/foam to the joists and then mount/screw the drywall to the joists. Green Glue also produces drywall/foam additive that can be used INSIDE the holes for the screws (you drill the pilot hole, you fill it with the foam/liquid and then drive the screw into place). This acts like a mini-resilient channel. And then use the acoustic drywall. And remember your SOLID CORE door for the bedroom. That way you reduce every ounce of noise moving from the basement area into the bedroom area. You should be fine using ALL of the options open to you. You can never have too much noise abatement. You really can't. Silence is silence. Once you achieve it, it is difficult to figure out which bit was 'overkill'.