Karen..I like Sal's idea. Here's what my sister did. Her runner had pointed ends. She folded one point over onto the front, the amount she folded over was eyeballed until it looked right.this let the back fabric show on the front. She then sewed by hand through the back, catching the back of the folded down are with stitches, but did not let the stitches show onto the front of the folded down part. She stitched about 1 1/2 to 2 inches down...this made a casing. She then sewed a tassel onto the turned down part's point and pinned on a beautiful brooch she had that co ordinated with the fabric. (could use a fancy button too.) She then slipped in a piece of dowel rod painted to match the tassel color and about 6 inches longer than the runner's width. She placed cup hooks in the wall so that the runner hung just inside them. She put the dowell on the cup hooks, and then she hung satin cording with tassels off the ends of the dowells that stuck out. It looks like a beautiful bell pull..and hangs between her dining room and living room. I think these would make a stunning display grouped together...or on either side of a window or doorway. Let us know what you decide to do. Good idea!!

Shades, just thought to tell you this.... When I had a mirrored undercabinet backsplash made, the glass company had the switch plates and outlet covers made of mirror. I think that is pretty standard. I know it sure looked sharp. That was when I did my MoccasinLanding kitchen over, spent all of $5,000 on the whole job, including a new dishwasher, trash compactor, and a glass electric cook top...which I installed myself, no less, and also hung 16 feet of track lighting on the ceiling all by myself, with an extension pole (like for paint roller extension) to hold up the other end. Where there is a will there is a way. One day, I'll dig out the old photos I saved from Hurricane Katrina and scan them...unless they are stuck together. That little house was precious to me.

Great ideas.. Thanks!! I agree, I'm planning not to paint the panels since that also seems to be a unanimous decision :) I'm planning to rip off that old carpet and put in hardwood. Fabric shades and co-ordinating window seating sounds like a fantastic idea. I love the antique fireplace cover idea. Any good sites for that ? I love chesterfield sofas too. I have a oriental rug in maroon, but that might make the room darker. Will have to look for a lighter rug...

Velvet is big now, how about aubergine velvet drapes? Could be a very lux, glam vibe. Or could be too much depending on what you like. Lots of pretty fabrics for this color.