froghopper, OP asked about inexpensive software that would allow him to play around with floorplans. He asked for something that would allow him to do basic stuff that he could learn quickly and that would not be too expensive. You commented on the Punch 3000 Architectural program and I have to point out that I did not and would NOT have recommended Punch 3000 to someone looking for something inexpensive and easy to learn. I have even personally recommended against starting out with the Punch top-of-the-line products because they have way too many bells and whistles to be easy to learn. Plus, IMHO their top of the line stuff is too expensive for someone who just wants to play around with floorplans before taking their ideas to an architect. As a TOTAL NOVICE at CAD programs, I found Punch 5-in-1 to be extremely easy to learn and perfectly suited to doing what I wanted to do at that time... which was to play around with floor plans and look at them in 3D so I could get a better idea of what I wanted. I have never used AutoSketch or TurboCad or any other CAD program but if they are really easier for a true novice to use than Punch 5-in-1, then they would pretty much have had to be able to read my mind and draw images without me having to figure out how to input anything at all. LOL! Seriously, 5-in-1 took me less time to learn to use than powerpoint or excel and it was a whole lot more fun. After learning on Punch 5-in-1 and eventually becoming frustrated at my inability to use it to design COMPLEX elements like dormer windows and a very complex roof line, I upgraded to Punch 3000 Architectural. It probably took me several days to figure out how to use most of its features and some I never did bother with - like the "animator" that lets you make 3D video clips touring your design or "estimator" that is supposed to allow you to estimate the cost of a project. I also know that if DH had given me Punch 3000 instead of 5-in-1 to begin with, I probably would have given up in frustration. Punch 3000 was much too complex for me to have learned all at once but having mastered 5-in-1, 3000 was no longer overwhelming. Thus, I was able to use Punch 3000 to design my entire 2 story 3200 sf house... which is definitely not a simple rectangular box! It is a sprawling Victorian home with unexpected nooks and cranies, bay windows, dormer windows, a porch with shed roof that wraps around three sides, a screened side-porch with a deck above it that attaches the house to the garage, two additional upper decks/balconies and a very complex roof. Using Punch, I was able to show the fireplace, all the kitchen cabinetry and bookcases, interior doors with transoms above them, all the plumbing (including floor drains) and even indicate where ceiling fans, lights, switches and electrical outlets would be. I confess to ignoring the HV/AC tab entirely - except to keep in mind that duct chases would be necessary - but it is available if someone wants to use it. I also ignored the landscaping feature as we are trying very hard to leave the native vegetation alone as much as possible and will figure out our landscaping once the house if built. Finally, when it came time to deal with final details like gingerbread for the eaves of the house, I gave up although, supposedly, I could have designed the gingerbread using the 3D custom workshop tool. Frankly, that is one tool that I never did completely master - mostly because it scales everything in feet and when you're designing detail stuff, you usually want to do it in inches. I got tired of constantly having to pull up a calculator and convert inches to feet! I did use 3D workshop at one point to create a colonial porch column and a built-in breakfast nook that I used when trying to show DH - who has zero ability to visualize from a floorplan - what the porch and the breakfast nook would like like once built! When I took my Punch 3000 drawings to an architect to vet, he was amazed at the level of detail I was able to accomplish and ended making only a couple of very minor changes. I have no idea what program he used to create the blueprints but as far as I can see, those have almost no details that were not evident in my original Punch 3000 drawings. I'm not trying to claim that Punch 3000 is better than any of the professional autocad programs or that any professional would even want to use it. I am saying that Punch 5-in-1 is a great and inexpensive program for a non-professional with zero previous CAD experience to use and that a non-professional who starts with 5-in-1 and eventually finds it too limiting is likely to find the top of the line Punch programs will do everything a non-professional could want. All in all, I'll stand by my recommendation - and for $10 to $15 for a used program, I think it would be hard for OP to go wrong.

So many issues here! Kittiemom, I am also a kittiemom! Anyway, the computer armoire is also from Stuart David. We will have three SD pieces in our home - a tall wide dresser in DH's study, and the armoire and console/bookcase in the LR. The last time I checked, SD had a pathetic website. To get their furniture you have to go to an independent furniture store. There you can look at floor samples, plus go through the SD catalogs. I chose the dresser after seeing a model on the floor. The armoire and console are strictly from the catalog, but I already knew what kind of quality we would be getting (excellent). The store will have a display of the various woods and finishes. I chose alder in a lightly distressed walnut and it is beautiful. They have a huge variety of wood finishes and also some painted ones. If you find a store that carries SD, ask for the Entertainment Center catalog, as that's the one that carries the armoire with pocket doors. They also have a catalog for office furniture and why that one doesn't show our armoire is beyond me. But you could ask for them both, just to see all your options. If you are interested in the style number of our armoire, let me know here, and I'll try to find the catalog number. If you are price-conscious, the armoire was about $2300, and the console was $685. Not cheap, but this is the first time in my life that I'm finally assembling a pretty, well-decorated living room, so I'm going for broke. Literally. But this furniture is built and styled for the long-term. As to the question of the chair, yes, that is an issue with computer armoires. After 13 years of having an office-type chair on wheels, which tore up the carpets (note plural), I switched to an old French-style armchair that I inherited from my mother. It looks perfect with the armoire. The armoire is always open - after all, I am always on this website - and the chair fits with the keyboard shelf. If we close it, I just turn the chair around and it becomes part of the main seating arrangement. It works for me. I did not mean to imply that computers *should* be hidden in a LR, just that I personally wanted that. We also have a new flat-screen monitor and love it, and it would look fine out on a desk. I also second Teacat's suggestion of Ballards. They have a good selection of computer stations, desks, etc. They are limited as to finishes, though! Sorry for the length of this post. Remodeling and decorating our home is my retirement obsession, as the DSs and their wives don't seem too interested in producing grandchildren. So it's fabrics and paint colors, rather than "Bring those babies over!"

It's been my experience that the Ikea cabs (even the cheapest ones, since the boxes and hardware are all the same!) last a lot longer than the cheap HD/Lowes type. Just go take a look and compare the hinges and drawer glides, as well as the drawer bottoms. There's no comparison. I was just looking at the very cheapest two doors at Ikea with my mom yesterday. They're plain, yeah, and they "look" superficially like the cheap HD/Lowes white slab doors, but seriously, the innards will just last soooooo much longer.

I made the same mistake -- didn't measure the furniture we bought to make sure we had the space...it looked "right" in the showroom...GAH! Do you already have the new furniture? If not, my advice is to cancel or postpone delivery, and take measurements. Mark the space out w/tape or something. I think your room seems narrow and a single sofa is the limit. Store the Pack n Play under the stairs. Put the couch opposite the tv. I think a smaller desk for the corner would be appropriate, and then maybe two smaller "pouf" type of move-able cushions/seats that could either act as extra seating or, with a tray on top, a small coffee table. Nice to put the tray away when baby is around. My kids are 5 and 9 now, but the one thing I wish I had done differently was to hold off on making decorating decisions. I did our LR when the oldest was about 9 months old. I didn't measure for furniture, I didn't have a plan. It didn't' all "come together in the end" and we're looking at a complete re-do now b/c it really doesn't work and I'm so tired of furniture that's too big.