With weighing everyone's input, I'm now thinking maybe I should just go ahead with a room update that would satisfy both his needs for part time use of the room over the college years plus my need for a guest room. Another factor driving the update sooner rather than later, is I know we will have several guests coming in May, both for DS's graduation and my DH's 50th birthday and the closer it gets to May, the busier I will get with party planning. There will be an opportunity in February to paint while he is away for 3-days at a tournament, then when he returns it is winter break so he would have some time to help me put his room back together and be part of the changes. That way, he will be included in the plans. He is away right now until Friday at a retreat so I haven't had a chance yet to run my ideas by him, but I will when he gets back. Main issue with the mahogany bed is it doesn't really go well with his existing furniture so I've been thinking about what I can/should add to make it look more cohesive without breaking the bank. Once he is out of school I don't think he will need such a large desk and hutch plus I do own another very similar one in DD1's room and DD2 has a smaller vintage kneehole desk which I really like as it has great storage space without a lot of room. Offhand, I have a single mahogany nightstand which I can replace his with: I'm now thinking perhaps I should just replace his desk/hutch will a smaller vintage kneehole type one so that he would have a place to work on his laptop when he is staying with us. When searching for DD2 last year I found a lot and here is one listed on CL for only $50: What do you think? While these pieces may not be his first choice for his room, I feel it would allow for more growth during the transition of this room into serving dual functions over the next several years. Long term, my mom has promised to give me my grandmother's mahogany secretary and I can see that working well at some future point when DS no longer lives with us and most likely would replace the desk. As for paint, I was thinking a soft grey or pale blue. He is very fond of blue, but I find these walls too dark. I can get him a blue comforter and keep the present rug for now; then get another set of bedding to use when guests visit.

Since feedback seemed to be mixed, I decided to let my DD make the final decision. She kept asking me which desk I preferred, but I wouldn't tell her. She opted for the larger desk with more drawer space painted white paired with the Victorian chair. Loves the idea of the fabric bulletin board over the desk so I'll order extra fabric for that as well. Also loves the idea of a glass top where she can slide her artwork, pics and certificates underneath. Regarding the suggestions for a different room layout, believe it or not I've tried most all of them. Each one has pros and cons in a room this small. Bottom line, tho, is if I center the daybed under the window that leaves approx. 18" per side. Putting either the desk or dresser where the bookcase is now results in a blocked corner behind the bed since both are greater than 18" deep whereas bookcase is only 10" deep. So while the result I know is cramped on the desk/dresser wall, it really is quite functional--dresser adjacent to closet and desk adjacent to bookcase. lyban: "Funner" was quite popular among my middle DD's 8-th grade class last year; unfortunately their English teacher informed them it is NOT a word. Didn't stop them from using it tho... Computerkluz: Would love to see some pics of your desks. pamlipsest: Thanks for the info on the 30/70 ratio. That makes a lot of sense to me. ruthy1: What a great idea to mask off the inlay! mzdee: I love RAF too and have had great success as well when I refinished my DR chairs. bungalow_house: Aren't small rooms a pain to decorate? My middle DD's is even smaller (9x10) and has a bigger closet. Not too much I can do with that room either--but she's a teenager and really into floor decor (where everything seems to be all the time). So while younger DD's room is a tad crowded with furniture, at least she'll have space for everything plus a big open space in the middle. And yes, she (and I) can access each nightstand. One thing that did not make the cut is her stand up easle/white board--she was trying to figure out how set could squeeze it in between the bookcase and nighstand believe it or not. I told her I buy a white board to mount on the wall to the right of the bookcase and she can use the nighstand drawer for her pens and eraser, etc. les: A fake fur seat sounds so fun and comfy! I'm sure DD would love it. I'll have to look into some different fabrics. Can you recommend a good website for fabrics? I think DD wants to use the aqua dot fabric somewhere as well, but I can use it for her bulletin board. I was worried the cotton fabric wouldn't be sturdy enough so this sounds like a better option. The different colored drawers sound really fun and pretty also, but I plan to stick with just white and add color with fabrics and wall paint which are easier to change when she grows tired of it.

ha, b's mom -- I think of a backsplash because I am a hopeless *mosaic and tile addict*! : ) Guess you haven't seen my daughter's bathroom LOL. It's a riotous yet controlled explosion of Pratt & Larson seconds/overruns that I facemounted on mosaicmount and worked into the design of the entire room. I only have in-process photos, no current photos of it because my daughter is 14 and we don't have a housekeeper, iykwim. Anywhere I can tile I generally try to,and if I find some nice tile at a salvage, I have a tendency to buy it and then figure out where to use it somewhere down the road. It's even happened one or two times : ). I was actually thinking of wainscoting in the room, but I want to find a tile that is the same color as the paint. We actually have some two-or-three-fist-sized rocks of labradorite that we will have cut to make slices to work in somewhere, probably in the shower. I can't cut it because it fractures too easily. I may try to get the fabricator who has sold us the countertop piece to see if he can cut these rocks. I'll try to imagine the room without a backsplash...honestly, I've had bathrooms in other houses without a backsplash and it can work...I'll keep an open mind. I love the mirror frame idea to have that be the reference to the gold floor -- a combination picking up the chrome tone would be cool. Thanks! You know, I could probably even do it myself, I imagine, with a couple of shades of rub-n-buff? After a little observation and practice? And thanks, kp -- I appreciate your vote. I'll find a way to highlight the counter so it doesn't disappear into the wall color. Glad to know that someone else besides me notices through-composed floors! : ) And stinky, I do think the lighting fixture is beautiful, as you say -- once again, found at salvage, but I then searched online and found it at retail back in 2007 for about $200...the shades look like large crystal block ice cubes. The pantry is a combination of Ikea metal-mesh shelving (I like it because it's see-through but much tougher than that plastic-coated'ventilated' shelving with the ridges which I despise (it's just me -- other people may love it but it's like fingernails on a blackboard to me) -- we tried both, solid wood and the metal mesh, and I vastly preferred the metal because I could actually see what was on the higher shelves) and wood* on one wall because we couldn't get the metal in sizes we wanted, and the marmoleum counter. There will also be a mahogany (to match the Ikea Hallarum) sink cabinet and mahogany countertop edging (vintage floor moulding I've stripped and stained to match the Hallarum) as well. I'm completely in love with the marmoleum -- a kind g'webber pointed me in the direction of great wood tints and I've warmed up a light blue (again, salvage) to a joyous spring blue-green. I think if I could live my entire life in the nexus of brown, gray, gold, blue and green I'd be happy : ) *Yes, the wood is a salvage find too, an extremely high grade *new* plywood that we bought scads of random offcuts of...it's a very light off-white maple (I think) plywood, and we had no idea how it got to the salvage but one day we went to the Museum of Contemporary Craft here in Portland and saw the current exhibit on one of my idols, Betty Feves, and lo and behold, all the display stands for her pottery/ceramics were made of *exactly* the same wood! There's no mistaking it! So I'm one degree closer to Betty Feves now! I was thinking just to paint the plywood, but not after we discovered its noble provenance : ) Well, maybe after the vicarious thrill wears off and I want more uniformity in the room...but not now. o.k., just for the fun of it I'll link to the exhibit, just have to spread the Feves gospel wherever I can : ) Here is a link that might be useful: visceral, glorious Betty Feves

Most of my favorite pieces are family antiques ... and yes, I do know how lucky I am to have these. The bed I grew up in, and the step stool my grandfather made ... he was a well known Buffalo artist ... that was the dog my mother grew up with. (And 2 of my silly kids, Lily the dog and her buddy Bailey). Same room, love the little high chair, chest and mirror. I've been trying to find out something about that chair since I haven't seen another one like it. My tempermental grandmother's clock .. doesn't like the humidity in the summer so refuses to work, and game table. The pictures on the far wall, I have photos of these hanging in my great-grandmother's parlor ... the reflection on the one is bad. My sister told me to repaint the frames, I told her I wasn't touching antique frames! My Mom tells me this is my best piece ... this was also in my bedroom when I was growing up. The glass cabinet was a piece my Mom found at an estate sale shortly I moved into this house ... she said I needed it to display my family treasures ... she was right! the clock is another family piece, this one works all year round. This was in my grandmother's dining room, she had all her china/glassware in it. My sister, who is an interior designer, didn't want it because it was "too primitive" ... lucky me!! This is a jelly cupboard my Mom & I pulled out of my grandparents basement and refinished ... it had been painted to match the rest of the cupboards in the basement. Some of my favorite things ...