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.

kswl, shutters are not easy to paint, whether you brush or spray, there's always the chance of drips on the opposite side you're working on and you won't see until it's too late. That was not my reason for keeping them that way though. I just happen to like white shutters. As for the door, whether it is stained or not it will pretty much look like a black hole at night. All our wood work is stained, including doors. We have two sets of french doors in the Gentleman's Parlor, one set in the Sunroom and one in the basement. Our front entry door is full-glass with full glass sidelights. If the WTs are not closed/pulled down, they all look like black holes at night. There's no getting around that unless you cover them with some sort of WT.

You can't just grab a can of stain at the home (like the ubiquitous yellow can) and have it work. Normal stains need raw wood to soak in and either penetrate the cell walls (dyes) or settle in the crevices (pigments). You can use a product called a glaze to add color between coats of finish. Glazes are high in pigment and low in binder and are made with longer open times so you can manipulate around. Then you let them dry, usually overnight, and apply a coat of finish over them. Some people use gel stains, which are designed to sit on the surface, not penetrate, as make-shirt glazes. It's generally not a good idea to start mixing oil- and water-based stains and finishes. Too much can go wrong. But I would highly recommend doing what pros do -- since this is a new product or technique for you: run trials on scraps before jumping into your project. Even if you have to go buy some pine and put on a coat of tung oil, then try one or more products you are considering using and follow all the way through to final finish.

shellac will dissolve w/denatured alcohol. you can try it on a rag to see if it comes off. If not, it's prob a varnish. those saying you have to strip are talking about a whitewash stain. yes a stain needs bare wood to be able to absorb. whitewashing w/paint does not. if you want to white wash with paint, you don't need to strip. I've posted a few links, so click on those. chalk paint needs no stripping. you could dry brush it on to get the white washed stain look. test it out in an inconspicuous spot to see what you like. You can always remove it with paint remover, or a light sanding.