Ncdel--why not go ahead and paint around the closet? You might be in this house for more than two years--you never know. Or you could paint the inside all pink and purple, or whatever your daughter's favorite colors are. Another consideration is that this is a playroom. I suspect, when you start getting this house ready to sell, you are going to have to paint the playroom anyway--kids do tend to make marks on the walls, even when they are trying not to. Balls get bounced, toy trucks are let loose, stuff happens. And by the time you move, your daughter may have outgrown the dress-up stage. So if you really want to give her a special little girly space, I'd say go ahead and do it. If you knew for certain sure that you would be moving in a year, I'd say don't do it. But a "maybe" move in a couple of years? You don't want to spend the next couple of years feeling as if you can't do anything you really want to do in the house because you are moving soon. Two years is a long time to live in a place without changing it to suit you and your family. I know. My dad was in the military and we moved every year or two. The longest we stayed in any one house was two and a half years. My parents were adamantly opposed to doing anything to any house we lived in--or maybe it was that they didn't want to spend a single cent on something that would be left behind when we moved (they were very frugal). We coped with furniture that didn't fit, curtains that didn't cover windows, inadequate storage in many houses, weird wall colors that clashed with our furniture, you name it. And even my parents would complain about the poor lighting in a room, or the lack of storage space in the kitchen, or how echo-y a certain room was--all of which could have been solved with less than $100 spent on lamps, or a microwave cart or some curtains or a small area rug. I think this is why I am so concerned with how my surroundings look today. I'm not saying go hog wild and spend tons of money and time and effort to make the house totally "you." If you are moving in a few years, that would be a lot of investment that you wouldn't get back. But a few little projects, the ones that speak to you the most and that would make you feel more at home in your own home--things that you can do in a day or that cost less than $200--go ahead and do a few of them. There's a happy medium between doing nothing to personalize the space and personalizing every square inch of the house. And if you don't want to paint, do check out the wall decals that are so popular right now--you could decal the closet door and just peel them off when you move.

Thanks so much everyone! I really appreciate all your suggestions. I guess my downfall is that I'm a 'researcher' - I have to see ALL my options out there before I make a decision. Definitely no impulse buys for me - ha! But then of course, it drives dh bonkers because it takes me FOREVER to make up my mind! :) I was actually thinking of a warm cream or light yellow. Dh really wants to paint the floor sage green (which I don't really love, but I rarely let him have his way - haha). So do you think a pale yellow would look ok with a sage green floor? Does anyone have examples or pics of a nice soft yellow (I don't want anything TOO yellow). teacats, I love your art idea! I do really like some of those animal prints or we might even try to paint some ourselves. I was definitely thinking of having dh build a bookcase w/ colorful bins for storage, then I also want to have an arts/crafts area (with a dry erase wall to write on) then also a kitchen/baby doll area, reading nook w/chairs, sports area w/balls & bikes, and then a dress up area too. My problem is I have so many ideas - I just have trouble executing them all! Does anyone know of any cute kids rugs (bright stripes or some type of motif) for under $200? Thanks again for all your help!

I imagine that the expense of the grading, concrete, well, etc. will amount to a project of some significance. At that point, the window should only be a very fractional portion of the project/labor totals. If there is a good match to the profile in vinyl, that should be fine, but I can't imagine a different product really moving the needle much on the total price.

Since it is going to be a play area I would go for the vinyl. Although carpet is warmer, play dough and paint is easer to clean off of vinyl. You can always add a area rug for floor play.