I know it has been some time since your post. How are you doing? Do you have a weight loss buddy?

Great rugs!!! Though I'm still drawn to the PB one. The blue in that rug is this color: http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/benjamin-moore-natura-paint-old-blue-jeans/?catalogId=5&bnrid=3580801&cm_ven=GoogleBase&cm_cat=Shopping&cm_pla=Home%20page&cm_ite=Datafeed Not as deep as my Newburyport...do we think the that will be OK? As to the panels, what if I go with a wallpaper. Thinking maybe something not bold...with the white, and pull in maybe the gold or light brown or rust, in a pattern. So it breaks up the white, but doesn't look as choppy? Carry it down to the bookcase? When I'm searching fabrics...would I then pull the same color for panels? So if I do a gold or brown/rust on the front wall, pull this color to the panels? Solid? Maybe pull more blue, tie both the blue on the walls and the blue on the rug, with some pieces put on display on the bookshelves? The items on the shelves, and on the walls, are not necessary to stay. I have a happy home for the rug and the art work in the adjoining room, which for the next 6-8 years will be toddler play room... As for the furniture...this is why I've been reluctant to hire a designer. In our old house, I asked a designer to help me to select furniture. He was persistent that I needed THREE different color and texture pieces. It went against what looked and felt right to me, but I doubted my taste (I'm an engineer afterall, what do I know about style?). I don't have a good referral for a designer around here that I feel I can trust, and I'm not about to go pick one willy nilly to spend good $ and end up being disappointed.

For your consideration: Remove the brown narrow horizontal trim line on the wall and replace it with wider white boards -- same white as window trim. Paint the wall above that trim the same color as your ceiling. Change out the overhead light for a small modern ceiling fan with light. Add wider trim boards around the door(s) and window(s). Add small individual stained glass decorative items to the windows with suction cups. Aim for approximately equal height items around the room on each wall approximately top of door trim height and top of corner cabinet height. Do remove the small high picture frames on the right wall first pic -- put them with their tops no higher than the top of the door trim on the two corner wallls between window and door (to the right of the desk). You need a corner cabinet for your printer beneath them. Hanging bracket(s) above and/or beside your window could enable you to add a flower basket. You could add another corner cabinet in the corner diagonally across from the one you have -- match if possible (definitely same height) -- alternately, a shallow cabinet w/larger single piece of art above it on the wall opposite the window -- alternately a rolling table that could be moved to the middle of the room for spreading out your work..

It looks like you're trying for symmetry but it's not really working because of the staircase on one side. The tall wall is throwing you off too, and it's not a good idea to try to decorate any higher than you would in a normal room. Here's an idea. Move the 2 bookcases together on one side, and move your lower cabinet behind the chair, which you'll pull forward a bit. Keep the decor items off the tops of the tall cabinets, and group your wall art to one side.