catsrose, if you care to look at my thread on the decorating forum, you'll see I've posted more pictures which show my terra cotta red dining room which is visible from the living room, and just beyond that there's a green room. I do want the gray to be moody and dramatic, and I think it's going to be a fun experiment. We can always paint over it if it doesn't work out.

I grew up 30 miles down the road in SLO town, but a trip to Cambria was always a treat. Your photographs capture the beauty of the coastline there. It has suffered from the rampant development of hotels since I was a kid. It was a backwater kind of place, sitting at the end of the dramatic coastline of Highway 1 and Big Sur, but it's now overflowing with beds and amenities. If you'd like to read a very funny book, get Chrstopher Moore's Practical Demonkeeping, set in the fictional town of Pine Cove. Cambria and San Luis Obispo are very recognizable. His books are all hysterically funny. He used to live in Cambria, so the town, shops, bars, hotels, and quirky residents became fodder for his novels. Brad

Thank you all for the advice. I am hoping that someone will be able to help me, I am looking for a rectangular area rug and found one that I really like, but I am really having trouble with the size. According to some of the comments I am supposed to make sure that the rug is 24 inches past every end of the table... so if I follow that guideline it looks like I will need a rug that is 7x11. Since they don’t make that size, it’s either I choose 8x10 or 9’6 x11’6. The issue with the 9’6x11’6 is that my room is only 13’ long... so it will cover most of my floor and I’m worried it would be overwhelming... the 8x10 would work well for all of my side chairs, but the end chairs would be almost hanging off of the rug. Please help!! Thank you!!

Yet in others (at least in N.O.) trellis or "decorative" fence toppings, wiring don't count. But, yes she needs to check. @ Isabella, I still think you have a blank canvas for a really lovely yard. If you think about it, your 2nd story view isn't a whole lot different than ANY urban view of your neighbors once you get your yard looking nice.