First a HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU. Omg I can not imagine my life with GW. Everyone here is beyond kind helpful supportive and understanding. NO one has ever judged me on GW. And this was hard for me to post images of my home. Insecurity is my middle name. I wish I could change this room this second. Like betwitched. Nose twitch done!!! I have no magic. I am going to really study all your suggestions and implement them. Stir the pot and see what works and does not. Truly GW is full of amazing minds, voices, ideas, inspiration and supportive people. Les917, Only in the heat of the summer do we like those windows covered. We have electric controlled blinds. Right now they are closed but I love them open. Everything you describe is exactly as I have been thinking I plan to paint the rest of the built ins White. I have thought about moving the cornice all the way up. It should have been done years ago. But the red sofa may be going to another room along with the chair. My DH has suggested we either buy new leather pieces for this room or we move brown leather from the basement up to this room. We use the red in the kids media room and figure out that space later. We could move the TV to one of those adjustable wall mounts. My best friend said I need to reconfigure the fireplace mantle and mount the tv there. I need to convince DH on this one. Loribee, YES, I love stripes too. Kiko, Yes, I do like the drama in those drapes. And I love the cute pooch on the porch. Vampiressrn, Wow, I feel so honored to have you respond to me. I think your style is amazing. I read all your posts like a groupie. I love your posts. I do like brown. I used to have my kitchen painted this medium brown color called Camel coat. The slight problem with the brown walls is do I paint everything? Or only the brown on the wall with the built ins or maybe three walls, all the walls move open to other areas. Something to consider. Paintergirl, Great ideas. I do need to embrace the space. I need to frame more art. I rarely paint my dogs. Too Hallmarky. I love those images you suggested. Especially the paint color. Notice how much in the image above. Gwbr54, Thank you for your sweeet words. I get very confused with the terms modern and contemporary. I wish the term Modern did not connote the style in the 70s with plastic, metal and clean lines. Or maybe I am a complete idiot and the term is Modernism and I am getting that confused. Send me back to class. And is it possible that we change our style as we grow up? Which means some of this rubbish about me was bought with the understanding I was a French provincial girl. I could flush that style. It is not me at all. But the table in the kitchen so French, I like it painted white. Organic modern or contemporary look? I like it. I have never been a fan of Bamboo or even natural fibers but the images you posted could work for me. I love the chunky candle sticks the rich rug and the drapes over shades. It is ironic you have the Ethan Allen image, years ago my DH and I got into a huge fight because I wanted EA sofa and chairs for the same room. He felt is was too fussy, This coming from a guy who would be happy eating off a dog crate. SandyP, I agree more in the fireplace area. Definitely need to hone in on that space with drama My budget is maybe a few $1000, yes I am limited in this frail economy. I have sentimental only to the vases and the vase picture. I could toss out everything. Including the floors. But that would be a $100,000 budget. Gosh, I wish I were a Rockerfeller or Kennedy or even Gates. I do not like black rod iron, never did and never will. I am searching today for some better tables. As for Naked windows. I love naked veggies, never thought about the windows. I think for this room to come together the windows will be a key to pulling the room together. Ideas so far and feel free to add any more... Option 1: Sell the red and repaint the kitchen. Buy something in brown leather, bag the hideous end tables and put up drapes from ceiling to floor. Repaint the built Ins too. Option 2: Keep the red sofa, paint the walls, , bag the hideous end tables and put up drapes from ceiling to floor. Repaint the built In. Option 3: Get lazy and hire someone which in turn angers the DH as he thinks I should be able to do this. It would anger my oldest daughter as she says I am constantly changing all the rooms in the house I would need to hire a designer on retainer. And that could only happen if my last name were Rockefeller. Rooms I love and maybe I could make my own, but how? Yes, Plants, Trees that is it I can see this could help along with repainting the walls to a possible white color... The rug helps too but I have a similar rug. I think I even saw chairs like these at Marshalls I like what they did with making a corner conversation area. I like the drama on the wall. I might be able to borrow these ideas.. Why does this room work? Could I paint one wall like this? Or is this a bad, bad decor plan? I like these colors but the wing back chair is not me, I wonder if I use more crisp white with navy blue could that be a direction. And the kitchen could be painted the navy blue... would this work with the dark floors?

Ooohh, I had an answer typed up and thought I posted it, but no, and now it's probably a bit dated after all other responses. Anyway, I made the effort to type it so I'll post it anyway, just disregard the doubling up with what other posters have already said :-) I was trying to look at it from the kids' perspective: -It must be challenging to have a mom and a stepmom in your life, especially when stepmom is the main caregiver. Even in the best of circumstances, nothing personal, don't get me wrong. -Forget for a second who did what and how this situation developed. You are now at a point where you are both not in a good place. He's sensing your irritation and my guess is this upsets him. He might be overly sensitive to rejection, which is not uncommon in kids from divorced parents. My younger SD is the same, and she used to deal with it (at our place) by keeping the unwanted behavior up. For her, to do what she knew was wrong, would give a predictable reaction. She chucked socks in a ball in the laundry basket, I would get annoyed and tell her to straighten them out. For her, to try and do it right was risky. That is when she might fail, what if there would be something else/new that I'd then criticize her for? Better/safer not to try at all. At least the outcome is no surprise when you don't try. This has a lot to do with low self esteem. Does your SS have low self esteem? It wouldn't surprise me if he did. My SD applies the same technique at school. Instead of trying she chooses to fail. Rather then having a go at answering a question she'll insist she doesn't know it, no risk taken. This is what we did when we were learning how to make things work in our house, for all of us: 1. I sat down with SD and had a talk with her. I tried to create some mutual understanding. I understood it must be hard for her to have divorced parents, different rules and a stepmom who's on your case about them, but I wasn't out to get her. I asked for understanding for my situation as well, being new at the whole stepparenting thing. It's scary for me as well, and then I asked her to please tell me if she thought any rule was unreasonable, there's always room to discuss things. SD has never really brought anything up since, but the talk did get rid of the tension. It gave us a fresh start. 2. Every time you find something SS does wrong, also try and think of something he did right. And tell him that. Nobody likes to hear what they're doing wrong all the time, a compliment can go a long way. I know plenty things I like about the skids, things they do right, or are good at, and I always assumed they knew. Until I realised they never heard me say it! Create a better atmosphere in the house, compliment SS on what he does well. This could be anything: -SS you are always so polite, that is very nice. -Thanks for taking your glass back to the sink -Thanks for helping me unload the shopping, you are nice like that. -It must be hard for you to go back and forth between your mum and us, I think you handle it very well. -I like that drawing, you are good at drawing. -Wow another high score, you are very good at that game! 3. Sit down with DH and come to a compromize. This is the hardest thing, but it needs to be done :-) You have to be on the same page, being divided means undermining yourselves. Bad situation for everyone involved. -The rules. They have to be agree on by both of you, and when DH is around he should be the one to enforce them. Our situation was similar to yours, with me enforcing the rules that I felt were appropriate. DH left it up to me as he wasn't that fussed. This led to a similar situation you are in now. So we talked and talked, and in the end we got there. This took about 2 years I'd say, and lots of practice from both of us, so you have to be patient and allow time to make these changes. FDH had to learn to step up, and I had to learn to let go. We compromised on which rules to enforce, I had to let go of about half of the rules I would have liked to have. I made a list of all of them, and we divided them into "must-have" and "not a must". For example a 'must have rule' was the having dinner at table, eat with knife and fork, and a 'not a must' was only two hours of tv a day. If FDH does not care they hang in front of tv and don't play outside, then so be it. I let go. -You have to have each others back. No arguing about rules and discipline in presence of kids. When DH got angry with you after you got angry at SS, a loose-loose situation. Next time don't go in and interrupt SS and DH, wait till you can talk to DH after, when you are alone, and agree on an approach. Ideally DH will then enforce that with SS. This was the hardest thing for me, and it still is, but I'm learning to keep a lid on it and save it for later :-) Right now SS probably sees you as the one with the rules, not you and DH. Before FDH and I were on the same page, my SD's perceived I was the one that had high standards/lots of rules. And I did!, compared to BM who doesn't have many and FDH who used to let everything slide thinking he was doing good by keeping the peace (bless him :-). Once we changed our approach and it wasn't me and my rules anymore but rather our rules the dynamics changed. Good luck!

Sorry for the delay in answering...my brother in law passed away after a long illness. My sister in law just had a triple bypass on top of other health issues..so we have been helping her. (she can't stay alone) Thanks for the tip about Crep! I will try them tomorrow. (back at the office and swamped playing catch up! lol Kelly, H have Nahema and have enjoyed the few blooms I have had. She is still young and not putting out new growth from the ground...but does send out shoots with buds. I am now cutting off the buds to focus on root growth. Very healthy, just hasn't taken hold, I guess...

It doesn't look fine. Sorry but the TV is way to big for over the FP. Also it seems too high for comfortable viewing. The FP is not proportionate to the wall either. Is there any chance of getting more stone and granite? It might help to widen the FP. @littlebug zone 5 Missouri has the least expensive solution. The FP seems flat to the wall so I'm not sure either of the above built-ins would work.