You can't live in peace...you can't, your husband can't, and your kids can't...if you are keeping more things than you have room for. We all live with space constraints, and I can tell you from experience that the constant stress of too much stuff and no room put it, and no efficient means of living and working, is TERRIBLE for your relationships, your energy, your sense of accomplishment, and your health. I am still sorting and pitching from our move out of a big house into a small one two years ago. Trying to keep more than you can live with makes you feel poor, not rich. The thing that jumped out at me in your post was that your husband doesn't want your workroom in your bedroom. And assuming that your childrens' reasonable needs are met, nothing is more important to family life than the happiness of your relationship. So from the way you describe your house, it seems to me that perhaps your dining room would make the ideal office for you. If you can keep it organized and hide it away when your workday is over, then you can turn your attention to storage for the toys your children will keep...after you explain than nobody can live with more stuff than they have room for. Last idea...do you have the budget for a small storage locker somewhere? Can you ease the process of reducing the toy mess by making a game out of choosing this month's toys...only as many as you can put away every night...and storing the rest? Then once a month, you all go to the locker and pick out a different set for that month. Like going to the toy store, only without the spending? If your children are very young, twice a month might be better...or even once a week. I think if you make a whole-house, whole family project out of this, you will all gain a sense of control and accomplishment that will bring you closer, and make everything go better.

that would work. just make sure if you get a drum light, that it has either 3-60W bulbs or 2 bulbs that can accept up to 100w (with the LED lights, you can actually use the brighter bulbs because they use little wattage. )

Hi Diana! What a nice space to have for an office! I love the floors, windows, and wainscoting. For the chairs as you have them arranged, I would look for a round ottoman, personally. Separate footstools would need to be fairly small to avoid a crowd of furniture. If you want a longer footstool, you might look for one that incorporates storage as well, approaching it more like a coffee table. Hopefully I’m interpreting correctly- is the white lamp to the right of the chair the hideous one? (Do they come in black?) And is the diamond-patterned rug the one you’d like to replace? As for the side table storage. Could you use bookshelves instead? Books can go on the shelves, and you might use baskets to store smaller things. A more open storage solution might be easier to use. (If you and your husband want to dig more into organizational storage, I highly recommend “Organizing from the Inside-Out” by Julie Morganstern.”) I hope some of that helps! Doug

Wdccruise: yes, I’ve come to the realization that I definitely need more ambient room lighting in addition to the task lighting I’m seeking. When I first read your post, my reaction was that perhaps a series of those clamp lights might work above the pinboard, but I don’t really have any place to clamp them (looking at how the pinboard is attached to the wall, you couldn’t attach them to the top). I think that’s why the picture light appealed to me - I thought the length of it would provide more spread out lighting. For example, in my bathroom, if all the lights are off except for the one over my vanity, the lighting is still sufficient while I’m getting ready at my vanity (the rooms are about the same size). I think I was trying to replicate that. Thanks to all for helping me brainstorm a solution - your comments have made me think about my issue in a way I hadn’t before. A trip to our local lighting store might be in order now that I better understand what I need.