my sil has a rather long hallway and she took an assortmant of old family pictures and then recent family pictures done in black & white or sepia tones to match the old photos and framed them and hung them all down the hallway. i always enjoy looking at them and with todays technology it is so easy to take color photos and print them as b&w or sepia. actually my dd & ds each gave us pictures of themselves as toddlers with my dh and i that were oldened and framed; we did another of our youngest and are going to do a wall with them and other pcs of art in black, browns and goldish hues over a black piano that has two handmade lights from Spain that will match with all of the above colors. I think something in your hall along those lines would look pretty cool, too. Also agree with the lighting idea.

sus I didn't read the above responses - so pardon in advance if this is redundant. If you are definitely going to be there for 7yrs, you decide how you would like your home to be during that time. Do pros/cons of relocating - then move on. If you leave laundry there - think vertical! Yes, look into stacking units make sure you have all the space & clearances necessary to do so - ck and double check, it's not just the dimensions of the machines but the duct work for dryer, hook ups for washer - & enough height in the area I would consider making or purchasing a nice panel drapery there that can easily be pulled aside to do laundry - **Do I see pocket doors? closed up when complete. Also, vertical on shelves storage - creative ways of making that little space more efficient - how often do you iron? do you have another spot to dash the board. I would only have what is absolutely daily use in that area. If you leave the laundry there - I don't think you really have space for mud area - other than putting in some hooks to hang a jacket or 2 - scroll down look at tiny laundry room transformation http://realsouthernliving.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html http://www.remodelaholic.com/2010/08/laundry-room-design-with-craft-room-all.html Link below to images Here is a link that might be useful: laundry areas

@Groveraxle: thanks! I hope they have something like this color fabric iption in Crypton! Wonder if my photo is depicting a different color (cos of lighting). How would you describe this color in my photo (I am no good with greige, blue grey, charcoal etc descriptions.. for me it is light grey, med grey and dark grey: terrible, I know!)? here is a link from the store website, does it look the same as my photo? : https://www.jordans.com/product/living-room/sectionals/rowe-townsend-3-piece-sectional-lz1662207 Also - for the cabinets: what height would be ideal given that there would be a couch close to it? and other side a TV needs to be on top...

My opinion on Ruggable: my daughter bought one 18 mos ago (8x10/light gray). She has baby, toddler, dog and 2 messy, red wine spilling adults (lol) (oh, and sometimes messy me visiting). She has washed that rug countless times, both by spot cleaning and washing machine. It comes out great. I loved the idea of one myself but needed a 9x12 and at time they did not offer it. Now they do (you just have to check to see if your washer accommodates the size) & I bought a cream/white one. I LOVE it. Me and Messy Marvin here + 2 dogs and visiting grandkids, granddog, and messy adults have given my ruggable a workout. Spot cleaning for me has been a breeze-have not had to throw the entire thing in wash yet but I anticipate no problems based upon daughter's experience. (truly just about everything has been spilled, spewed, painted, chalked, thrown on these rugs and no problems washing clean, no staining). In case you are wondering about real life hard workout for this brand.