The spent flowers could be deadheaded but it such a large specimen now that (a) it may take "forever" or (b) you may not be able to reach many of the top blooms. I would try to remove dead wood regularly but I would do this around the month of May when it is clear which parts are dry and which ones are just dormant. Opening some areas in the top so light can reach the bottom leaves is always useful too (or thin out the leaves a little). Besides this, you can just do the usual things. Apply 3-4" of mulch up to or beyond the drip line so the roots do not have to be watered often. Add a layer of fertilizer below the mulch using either cottonseed meal, compost or well composted manure. Maintain the soil evenly moist as best as you can. And in case this applies to your soil, amend the soil to acidify if you notice signs of iron chlorosis. This post was edited by luis_pr on Mon, Apr 1, 13 at 7:17

You might be able to run sheet metal in the chimney, but it is going to be a long run and compromise the vent fan. It may also have problems with the vent air cooling off and depositing grease that can accumulate and drip back down. There will be a little bit of 'chimney effect' since the air will be warm and tend to rise, but it is unlikely to be effective with only room temperature air and a 3 story run.

Logan, Just wondering, do you want a small bit of the acorns I got from Williamsburg,Va? I can't say for sure they are 100% Live oak Q.Virginiana. I can send you a few and you can put them in a place out of the way in case they don't do so great. But, really, they should do fine in NC, unless you are having weather problems from hurricane Mathew, which I never did ask you about, I'm sorry about that. I was going to go to Florida and leave yesterday Friday Oct 14th, but there were several routes that were not open due to flooding from Mathew. So maybe next year 'll go to Florida. The best time to go is when it's cold in Pa. Like now, but, we would have to fly and we didn't have the dough to fly there. So Logan if you send me a message in my GW messages with your address, I will send you several of the small acorns from the Live oaks in Williamsburg,Va. If you don't want to give your email address etc it's fine. I also have some hardier acorns from a guy in zone 7a, I can send you a couple of them, if i remember.

How much of an update do you want? New furniture, new colors ? IMO the T.V. is mounted too high , not in a place that makes sense and IMO there is no reason you can’t move it .I would put the T.V on the wall to the left of the door where the flowered sofa is now and get 2 new sofas to put in an L configuaration so that you can enjoy the fireplace the TV and the view.If you still have some space left do 2 more chairs in a nice contrasting material to the sofas.Painting the whole room a nice soft gray/ green will have a huge impact , a nice big coffee table some new lighting will look like a new space.I never like sectionals so I would discourage that choice.