It's almost like Christmas morning!! I woke up to a many more gifts! Thank you. Karin, thank you for the insight. I absolutely love the idea of an armoire. It would be beautiful, but I do not think practical. I am in those files many, many times each day. The ones to the right of my desk are customer files, the rolling files on the floor hold a few more customer files plus other info I need access to. Patty and Mary, the bookcase idea sounds like a possible as well. Les, you have given me even something more to think about. Several others mentioned this as well -- purpose of this room. As I said, this is a center hall colonial. 20 years ago we added 5' to our family room and added a large sunroom on the back of that. Since that time (and even before that) the living room has just been for show, not function. Several years ago my sons suggested moving my office from the basement, where dry as it was, it was still a basement. I was so very reluctant, because after all I was going to disparage the living room. So I put the desk and files in and bought the screen. While a very large room, shoving everything down just made it worse, because now I had just moved the living room over to make room for the office. I recently got rid of the sofa and two tables. That was great. I had my family room furniture delivered and they would take away any used furniture for free and donate to a furniture bank. I had the sofa and a chair (37 years old). One of the men said he knew someone who could use it and asked if that was okay with me. It felt good because I knew it was going to be put to use. It was in perfect condition - I just didn't want it anymore. Anyway, this has all made me realize that this room is primarily an office and I should embrace that - I am going to start by moving things around. Thank you, Les. I do love the bookcase divider idea as well. I have been thinking of moving the desk anyway, as it is starting to "alligator" in the sun. My father brought this home from work many years ago and refinished it. I can still see his hands on it, so want to preserve it. Les, if you are still out there, --- you mentioned a loveseat to the left as you walk in the room. You cannot see well from the pictures, but there is a very large window there. I don't think I would want a large piece against the window. Thanks again to all who helped me. Now, I just need to break the news to my dear, dear husband that I have yet another "plan".

I agree with most of the posts above. And personally this type of decor is a bit too stimulating for my tastes...like a Montissori classroom. My take is that this is urban country 2.0. These houses are bright, have a lot of contrast and visual clutter. It is an inexpensive style to do. And it is interesting and allows for creativity. Here is also what I think is going on... IMHO, true country living and its decor (that is, one lives in a farm and has land, animals, gardens, crops....) the barn, shop, and mechanical outbuildings are considered to be functional and unless its a garden shed or summer kitchen, the man's domain. No frills, flowers, etc. allowed. Bt the farmhouse though also a working kitchen and housekeeping space is considered to be a reflection of the woman of the house. So it is more expected to have whatever decor the woman would want, as a comfort against the hard work the family does, and to be house-proud and family-proud. So the overall household would have a balance of masculine and feminine spaces.

Great idea about the foamcore Kippy, that would be fabulous and so much easier than painting. I'll give that some thought. I need to get bold, there are so many amazing paints out there. Everytime I go to Home Depot, there is a new line of metalic spray paints. jlc712, I think that the bookcase is where I can make the next biggest impact in the room. I hate to get rid of our beloved Little House on the Prairie set, but if I find a niece to send it too, that will make the parting a little sweeter. Maybe if I thin out some movies I can store books below in the cupboard. My audiophile husband loves his sound equipment, however. To think, I can't turn half of it on! Great idea about the calendars. Clever and budget-savvy. So hard to throw away those beautiful calendar pictures. I've got to put 9 frames of something above the fireplace. That wreath comes down this weekend, its the Feast of the Presentation so the time has come. Maybe I'll find 9 pictures of the Blessed Mother to frame. There is an endless number of painting of her, and I could gaze at those forever. Of course, my husband would want pictures of National Parks, so I guess I've got a lot of thinking to do. Tibbrix, you are right, this big room needs big furniture. The coffee table is 48" and the sofas are 72" so it gives a foot on each side to sit. Remember, we walk behind the sofas, in front of them, beside them AND we chase Captain around the room! It's really a dog run, I guess. I would have loved to buy large English-arm three cushion sofas and lovely accent chairs, but it's the fact that we move the loveseats (sometimes daily) to watch television or play video games. I know this seems crazy. We only have one functional TV. With seven kids on board (well one is gone but we still have her bedroom that she shares with a sister), all of our rooms are full of kids. I figure that when the time comes to change the furniture once again, I have seven people who would love free sofas. ; ) Need to work on paint, don't have a budget for that now. Thank you so much for your thoughtful replies. It means so much to hear your opinions. -Cupofkindness

I thought this was a good read... An excerpt from Dr Wayne Dyer on new year resolutions: "This day that you’re living right now is the only day you get. Period. You can resolve to be skinny when next July rolls around, or to quit smoking next month, or to write that book you’ve been meaning to, or to embark on your overdue exercise program by the end of this year. You can go about resolving until the cows come home, and you still have to live your life just like everyone else on the planet: One day at a time. You can only live minute to minute. You can certainly use up your present moments thinking about what you’ll be doing in the future, but that doesn’t change the fact that you can only live in the now. The important question to be asking yourself is: How am I going to live in the present moment this year? Will I waste these moments reviewing the way I used to behave? Will I waste these moments reviewing how I would like to behave in the future rather than resolving to live each day to the fullest? The new year is a good time to initiate a plan so you can make some changes and help live your life to the fullest. See if you can practice thinking differently. Decide very specifically what it is that you would like to change about yourself in 2017. If you have some goals in mind, vow to work on them day by day rather than making them a year-long project. When you set up day-to-day goals for yourself, you can begin living this way for the rest of your life. Remember this little piece of advice, which will be extremely helpful to you if you can incorporate it into your life: When you go for one entire day without eating sugar (or not smoking, or being assertive, or any other new behavior), you are a totally different person at the end of that day. What you must learn to do is let that totally different person decide on the second day whether to do it again on this new day, rather than letting the same old person decide today that it is going to be difficult in a couple of days anyhow, so what’s the use. Always let the New You make the decision, and then you’ll be living your present moments. Remember, you are in control of all thoughts in your head. When you are using up your present moments to worry about the future, constantly reviewing the past to come up with how you should have done it differently, or contemplating disaster, remind yourself that you are wasting this particular present moment. Practice cancelling out negative thoughts for a few minutes at a time. Vow to enjoy the next five minutes regardless of what has previously transpired or what you think is about to happen. Remind yourself of the folly of wasting your present moments on mental activity that focuses exclusively on your past or imagined future. All of your thoughts about what you should have done, or how terrible things were in the past will not change one tiny slice of the past. As you celebrate this new year and each precious present moment, here are 10 reminders to help you live in the Now: 1. Remember that habits are changed by practicing new behavior. By practicing new thinking every five minutes, you’ll soon begin to master the art of present-moment living. 2. Do an honest assessment of your “problems.” You’ll very likely discover that almost all of your problems are really in your head and not located in reality. 3. Take time to be mindful of everything around you. Begin to look at your entire surroundings in a new light. Observe every detail on every face, every building and every object. If you do this often enough it will become a habit that will facilitate your being alive in every moment of the year. 4. Change your attitude. Begin an attitude-redevelopment plan. That means practice enjoying everything you do. 5. Be specific about what you want and take action. Decide on one thing that you would like to work on and do it today. Work at it daily, rather than making it a long-range objective. 6. Create a self-improvement agenda for yourself. Put on your agenda whatever activities you’ve always thought about but never had time to do. Do them now. 7. Rid yourself of mundane chores that are not really that important. Spend more time making your life a pleasure. 8. Eliminate procrastination as a lifestyle. Instead of talking to yourself about what you are going to do next week or even tomorrow, use this time to start a new task. 9. Don’t give up control of your life to others. You cannot enjoy the present moment if you are busy trying to make everyone else like you. People respect you more when you operate from a position of strength and self-reliance. 10. Feel good about yourself. You are a magnificent human being. Always feel good about that self that you are always with." From Chapter 3, The Power of Intention — Dr. Wayne W. Dyer