Being your first time here, you may not have expected the replies you got about your daughter's two rooms. Don't be offended. We mean well. I tend to agree, tho. And not to get personal, but how do you and your hubby have any intimate time together if you're sleeping in the LR? I would at the most, give your daughter the larger room so she does have room to play, but would take the advice of others to store the toys in the same room. Maybe it's time to go thru them and donate the ones she no longer plays with? Kids only play with half of the toys they own, anyway. Involve her in choosing which ones to give away and explain that she is helping kids who have no toys. Make it fun and help her learn that being charitable is a good trait. I'm sure if you google, there's an article on how to do that because I've read about it. That being said, I think you did a bang up job on the white furniture. That is my taste exactly. Shabby-chic and cottage-y. I am single and on a disability budget and my home is about your size. So storage is critical. I do all my furniture shopping at thrift stores. I bought a dresser that I use as a buffet, yet I keep my tools, gardening stuff, plastic storage bowls and seasonal linens in the drawers. I also bought a tall handmade shelving unit with cabinets below for storage and an old console with cabinet type doors for extra counter space in my kitcken (up against a wall) and storage for my crockpot, platters, bowls, mixer, etc. That one I painted but have yet to paint the other two. Rule #1 - paint before you get it in the house and start using it or you will never get around to painting it due to the dilema of where to store all the stuff inside while it's being painted...lol. I've also found new curtains, quilts, pillows, shower curtains, and even Ralph Lauren bed sheets at thrift stores. Target donates lots of stuff to Goodwill. Most of my decorative kitchen stuff and household knicknacks came from thrift stores. Lamps are always cheap and can be spray painted. They make textured metalic spray paint if that's your taste. Just do a good tape job first. They always have lamp shades, too, and many of them are new. I've gotten wall mirrors and done paint treatments on them to make them look shabby chic. You can repurpose sheets to make curtains, pillows, and even a shower curtain if you're handy with a sewing machine. I also got my two sofas from the thrift store. One for $40, the other a pull out bed for $50. For the first one (red checkered...UGH!!) I bought a white slipcover from Uglysofas.com. They sell Pottery Barn slipcovers pretty cheap (they call them Brand X since they can't advertise where they came from). I guess they're seconds but there was nothing wrong with mine. The 2nd couch was actually in perfect condition. It came from a hotel remodel so there were several, along with club chairs to match. I liked the fabric, so it didn't need covered (but I still do...I like the white better). Do you have a Restore Store (Habitat for Humanity) near you? They have soooo much stuff for remodeling, including paint. I buy my drawer pulls from there (which are very expensive at big box stores). Yes, it takes some digging around to find the quantity you need but they really update older painted furniture. And my store has started a thrift store section with furniture, mirrors, lamps, etc. As for paint color....I like the sage green but that's just me. I see you have a blue and pink pillow, so you could pull off that. However, paint isn't cheap so if you can live with the sage, live with it for now and work on making a sanctuary for you and hubby and a nice new LR. Ohhh...i forgot to mention. Are you familiar with Pinterest? If not, you MUST check it out. I've gotten so many decorating ideas from there. It's all visual. Pic, pics, and more pics. You just type in 'shabby chic decorating' for example, or 'cottage bedroom'. I search by color since i have a beach cottage color scheme. So I type in 'aqua shabby chic.' Just saying....if you are thinking of blue, they use blue in your search. You have to sign up to use it but it's no different than signing up for this site. And there are no ads, no spam, nothing !! It's addictive tho....trust me. Looking at beautiful picture is so inspiring. And then you can pin a pic to your 'board' so you can save it. It's like a virtual scrapbook. I LOVE IT !! Well, I've rattled on long enough. I do love your taste and wish you the best in your decorating !! Bonnie This post was edited by brit5467 on Sun, Apr 20, 14 at 22:00

Hey guys! so I wasnt intentionally not replying...my phone got stolen from a department store (I accedentally set it down, lol!) So I got a new phone and had forgotten my login info (I was automatically logged in) I have still been searching for inspiration. I shouldnt be, but I am still so embarrassed of my house. A lot of it is because due to indecisiveness I have not replaced the furniture I cant stand. I feel like the things I pin on pinterest or save to the ideabooks still just dont fit my living room. I feel like because of the rectangleness of the room the dining room and living room almost have to match/coordinate. It also has to match the floors and the taupe wall color since those arent going anywhere anytime soon. In the ideal world I like shiny dark furniture, especially a dining table but in my head those are all diffrent dining rooms, or open dining rooms that match the kitchen. When you walk in its BAM living and dining room. So I feel like it's just making due with the space. I'm just not really a big fan of my house layout in general, but I am embarrassed to have people over.. My husband absolutely does not want to spend a lot of money on it. We were in a place to, but when we could I couldnt make up my mind. I found this on an Instagram bloggers. Her house really resembles ours, the couch against the window wall, the open living and dining room. I like how her coffee table and dining table match each other, it looks very coordinated. And I also like the black coffee table top with the black on her TV (in the same place as ours). But she posts links to her furniture and I def cant afford that or I'd just be copying lol! I wish I could just copy someone by the book but these bloggers all have a diffrent budget than I do! Hers does have a bit of a farmhouse vibe, but I like it because it is modern. I also like the dining table because it is not cloth chairs and with kids that doesnt always end the best! The style though farmhouse is very popular right now and modernized, from what I can tell. I like walking into target and seeing the target style. I know its modern and popular. I just want to make sure the dining room matches the living room. But I'm in a play or safe kind of vibe. Rooms to go and ashley is more in our budget, cheaper furniture sets and financing options. I like the ones at world market, wayfair etc. but they can be pricey and no financing.. This is that bloggers page:

I would create a "foyer" by floating a 3-seat sofa or a reversible chaise sofa facing the two windows with a flat screen TV on a low credenza. Hang the clock on the wall opposite its present location. Flank the large front window with a pair of fabric armchairs, a new side table and a table lamp. A new rug should be at least 2 feet wider than the new sofa. For proper installation of a dining chandelier, your table will need to sit under the current fixture. Try doing that to see what you can achieve. Do you want to hire an electrician to remedy the offset? You can probably find a paired semi-flush and a pendant or chandy for both your ceiling lights and maybe the kitchen too. Once you find the seating and rug, we can find a new, brighter paint color to really bring this room out of the shade!

Center the sofa on the far wall (where the TV currently is) and put the end tables on each side. Get matching table lamps (26"-30" tall) for the end tables. You can put a larger piece of art over the sofa. This will address the immediate focal point as you enter this room. Keep the loveseat where it currently is, centered on the wall between the windows (if there's enough room when you move the sofa). Place the coffee table in front of it. If you need to scooch it down a bit that's fine, but I generally like to try centering off of architectural features first. You're looking at an arrangement something like this: You can then purchase a TV cabinet/console that will go on the wall opposite the loveseat. There might then be enough room to get a pretty side chair to angle in to the seating area. With this arrangement, you address conversation needs and also TV viewing. I wouldn't do an accent wall. Just keep all of your paint light and neutral. The carpet you have is pretty ... if you like it keep it. It looks as if you've already pulled some colors from it for your throw pillows. I would remove your valances, you don't need them with your fabric shades. Pretty furniture and a nice start to your room!