My 2 cents...if it were my room I'd go with the lighter color you posted in the first set of pix. Stay with the red WT, and the original gold leather. Love the lantern chandy. I'd do the ceiling in the gold in your last photo. I am not loving the greenish chairs in that room. It seems like yet another color competing with the vibrant colors of the rug. Alternatively, if you go with the last color you posted, stay with the red drapes. They really work great. I did a faux stucco finish in my kitchen, and I love it so much that I did it in the master bath, too. I used joint compound (used for sheetrock seams) and spread it on thinly. Then went over it with a damp sponge, pushed it in, then pulled off, leaving spikes. Then knocked that down with a trowel. Once it dried (waited a couple days) I painted it an ivory color then went over that with an antique glaze. I find it quite easy to clean, the glaze acted like a sealer. I can't photograph it well, so no pic, but if you really wanted one I'd try to do it again.

How very sad. My thoughts are with the family!

"You have to be able to love members of your own species before you can branch out and apply that to other species. Elizabeth Marshall Thomas" I like all her quotes, the one above made really an impression.

The use of the the military in the continental US is not permitted, I believe, for law enforcement other than as provided in an enumerated list of emergencies. Other activity (including work on infrastructure) is not limited, I'll cite the active work of the US Army Corps of Engineers throughout the US as an example. I agree and have long thought that some kind of national service other than the military would be useful. There is Americorps and its Vista program (like a domestic Peace Corps). California also has a CCC equivalent but like Americorps, it's small and very underfunded. Many of these programs can serve like the military to give wandering/aimless young adults a chance to support themselves and grow up. Imagine what could be done if the exorbitant military budget were redirected to such programs to build infrasturcture. Another example of a project like this is Teach for America, which puts qualified college grads into teaching jobs to earn money and repay student loans. There are far more applicants than job openings and more money would help. TFA participants are often more academically accomplished and capable than teachers hired through the normal routes and many stay in the educational field. I also agree completely about the CCC, essentially a jobs program during the depression of the 1930s. Besides a lot of work building facilities at national parks, CCC projects gave many communities buildings and other civil engineering works that are important and valuable to this day. As an example, there are many public structures and civic auditoriums all over the country built by the CCC.