The boxes were actually in the bedroom when she told me to remove them.they were stacked atop one another against a wall.She said "fire hazard" and gave me a week to unpack what was inside.I already had a few pieces of audio equipment in my living room and when i unpacked i added more..nowhere else to put it.I made certain that it's all organized well and polished of any soil and not obstructing pathways in or out of the room, 'nor blocking access to the window. i'm not a messy person but when she inspected(initially),she found the kind of stuff that most of us wait til we move out of a place to bother cleaning.I've lived here nearly 4 years now ,so i admittedly did have some legitimate cleaning to perform..It was when she voiced her dissatisfaction with my 'stuff' that i got angry as well as fearing eviction.She stood in my entryway yesterday,(the re-inspection) looking at my 'stuff' and says " it looks better..but..you DO know that the state inspectors are going to be in here on the 31st!?..)I simply nodded and very casually or matter of factly said "yeah"..it was a kodak moment. I want to thank everyone for their response.i feel 100% better now.I spoke to a few people(acquaintances) at the local Denny's this morning shortly after my initial post here and they told me how absurd my manager's notion sounded to them,but i still felt panicky..The responses here put an end to that panic..Thanks again to all of you who replied.btw,i never bothered to move my vinyl LP's..They're still in the bedroom.Classic 60's 70's and 80's fire hazards don'tcha know! This post was edited by michaelspicer on Thu, Jan 30, 14 at 11:27

I'm not sure why a local cabinet shop couldn't make what you want if you get the specs and do scaled drawings to review with them and refine the construction aspects. There's some similar things in the link here, but I didn't check into sizing. I'm not sure why the "concept" would be different for a cabinet maker. It looks like frameless construction, which I'm sure all shops are doing now. The only confusing thing for me is the toilet cabinet. Maybe it's designed to fit over the tank. Dunno. Here is a link that might be useful: interesting

Caligal, it really sounds like you want to stay with your current home. However, I'll just point out that right now the inventory of foreclosed homes gives people unprecedented chances to obtain homes they could not hope to have before and many will not be able to afford in future (let's hope no more such "wonderful" home markets). I don't mean go looking just for a bigger home (although in your case some additional size would be nice), but rather a lifestyle improvement: A decent home in a location that is particularly desirable to you. You know, location, location, location. Things like good schools, a pretty sociable neighborhood, close to family, en route between friends and mall (they'll be dropping in), favorite amenities close by (cows in pastures or high-density shopping, your choice), good proximity and transportion to work. Whatever floats your boat. If you're not already in a place you'd really like to raise your children and even be happy growing old, this current opportunity to make your home there should not be passed up for any but the most important reasons.

nancy-- thank you! And yes, so true . . .so fast! lazy-- I agree with everything you've said. Those things have bothered me as well. Most of the books sticking out I can't change, but someday I will (when the kids are older). I have been looking for larger pieces for the FP and other wall for a long time, ditto for what goes on the FP. Just too hard to find things without a lot of shopping trips to the flea market, and I rarely get to do that! The curtains will change eventually, too. Now I can go in a totally different direction with color, when I have the time and $! val, I see where you are going with the FP but there isn't enough room to do that (such a small room). If I can someday get an ottoman I will remove the table! amj, I will get that pic up for you soon. It does not really look built in though . . .it is nowhere near what I'd like it to look like in terms of how it is arranged, either. lori, thank you-- you rooms have always been very inspirational to me. flower, I would like the floor length idea but not sure how it would work with the chairs against the wall . . .no room to push them far enough out so that the curtains would not be smooshed. Ideas? Thank you again, everyone!!