saprek, I love it now! Yes, There's a disconnect between the style of the coffee table and the other furrnishings though, as others have mentioned. An iron and glass table would be more "invisible" and would let your rug shine through. Something transparent would be much better there. Does that white chest your using now come off its base? Maybe you could use it elsewhere as a storage piece at the foot of a bed or a toy chest. As for fabric, I was at Calico Corner and they have lots of sort of contemporary fabrics in the colors of your rug. I think they're expensive but if you need only a few yards you'd be okay. I think for curtains I would look at something light, like cream, with banding made of one of the colors in the rug that you really want to pull out. I'm in love with grey and amber/gold right now. I don't like the dark colored curtain there and I don't know if you should go with pattern. It will really lock you in too. If you keep it simple and bright you can switch things up when you're bored. For basic curtains, You can buy cream ready-mades and band it yourself then get extra banding fabric to use for pillows too. The curtain you have up right now is too dark, IMO and closes the room in. If you want light blocking, what about a natural bamboo type shade under curtains? I've seen nice cheap ones at the mass marketers. You can get them lined to really darken the room. But I don't see doing a really "patterned" fabric. I'd say keep the pattern in the throw pillows, a nice plush chenille throw with a little shine, a big shiny platter on the glass coffee table -- what I'm thinking is right now the whole texture looks very matte. It could use some gleam and also shiny things bounce light around and make a space much more interesting and bigger feeling. It's really looking nice. And I think you're brave to buy HDC chairs without trying them out. Glad they're comfy. I actually need two new chairs for my family room.

I need help again please. I'm really pleased with my bedroom after 5 years of being in limbo till (fill in the blank). I don't know what I should put (if anything) on top of the armoire. The picture sitting on top right now will be hung. The armoire is 5' tall. You can see pictures of it and the rest of the room above. The lamp I finally chose is the one in the first picture of lamp decisions. It's on he bottom right corner. Or maybe I should forget putting anything there and let whatever I put on the wall (between the armoire and the bed be enough. I'm open for suggestions for both! Thanks, Monica

The clip is just a classic example of not thinking about how you will USE the space! The owner designed it for how it would look, not how he and his family would use it. And I couldn't believe he planned a family area without enough room for the sofa. At the end of the show (next episode) the entire family is perched on this loveseat and chair....and the kids are all little. What about five years later? My concern is not that big furniture fits in the space. It's more about designing a home that works for your lifestyle. The forum is great for helping with that! It just amazes me how many people IRL don't consider it....or at least don't seem to. If you're fortunate to be able to build your own home, you would hope the bed could have room for an end table....or a dresser will fit between the foot of the bed and the wall. Even a small dresser. As I said, just my pet peeve. Too many "Parade of Homes' houses, where the furniture is staged, but there's one small dresser in the master and 9' x 9' kids' bedrooms. And kitchens with no room for stools at the island without slamming into the dining chairs....or not enough depth for any sofa of loveseat to fit in front between island and fireplace. Just my two cents :)

Yes, I got to 42" by adding the 24" and 18" cabinet widths of cabinets 8 and 10. And yes, there will be a panel on the "dining room" sides of cabinets 7 and 9, the living room side of cabinet 10, and kitchen side of cabinet 8. I didn't think about the 1" overhang on the working sides of the island, thanks! I've seen the recommended minimum overhang for counter height seating is 15", and we "field tested" some of the kitchen displays at IKEA. None of them were 15" (two were between 11" and 13") and they didn't feel narrow or awkward even for my DH who is 6'1". I was hoping to save an 1"-1.5" there if possible. This home was built in 1952, and we learned after our first winter in the house last year that the exterior walls are not insulated... We've been told by one contractor that he can install a header and remove the studs, so we're planning on recessing about 3".