Just a quick and easy suggestion for the floppy pillows - this might sound strange but it does work. Unzip and take out the pillows and replace with good quality regular foam or feather bed pillows of larger size. I replaced my 3 back cushion covers with king size feather pillows purchased from Bed, Bath and Beyond. I stuffed the large pillows inside of the smaller cushion covers which gave a tighter fit and they were like new again. Still nice and soft but not sagging. I had nothing to lose. If it did not work I would use as extra bed pillows for guests. You have great taste and I am sure it will all come together for you given time. Post pictures as you make changes.

I mounted them full-width of the room and LOVE IT THIS WAY! Thank you guys so much for the tip. Had it not been for you, I would have mounted close the window frame. Attached are photos and thoughts: - My room is actually pretty bright (window facing west), shooting against the light makes it look dark. - Yes, I know the curtains are way too short and not wide enough. I will buy double-width ones, and longer (then cut to the right length, just above the floor but not touching). - Yes, I will replace the ceiling fan. Let me know of any modern ones you think about. Either dark or light color is fine. - I will probably get rid of the vertical blinds and go for light-filtering curtains on the inside rod or bamboo/cellular blinds? The idea is to have an option to block out the harsh western sun at 5-8pm each day but not totally blackout the room. Any other ideas? - Are the curtains too high? I love the height but wonder if they are in fact crowding the molding too much. I also pulled the curtains too far out from the wall, I think if I push them in closer to the wall, it will crowd less. (I'm using Ikea curtain hardware with the adjustable slider mounts, btw.) - Are the curtain rods at the right distance from side walls? I think yes? - Do you guys think I should go for a lighter curtain color? I think I still like the dark rod. White rods kinda look too plastic-ey. - I love grommets because they slide and fold-up so nicely but willing to explore others (rod-pockets).

Add decent draw sheers to the slider, and leave the rest AS IS. No need to add to the plantatio shutters, especially at the baby stage of young life. Unless you want to remove all, skip curtains entirely and do roller screen shades, or Silhouette shades. The living space and furniture ? No to curtains.

I would work with oak in a clear coat or Hickory if you like lots of movement (you can use character grade to get the variation you are looking for). You have red/orange tones that is in the wheel house of red oak. If you want a stain then white oak is a better choice. Here's the problem you are running into, and I see this all the time: men (not always but often) LOVE the look of 'wood'. Any wood. So long as they can see the grain and watch it glint in sunlight (we call this depth). Getting someone like that to paint or 'change' wood is a hassle. They grab that bone and fight fiercely to hold on to it. Sadly they don't see the forest for the trees (ha...see what I did there?). If you can convince partner to CLEAN UP that kitchen (the two woods are NOT working together...the traditional/dated accents are less than ideal) you will win a battle while at the same time winning the war. Prove the REAL WOOD on the floor can do EVERYTHING your partner wants in wood (see all the pretty gold sparklies) while MODERNIZING the kitchen. The kitchen is killing BOTH of your vibes. It is a mishmash of wood and concepts. It screams out 'patchwork repairs' which does NOTHING for the home NOR the wood NOR your styles (either of them). The way to UNIFY this kitchen is to paint it. I know. Partner is DEAD set against it. But it will do EVERYTHING you want. Painted cupboards mean you get the BEST POSSIBLE WOOD FLOOR you want while at the same time UPDATING a kitchen that is out of step with itself. Painting the cabinets will make the counter tops SHINE! They will be the STAR of the kitchen. Right now they are an after thought because the mix of woods is overwhelming them. And those are LOUD counters (not a bad thing...they just are). So imagine the RACKET the cabinets HAVE TO MAKE to cause those Divas to take a back seat! Yah...now you are getting it. Your style of cabinets paint out VERY NICELY. The 'outdated' oak turns into a fresh transitional kitchen with only a few thousand dollars spent painting them. A single colour cabinet means your counter tops can really make themselves SEEN. In short, your partners 'want' to keep the kitchen as-is, is causing EVERYTHING to look bad (or badly thought out). If he allows the ONE thing to be done (painting the cabinets) he can have EVERYTHING ELSE work marvelously. And have marvelous hardwood floors as well. Compromise will allow EVERYONE to get what they want while allowing the entire house to shine. Have hubby read these posts. It might help wake him up to the possibilities.