I just pulled the trigger on an independent Laredo 42" from the same seller. I spoke with the guy on the phone a few times and he was really helpful and I felt he gave me good service. I had the same concerns so I offered him less money. We ended up settling on a pretty good deal. He happened to have a 600cfm independent blower that he threw in, on top of cutting the price a little. If they will cut the price enough for you then it will be worth it to track down a duct cover, or have one fabricated. You could also go without a duct cover and put cabinets or wood trim between the hood and ceiling. BTW, got mine from ebay seller Seller xtrainventory_1 All of the other hoods I was looking at would have cost me at least $2500

ram is one of the easiest things to upgrade on a pc, most people can tackle this task. I usually buy my ram from newegg.com they have all the name brands and great prices, I have Kingston in most of my computers. How to Install RAM to a Desktop Computer be sure to ground yourself you can use a grounding arm band which you can buy anyplace you buy ram, always a neat thing to have handy if you ever want to do anything inside the pc including cleaning it. Also you want to be sure you put the ram stick in the right direction, do not force it, it will go in easily the right way, it should click in and the locking arms on the ends of the slot will lock shut, make sure they do that. I do unplug mine from the power also. How to Add RAM to a Computer : How to Install RAM How to Install RAM there are some good tutorials with video while the case is open it is a good time to clean out dust bunnies. Cleaning the computer and its components

Well, what you've done already sounds lovely but can you post a photo or two? I too have a long and narrow living room, 12 x 23 and it's been a nightmare for me so I'm curious as to what you end up doing. One thing I have to add is I'm also concerned about the accent wall because I did exactly what you did with a copperish orange and even though I loved color, within a couple of months I was ready to paint over it. The reason is because orange is a very strong and energetic color and in the end it pretty much over powered the room. It also made it hard to relax in it. I plan instead to bring the autumn rustic colors into the room by way of the rug, lamps, pillows and so on, you know, little bits here and there. Directions for photo posting are here, I'm looking forward to seeing what you've done so far! Here is a link that might be useful: How to page

Part of what makes the room so dark is the closed drapes. Adding lighting, appropriate drapes, colorful area rugs, and some colorful pillows will all help. PS I don't think your home is a disaster at all :) It just needs some direction from the pros here (and the other houzzers!)