Believe it or not, decent looking ceiling fans exist. On every design show I've ever seen they're the first things to be thrown out, but I have them in every bedroom. Mmm slight draft at night without the sound of floor fan... I pspent no fewer than 18 weeks looking (off and on) for a "pretty" one to go in my master. I have lived with a 4 poster bed. My experience - unless you have really high ceilings, and I'm talking like 10 ft, and a sizeable room, it will turn your space into... tiny. Once upon a time in a previous life I thought I had a big bedroom until I put a poster bed in there. I like your computer nook. I always wanted a space like that, which I could separate from the rest of the room with some romantic drapery tied back. I might force that idea on my formal dining room. :) beds/headboards coverin ga window do bother me. I don't like anything to cover a window (couch, table, or otherwise) -- but that's just me. And if it came down to a queen bed, or covering that window, sure - the window would get covered! We have single panels on our two bedroom windows, mostly because they're skinny and it looked silly to me to have two panels. If you need to cover the window, something that seems to help (at least when I've seen it done) is to pull the bed away from the wall a foot or so. Then you can go with two panels, and it looks kind of intentional instead of "didn't have space." Something else to keep in mind with blocking windows -- does the sun come directly in such that it would fade your bedding over time?

Thanks so much, Tibbrix and Jterrilynn. I feel like somehow I've managed to totally hijack Ljane's thread (sorry, Ljane!) while we all sit here in eager anticipation awaiting her Vintage Charm and assorted other splotching. I'm eager to hear how those experiments are going! If history is a guide, you will see 100 posts from me in the future about paint color. Gawds, I am really hoping I can avoid that tiresome bit of board spam...

Calidesign: good point about warmth from wood floors and bedding. Thank you. ljangell44: I actually tried to pick up a paint chip for agreeable gray (for another room) at SW when I was there, they were all out...popular color!! On my to do list to get back there. Interesting, I had never considered gray for the room, but I think it may compliment the yellow and not close in the room...will check it out. Thanks! BlueberryBundtcake: Tired of it and want a change. Funny, I always loved the warmth of it, but now after some renovations over the years all of the stain on various doors and windows do not match and it bugs me. Understood that it will be difficult to change!

Id have to disagree with you on fans, i just replaced all 7 in our home. We sleep with them on, have them on when we are in eat room. I can easily do 3-5 air temp higher with air moving. It wouldn't be the first time someone disagreed with me, lol. I grew up without air conditioning, so I understand the "fan" idea quite well. However if you listen closely fans can create noise. In some cases to the point where you feel like you're in a wind tunnel. If that's your vision of comfort, that's fine do as you wish... Fan only option do not remove humidity let alone reduce actual temperature, so just recycling air around... well comfort means different things to different people. You're in DFW which tends to be drier with less humidity than where I reside in Katy, Texas. You could perform a test, shut off the AC completely and just live with ceiling fans circulating the air. I know the outcome before the ink dries of this post. So my opinion is largely centered around the area I service. Putting a fan in a kitchen with a lot of cooking going on? That fan is only going to be cycling hot air, grease and so on. You can call it a solution if you want. I wouldn't call it a solution because I know what comfort means to me. Are there others who view comfort the same way I do? We're all different that way. A fan blowing on you will give you the "feeling" of being cooler. Is the feeling of being cooler, really cool? (a loaded sentence for fun.) -- your body has a cooling mechanism too btw. I was just at a house yesterday with a broken AC. They could run the blower, the ceiling fans all they want that temp in the house approaching 90F isn't coming down without AC. Control. If a thermostat is on the east side of the house, it does not know the temperature in the kitchen with someone cooking up a storm in there. A fan? I mean if that's what you want go for it, I thought you were looking for a solution that would actually result in fixing the problem. Charles Ross I visit homes with these kinds of problems (with actual people living in them) for over 27 years now. Limited information? It's hot on the west side, lowering temp makes it too cold on the other side of the house? Cut and dry to me as night is to day. West side heat related issues... east side home thermostat control. The baking sun sets in the WEST. The heat of the day? To the west young man. All day, everyday. The OP said if they lower the temp at the thermostat the other side of the house is freezing? What kind of problem does that sound like? The million dollar question as it were. So simple an autistic child of two could understand it. LOL. ------------(HVAC) It is an on site job ------------- So what I provide here is a fix. But implementation of that fix is knowing a multitude of things, part selection, design modification of existing system to provide better control without destroying the system, or creating more problems. Knowledge as it were. Better control? So we understand this better the things we take for granted... you sit down to watch TV, poor control would be having to get up to change the channel, rather than flicking the remote at a moments notice. There was a time there were no remote controls for TV's. Coming home to a dark house having the ability to flick the light switch as you walk in the door of the home or as you enter the room, the lights come on automatically. Are you that lazy you can't flick a light switch? Well that's another debate for another time... just like only wanting to go somewhere because they have fine accommodations, and fine dining. You think those places have fans blowing on people? Charles? ------------- A solution that works ---------------------------- Many of you already know this review below as I've posted it more than once, The OP likely does not or possibly other people that visit this thread in the weeks, months, years to come searching for a solution to this very common problem. I know zoning, and because belief is a complicated thing... well click to enlarge the picture if necessary. I service the Katy, Texas area.