Thanks for the responses. They made us think a bit more about the space and have decided to add another foot or so of width so I can put some shelves on the non-window wall. We mocked that up & it works just fine. Ohhh, inglenook! I want one of those so much, but I think it will have to wait until we finish the lower level. Gosh, after I posted, I was afraid of how the comment about DH singing, humming & talking to himself would sound, so I'm glad it gave y'all a laugh. He has always been an auditory learner/thinker, but I believe it has become more pronounced since he retired. I don't want him to change, but I know that it sometimes just gets too much for me. I kinda feel like our dogs must - we have a couple of small dogs beds tucked into some nooks in the living areas. They go there to sleep when they just want to get away. (Like the two of us intrude so much on their little doggie lives. LOL!) The "full service" turret sounds grand! Our sitting area will carry down to the lower level, so that might be a nice place to put a small fridge, sink and coffee maker for the guest suite. We want that to have a feeling of being a self contained enclave where a house guest will feel comfortable and not as if they are intruding. (Hint: Want DD and future SIL to be willing to stay with the old folks for longer than they might be inclined if they were stuffed into a tiny guest room.) Thanks again for the responses. I'm glad to know that so many of you like your cozy MBR sitting areas. - Jo Ann

Most welcome. I love, love, love my wood slat blinds. Be prepared to spend a bundle, though! Esp. Hunter Douglas - very expensive, but they're well made. I didn't go with HD because of the cost, and I'm kind of regretting it. One bit of advice: know the white you have on your would trim, i.e.: Benjamin Moore White Dove, whatever it is. Go to a hardware store that sells that paint, get a chip of the color, and take it w/u to the blind store so you can match the white as best as possible. They do come in dramatically different whites, and presumably you'll want the blinds to match the wood trim and window grids as best as possible, if you go with the wood blinds. The way the film goes on is you spray the window with a water/detergent blend (you can make it yourself or you can buy the bottles of it that 3M and Gila make for it, but all it is is water and I think a blob of dish detergent. I looked it up online and made my own). Then you peel a little bit of the backing away, with the backing facing the window, press a starting point of the film to the window, then with a squeegee, start smoothly pressing the film to the window slowly as you slowly peel the backing downward, in tandem with squeegeeing the film to the window as you go. If it creases, no big deal. Just pull it back off the window past the crease point and continue on. It's not very hard. just takes patience. The kind you'll want, though, the mirrored backing (since it's the clearest from inside looking out) is also the most difficult to work with. Naturally! And do NOT do it on a breezy or windy day!

I see where you are coming from on the lights. This is just bad measuring/laziness. The brick work is lazy patch work as well. Sometimes I noticed during my build, that shortcuts and double checking did not happen. I had rooms that were not the size they originally were supposed to be. That was a big issue, but I kept my measuring tape on me when I would check on the framing after hours. Two walls had to be moved in my build, but I caught it soon enough. Contractors like to work fast and juggle multiple jobs. It’s best to check everything they do. Just be more cautious checking the finish work. I found a lot that I had to personally fix myself. I am just trying to give you guidance from a person who is not a contractor. Just on the receiving end as yourself.

Please post photos of the entire room all 4 walls so that we can see for example why the dresser is in the sitting room area. We might have suggestions for a better layout of furniture for the entire room.