I’ve got this far and it’s starting to come together. I will look for bookcases for the left side of fireplace (and might actually already own something I can make work) and then something complimentary for right side of the fireplace. What’s here now will not be staying. I can go ahead and order a rug now that I’ve settled on the furniture placement. I’ve got a slipcover on that wing chair but now that things are coming together I think the original pattern will be fine so I will remove the slipcover. I have a matching chair for it so I’ll bring that in, for the other side of the table by the window. I’ve got an idea to temporarily make the fireplace frame somewhat acceptable for the holidays, come January we can decide the permanent solution. Chijim, as you can see There’s not a lot of room but I think it meets the minimum. I’m still playing around with the settee in the other end of the room and will post pictures once every re-arranged it. I’d like to get rid of it but there’s no room anywhere else for it at the present time.

Thank you all so much for your responses. So although the doors do open into the entry, that was expected and OK. The part that was a problem is that, with the cabinet doors closed, the cabinets extended beyond the entryway by one inch on each side making the entry 2 inches smaller (from 31.5' to 29.5'). In the plan I approved the entry way is clearly 31.5 inches and the cabinets do not extend into that space.

Yes, that is a corset back. It is a popular design element in many women clothes and, if you seriously weigh and consider the fact that indicates a female in a state of undress....... not to be a prude, but just to point out that so many things about how we dress a young woman up to be "given away" have much over looked meaning Just saying, that's all. This is just my personal observation and my own conclusions. I, personally, welcome a different approach to marriage and weddings in the face of the fact that young women have come to the fore of our society and are no longer in need of being given away while dressed in a symbol of both purity and sexuality. I, for one, am pleased to see change in this outdated notion. So many wedding dresses seem undistinguishable from one another. But it is a corset backing and is meant to symbolize a glimpse of the under garments and to be provocative It is as if Scartlett Ohara is still getting dressed and her maid servant is still pulling those ties tighter. Although these ties are likely to be faux and not really meant to be functional and Scarlett would have worn another garment on top of her corset. You see the same feature incorporated in many other womens garments, too, mostly in those that are meant to be revealing I am just saying, that's all. I sewed my daughters wedding dress and it was one much like all the rest. As I was building it , in occurred to me to ask just why was this thing built with so much more infrastructure than any other garment. Why all of that archeticture and scaffolding under that dress? Some of them can stand up on their own! And, they will be worn only once for less than a full day! If I had it to do over, I would take a different approach. I have given it much thought and consideration since then and now have an entirely different view of the world and of the things that we take for granted without much real consideration as to just why. Some would claim that is all about tradition. Traditions do change. It is sobering when your child gets married and you realize that you are no longer considered to be their next of kin. And, if decisions need to be made for your grown child, that will fall to the discretion of their married partner, not mom or dad. Marriage is more than symbolic. It is social structure. It really is NOT all about the dress. I find it odd that some other cultures have come to imitate our social symbols and the white wedding dress has become popular all over the world and throughout different cultures despite being entirely a western and European inspired tradition. A man's suit is probably another example of our cultural identifies being adopted by others.

Gingers are grown around the world today and easily grown as houseplants if you are not in the tropical regions - some are even hardy in the ground to zone 8. The Hawaiian Kahili Ginger (Hedychium gardnerianum) is not native but from India originally. Ginger rhizomes (Zingiber officinale) can be bought at the local grocery store and grown as a plant too - mine is grown in the ground in Atlanta, GA for example.