Ok. So I have moved the sofas acros from one another the chair to the left corner and the sofa table behind it. It does not look bad! We are going to look for a new TV soon. Slateberry: My husband is not a non-feeling guy. He just gets a little attached to items and he is putting me through some very expensive schooling right and we are not taking out any loans and we qualify for zero aide. So while we are not poor by any means. My tuition comes directly from our family finances and we are the type of family that does not take on any debt or finance anything or take money from savings. We also have two children in private school ;) So he's just responsible and attached to big bertha the giant tube as I like to call her. She was also our first purchase as a married couple. He is sentimental. What can I say. ;) The man still has the first letter I wrote him in High school!!! Ha! How bad is it that in this entire ordeal I decided I wanted brown diamond print slipcovers for fall? Is that bad??? You guys are so great! As I said in my other thread. I am hours away from My parents and don't have anyone to bounce anything off of and I really appreciate all of your help. I get a little melancholy and bored and move furniture around and hate it and then don't know what to do or who to ask. So I really appreciate it all more than you know!

That is bizarre. Have you thought about just removing it and patching? Or since there is electrical up there, some recessed lights (though not just one in that spot). Also, as much as you like the hanging light, it is doing no favors in providing adequate lighting if you feel that room is dark. First, it's only one bulb and you are using a very warm, low Kelvin bulb (yellow light). Can we see the space under the hanging light? I think one better functioning light there may be the answer.

Regarding your comment, "We have lived with the current layout for 30 years and it's very functional..." Honestly? That's because you've adapted to it. But then you added, "albeit awkward with the range" -- so deep down, you realize it's not a good layout. Two things I remind people about us human beings... (1) We can adapt to anything -- good or bad (especially after 30 years!) We adapt so well that we tell ourselves it's fine the way it is. But, what if it could be better? If you ask just about anyone here who took our advice and changed their layout to make it better, they will tell you they never realized it could be so much better and wondered how they had lived with the issues for so long! (The answer is back to the adaptability of human beings!) (2) We're resistant to change -- even good change Even when something can be made better, we resist change. We like what we know and we have a hard time seeing other ways to do things - even if they could be so much better! And, as I mentioned before, we've adapted to what we have - both the good and the bad. Usually, the "way we work" is the result of adapting to what we have, not what might be better. We say "it's OK", "I don't mind", or other, similar comments because, subconsciously, we're resisting any change from what we know. If you're going to spend the $$$ to renovate, don't create a "make do" Kitchen or simply repeat the issues/inefficiencies of your existing Kitchen - make it better!

@Patricia Colwell we were given a neutral color and a “fun“ color by our designer (since my 4 year old loves green) but the neutral color looked so blah. We had neutral walls in his room in our old house so our designer nudged us towards having a bit of fun in the new house, especially since the rest of the house is very neutral. His brothers room is now a lovely navy. I was a bit scared since I’ve never painted anything a bright color but I’m pleasantly surprised, the painters did a great job with the lines and the color is very rich (it’s BM Herb Garden). That bookcase is very heavy and was anchored to the wall in our old house, we are actually going to be getting rid of it and putting in some oak shelves since my son now has a walk in closet. Thanks for all those suggestions, the light is awesome and would go great with the giant giraffe and alligator he has.