What a delightful surprise to learn of this book! I'll have to see if my library can get it for me. I've always liked to be able to see through a house to the lawn or garden from the entry. Is that discussed in the book? We wanted a small house with big rooms. Our 2900 sq ft house has nine-foot ceilings. It faces north. Our covered entry porch is 11' wide X 6' deep. The entry door is a 42" wide archtop in an archtop sidelight surround. (The book probably doesn't cover the need for a Westie to be able to see who is at the door.) Our foyer is 11' wide X 16' deep running from the entry door and in front of the stairs that go up to the right. It widens to 16' beyond the stairs, where there is a 12' arch to the LR. From the entry, the eye travels through the LR to a south wall of French doors, and beyond to terrace and lawn. There is an arch to the kitchen (SE in the foyer) and an arch to a bedroom hallway (SW, beyond the stairs). So...our foyer may seem large, but it has a lot going on! There is also a door to our library immediately to the right of the entry door. The library (14 X 16 plus built-in wall of bookcases) projects about 12 feet in front of the house.

I wouldn't do two short rods. I think those always look a little odd, but that's just my thoughts. If it were my room, I'd find a rod with a very small bracket. I'd install the bracket so when hung, the top edge of the drapes was even with the bottom of the crown. You will need to put your bracket on the crown unfortunately. I'd do 1 rod that extended 18-24 inches beyond the window so only the side window trim is covered by the drape. Unfortunately, your crown is getting in the way of hanging a rod! But, if you get the right bracket/rod I think it will work out nice. My only other suggestion is to do a roman or balloon shade in a fabric pattern and let the crown be the picture frame around your window. It is very lovely on it own.

We've had the open sheving for a few months now, and we love it. Previously, we had to reach into upper cabinets with narrow openings for daily dishes, and it was a royal pain. The upper cabs also made the kitchen feel cavelike (see "Before" photo above). We started our kitchen project intending only to remove the cabs above the peninsula. But when dh and I looked around and saw the difference it made, we unscrewed the cabs on either side of the window as well. Sure, we may have lost some shelfspace for the ever-growing collection of coffee mugs & water bottles, but we wanted to streamline storage anyway. We are mostly vegetarian, so no greasy meat cooking on stovetop; dh grills outside for his meat fix. We saute veggies, caramelize onions, and cook vats of spaghetti sauce - and rarely find spatters on the backsplash or surrounding cabinets. I am not too worried about dust. We have cats and their hair is everywhere - no matter what we do. We know to wipe down lesser-used dishes. While our kitchen is no Christopher Peacock design, we find it to be a functional (drawers!) and pleasant space. Based on the quick sale of our last house (we designed the kitchen with huge windows and no uppers), I am pretty confident we haven't hurt resale. I researched for months on the Georgia MLS - most kitchens in our region are dated or builder grade, with dreary decor and little function. I saw a single kitchen with new subway tile and quartz countertops - it sold fast. In our area, a bright space with updated features and appliances is a rare find. Friends who have seen our results all seem quite envious of our industriousness and style choices. So, chiquita177, I say make your vision a reality!

If you are ok with the tv in the corner there, it is fine. If you don’t want the tv showing all the time, you could use a tv lift cabinet. They can be pricey; but since you are open to custom modifications, you could get an inexpensive cabinet/stand and have it customized with a lift mechanism. This way, when you are entertaining and don’t want the tv, you could just put a floral arrangement or even a lamp on that cabinet adjacent to love seat. And then if tv becomes a part of the equation, you can just lift it up. This mechanism is motorized: https://www.wayfair.com/furniture/pdp/progressive-automations-hidden-pop-up-tv-lift-388-inch-black-motorized-articulatingextending-arm-desktop-mount-33-62-screens-holds-up-to-135-lbs-bogr1005.html