I would 1. Enclose the W/D behind wooden louvered bi-fold doors if there is enough room/depth. 2. Assuming the wall between the kitchen and laundry is load-bearing, completely open the wall from the closet to the other side leaving only a foot of wall left. 3. Install a laminated "I-beam" header, frame it out, and have a 12" deep cupboard built-in accross the newly-made 5'10" wide X 12" deep niche...with lit-up glass-front doors for display on the top over a counter that could provide extra serving space for the dining table, and lower cabinets for extra pantry storage, etc. Then, next to it, in the current niche in the kitchen area, either a built-in counter to make a desk under the window, or if there is not enough space, possibly a built-in window seat w/storage. This leaves the fridge where it is. When I moved into my small house 6 years ago, I was very concerned about the same problem; my fridge was in the same corner and my side door is right next to it, where the door to your laundry is located. I found a GE Profile stainless steel refrigerator with features that made the placement work. There is only 2 3/4" space on the right which allows for greater than 90 degree opening. The door is hinged on the right, obviously, and the bottom freezer rolls out. The fridge opens enough to fully extend both crispers, but it doesn't open enough to allow the right-hand crisper to be pulled completely out -BUT after the left hand crisper is removed, the right-hand one SLIDES to the left, allowing full removal of both. Other refrigerators may now offer these features. Frankly, despite all my initial concerns, I had completely forgotten that this was once an issue for me until I read your post! I like your idea of moving the front door as it will be away from opening next to the bathroom, and will allow closer access to the patio from the kitchen. Jakabedy's idea is great, to switch the door and window if there is enough room in the bedroom, and if you would feel safe with a door in your bedroom - a french door would be pretty. The present arrangement you have with the space between your bedroom and bath seems really nice! There is room for artwork or family photo's on the walls, or maybe a corner bookcase. Please keep everyone posted on your decisions! - Penny.

Pretty room, lots of potential. I like the new location of the chaise. I would be dying to get up on a ladder and add color to the tray ceiling. Do you have a foyer where the mirror and table could be placed? Neither has a purpose in the current location. And moving them elsewhere would spread that distinctive carved furniture around the house. Five matching pieces is a lot for one room. In their place you could put a chair and a floor lamp and a cabinet to house the TV components. Have you given thought to an end table and table lamp? I would think about adding a third and fourth color to the brown and beige in the room. An area rug maybe?

I love the butterflies too, wish I had a few bigger matching pieces! I believe they are matted to 8x10, I'd measure but I've temporarily lost track of them in the chaos. I can certainly get more mirrors, they were only $4 each! I guess the question would be how many would like right? What arrangement? That's the part i am struggling with most. How to make the idea work right. I'm thinking about the mixing in the butterflies a bit. My first thought is it would be a bit much in one area, but I'm going to think about it some more. Thanks for the suggestions! Hearing ideas here is very helpful and much appreciated.

thanks ladies. couple more thoughts based on your responses. first, i have 10 chairs for my dining room, and the table won't accomodate more than that, so that was a really creative thought but not applicable in this case. second, i know neither of my existing chairs are a good look as is. both would need to undergo a serious transformation. i was hoping to get some cool ideas on the type of transformation. i'll get the ball rolling. so, the pair that i have are gliders. while i love that they glide (especially with 2 little ones), the skirt is not cute but necessary to cover all the glider stuff. what if i removed the glider mechanism from the bottom and added pretty legs? and when i recover, i could tuft the back. i'm still stuck on color but i feel like i could live with this look. yay? nay? other ideas?? i totally get it - it'd be nice to have infinite choices from a design/decor perspective, but it feels so wasteful to buy 2 new chairs when i have these 2 in great condition. that said, i could use these 2 chairs in our master bedroom - maybe, so if you talk me out of it for the living room there's still hope for them. :)