We have a rainy day here so I've been playing....beginning to think maybe less IS more: I moved the other two prints and put them on the walls beside the FP. I am warming up to this now; maybe I was used to having four prints, and now that they are still in the room, it maintains the continuity I was used to. And......back to the chairs; a pair of these PB chairs has been hiding in the recesses of our CL: Pottery Barn Calais chair in leather They are almost brand new so not exactly a fire sale price; they are asking $500 for the pair. I think that's a little high, but assuming the price was right, do you think they would finish things off well? Or should I leave well enough alone? I'd purchase them only if they are more comfortable than what I have, and I won't know that until I see them. I can't test the link until I post, but in case it doesn't show the right one, the CL chairs are brown leather with espresso stain legs. I still really like the sconces but wonder if this is just as nice in some ways. I am now looking at my FP and wondering if the sconces would look good on either side of my mirror! But, no worries, that will have to wait for another day, lol!

Thank you all so much for your comments. It's helped me to get a better handle on this. I've told the designer that I need to either stop here or take a break to rethink my priorities. He wants to help, so we will regroup in a couple months. In the meantime, I'll post some of my design dilemmas separately to GW. I paid the designer a flat fee for his design. I am under no obligation to purchase any items from the designer; however, I can recoup a portion of the fee through his discount (40-50% on items that are direct from the manufacturer, but 5-10% on retail items). I have used designers previously - a flat fee to a kitchen designer, an hourly fee for bathroom remodel, and have also used designers from retail stores. The designer I've hired this time has the perspective that he's sifted through many options to develop a design that is unique to my home. He has many years of experience and can better visualize how the plan will fit my space. While I think that the result would be beautiful in my home, it matches neither my life style nor my budget. I don't yet have prices for everything he recommended, but I'm estimating that implementing the first phase of his plan (living room, dining room, and family room) would cost at least $60K, which is well beyond my budget, and seems excessive for my home. (I have a modest home, not a mansion, and I'm not replacing everything). The designer has provided floor layouts and tear sheets of recommended items. He advised that I not "pick and choose" various items from the design, as it will then just be pieces of furniture and not a thought-out plan. For most of the items he's recommended, he's offered few or no options. For example, in the family room, there's a leather couch, coffee table, sofa table, area rug, and lamps - with no options on any of these. Only choice that's up to me is which fake tree to select for that room. I've never purchased a fake tree - I can buy a real one for $125; the fake one is about $900. Unlike a retailer, the designer does not have a showroom where I can try out the seating (couch, chairs). I've never bought furniture without having seen it previously. When I was remodeling my bathroom, I crawled into about fifty different tubs in showrooms before choosing my tub (I ended up with the floor model, so I had in fact crawled into the actual tub I purchased.) When I asked about the return policy, the designer was evasive - saying he was certain I'd like everything. Some items would be custom (upholstered couch, area rugs), but even items that are not custom are likely to be "special order." My local lighting store charges a 25% restocking fee plus return freight for special orders, and I'm guessing that the designer's return fee would be similar to this for non-custom items. I'd like the designer's help with the living room and family room. But I need to stick to my budget. And I want to avoid having to return items that don't work out.

Hmmm, lots of rocking chair lovers here on GW! I'd like our porch to be a great spot for watching the sun rise, for conversation, for snuggling, for reading, as well as a perch for watching the kids antics on their bikes and rollerblades. I like the looks of those teak rockers at Sam's, thank you for suggesting them. The burst of warm air this week made me think about furnishing the porch, but I'm guessing good sales are closer to Memorial Day, perhaps. That's really interesting Annette. The stress of all our projects has been getting the better of DH and I recently. Maybe we need to come have a good "joggle" on your board! : ) (And icecream dripping down our chins...that sounds good, too.)

Lisa T, We are just two people so adding a small table against a wall is a great idea! And, if we place the table against the wall where the chairs are in the drawing above, we get amazing space utilization (even better than if we place the table on opposite wall where the TV is in the drawing). Below are photos how new arrangement works in dining area and in adjacent living and kitchen areas. You have to use your imagination! PHOTO #1 BELOW: In photo, I am trying to show HALF of a table for 2. Other half will go where counter is. This will center table along wall in back of powder room (where chairs are in the current diagram). And, we will have plenty of clearance so can enter this space through doorway. We are removing the door so it will just be an opening and we will be able to walk into dining area and then on into kitchen area. A small table (2 feet 6 inches X 3 feet 6 inches) against the wall will seat 2. Move small table off the wall to seat 4. Move small table parallel to the wall and extend it with leaves to seat 6-8 (but will be a bit narrow, according to chart below from dimensions.com). PHOTO #2 BELOW: Making change mentioned above, allows us to have more room for furniture in living area! We can have a couch in front of the sliding glass door and two chairs opposite TV to be mounted on wall. PHOTO # 3 BELOW: Please excuse the mess! I just want to show that our 194 inch wall with kitchen cabinets (shown in diagram) can now be extended by 36 inches of upper and lower cabinets and we will still have 6 feet of floorspace before we get to the chair that's closest to the dining/kitchen area! We can use some of that 6 feet of floorspace between end of cabinets in kitchen/dining and chairs along wall in living area, and here's how: Mark transition from wall of cabinets to dining/living space, at the very end of the row of cabinets, by adding a tall plant. That will take up, 2 feet of floor space. We can put in a 36 inch cooktop in kitchen instead of a 30 inch one. This will move the wall of cabinetry 6 inches more toward living area. We can add 9 inch pull out on each side of the cooktop (for frequently used spices and oils). This will move wall of cabinetry 18 inches more toward living area. In TOTAL, after making above 3 changes, we are taking up total of 4 feet (2 + 1/2 + 1 1/2 = 4) of floor space along the wall. So we'll still have 2 feet of floorspace between the plant and the chair in the living area. And since it's a plant (and not a cabinet), it will feel like there's even more than 2 feet of space. Note: I don't want to confuse things, but the diagram I shared above shows the wall of cabinets in kitchen as 12 inches longer than it really is. Since these calculations are based on this diagram, we really have 12 inches more of floorspace, and that means there 3 (not 2) feet of space between plant and the first chair. So we have a nice amount of space on floor. Lisa T, wow, your comment came just at the right time! Thanks! I took the last 6 hours or so, non-stop to figure this all out and write it up --and now I'm exhausted and hungry! Would love to know what you all think! Do you see any issues??? Please don't hesitate to be critical. Thanks!!!