This makes me nervous for you! Waiting to see? Sorry. We have a deck under construction right now (2 years after our home was built). A landscaper that we've used on many projects at multiple houses is handling this. He has a masters in engineering, yet he hired another engineer to come out and check the footings and the design plan. The carpenter has worked for our landscaper for 10 years. The building inspector came out for the footings and design plan, too. Ours is complex as it goes around an oval pool, but ours doesn't budge at all, even with all the complex cantilevering that had to be done. It's probably over-engineered, but we're happy with that. If you want me to snap some photos of the supports, I can do that after the crew leaves today. Good luck with this --make sure it's safe. You can replace a deck, but you can't replace people. Cameron

It's probably the starkness of the white walls that make it feel cold. Do you have favorite colors, colors you detest(pink and lavender for me), or a color scheme you'd like to use (warm neutrals, greys, etc.)? SW kilim beige and nomadic desert (have them love them), accessible beige, balanced beige, bm revere pewter, shaker beige, and manchester tan are popular colors. If you choose a neutral background for the walls, lose the border and get new light fixtures, you can accessorize with brighter colors in manageable amounts and change it as you wish. You could also switch out the laminate for a color and pattern with a little more pizzazz for a moderate amount. How long has the house been empty? While I would definitely paint a nice neutral to freshen and warm it up, sometimes a house just needs a new loving family to breath life into it again.

https://www.allmodern.com/furniture/pdp/raelyn-reversible-sectional-a000607490.html?&experiencetype=1 I would get a sofa with a reversible ottoman. So, it feels like a chaise, but can be moved to either side. You could move it to either side, depending on the situation. Either way, I'd keep the front end of the chaise behind the slider door (as in my floor plan). I'd get 2 chairs for either side of the tv on casters. Finally, I'd set up console table with stools behind the sofa. If the sofa is 36" high, you could add a counter height console table with counter stools, If 30" high, table height stools. This will give you a lot of seating flexibility when guests come over. Here is a design I recently created for clients with a very similar setup. I rarely recommend a sectional, but for your situation, I think it is also something you could consider. I'd choose a lower height sectional.

Beverly – I hear you and respect your opinion. That is the long term goal but reupholstering the chairs was an easier fix and believe me the previous fabric needed to be replaced….it was a good first step. Hoping to stain paint both pieces eventually but I have just too many projects going on at the moment.