Yeah I heard about WI teachers and other state workers today on the news. Not sure what you think, but if taking a deduction helped keep my state from going belly up, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But that's just me, I look at the big picture and figure that doing the right thing now might hurt me a little bit financially, but in the long run it might just keep me from having no job at all. Less money for chocolate now is so much better than the possibility of no money for chocolate later. Dianalo, just do your taxes early, then don't worry and be happy. My cousins 25th anniversary was on 9-11-01. She was so excited about it, but called me saying she was so mixed about celebrating after what happened that fateful day. I told her there was nothing wrong with celebrating their love, in fact that day needed all the love it could get. We do the same thing with Christmas although my hubby always sneaks and gets me a little something. Like this year a web cam for my computer because our daughter had just left for S.Korea for a year so we can Skype. I guess I bought one for him too. LOL Funny how I didn't remember buying it. Yes, back to the room....I'd suggest grabbing a level after you make a few dots because you'll want the actual trim to be installed level.

@lori yep very easy to keep clean. One of the main reasons for not letting it go. @tatts thank you for the observation on lighting. In terms of the lighting. My camera does a pretty bad job and likely makes it worse. We usually use low level lighting and plan for lighting within the tv unit that will brighten things up. But for now we would like to focus on sofa, cushion and curtains. The dark sofa really makes things look darker than we want. Once that’s done and the lighting done we will revisit the room light8ng. I like a standing arched lamp though( rather than table lamps. )

I don't care for the tan either. I like the naturalness of it in the rest of my house (but maybe wouldn't reselect the same shade when we repaint). The whole room needs to be repainted- so I was going to pick another neutral for where the tan is. If I do paint the entire room-- do I paint the ceilings the same color? Or do I do a traditional white ceiling? I wouldn't mind the entire room being a color instead of an accent wall- but the colors I really like are dark or at the very least saturated. Which doesn't play well for the entire room. My favorite color is green - and all the inspiration I see online is minty or pastel. I agree a kids room can be fun - and I would like to have her room be beautiful and special-- but not like a unicorn puked on it :D Thanks. My "design" definitely doesn't scream child- and I'm not a huge decorator- I know what I like but have trouble putting things together. For the chest- it's a family chest. right now it's lid is very heavy and is just hinged. My husband recalls many times smashing his fingers. We are going to be fixing a leg on it, and adding easy open / soft close hinges before shes able to open it. We are planning on using it as a low shelf instead of a chest she will regularly access. Bummer for the table. I just love it and think it's the sweetest. My mom also mentioned it may be a hazard as there is no way to secure it, so it may just have to wait until she is older. Her sheets are white, and once she is in her crib (still in bassinet for another few weeks) she has a very light pink sleep sack. So no "bedding" just yet. Here is an example of a color I really adore. But my home has no detail like this and it reads a little stuffy even for me. I'm definitely Transitional leaning traditional. Appreciate the guidance! You have me thinking!

I suggest you continue with the same flooring throughout, looks like the flooring mentioned is what you have on the right in your dining room. I'm unable to recommend a wall colour judging from your photos but would suggest painting the crown moulding white and not to outline the corners of the wall on the right of the fireplace. The mantel could be black or white, I'm showing it in black because I find it coordinates nicely with the piano you have on the left. Since you have a small budget I didn't suggest removing/replacing anything from the brick fireplace.