I tweaked Kathryn P's basic plan, with the bookcases rebuilt on the right wall. Instead of a cart I added an island with a prep sink, but it could just be a cart or a work table. If island style, you could have standard base cabinets on the working side, and 12" deep cabinets on the back, for extra storage. It is more open but has a beam--with support columns. I also added large windows. :) Do the bedrooms have closets?

Also, we've changed some things in our kitchen/breakfast room area so that color is going lighter. Currently it's SW Colonnade, but will be changing to SW Glacial Stream. It's a similar tone, but I want to go lighter. From the kitchen, there's an opening to an area where the garage door is on the left side and the powder room door is on the right side. Here's the Cheerful door to the garage. If you don't like it, please keep your comments to yourself. I like it a lot, but it's a bit brighter than I anticipated. Note to self to always do a sample, not just hold up a swatch. I will not repaint it. It looks good, just personal preference to the brightness. The gray is Colonnade, but changing to a smidge lighter gray.

Happy Monday! Thank you SO MUCH for all the thoughtful comments and pics!! We ordered a cat condo; it will be placed on the wall where the money tree was located. The tree has already been moved to the left of the fireplace. It does well in our family room as it likes indirect sun. Also, we trimmed our cat's claws and she didn't mind it a bit! I was more nervous than she was haha!! Thank you, ingrid and shari, for that recommendation. The right words at the right time can make all the difference :-) Anglo, I do like seagrass rugs and maybe now we can consider looped rugs after all. Beverly - your suggested layout would def be my preference, and we did try to make it work. But the z-chairs - which we really like and I couldn't find any swivel chairs that I liked as much - kept getting moved around for better tv viewing. And since the tv over the fireplace was most functional for us, we had to find a furniture arrangement to accommodate it. The interrelationship of all these factors has me spinning in circles! As I find items that are appropriately sized, I would greatly appreciate your assistance in making them all work together. Susan and havingfun - I love love love the rugs and bird/owl/gingko pillows you've posted and am hoping we can create a layered cohesive look. Initially I started this process by looking for a rug, but now I'm thinking I'll look for the artwork and design around that. l agree with everyone who posted about finding art that resonates. The three prints currently hanging are special to me - they depict Inferno, Purgatory & Paradise as imagined by Salvador Dali in his watercolor series of Dante's Inferno. We saw the collection on our honeymoon, and my husband gave me the first print (Inferno hehe) on our first wedding anniversary. We've going to move these prints to the master bedroom. If you have any suggestions for reasonably priced interesting artwork sites, please share! Thank you! mjlb - I'm going to try to get a better pic of the chairs' true color. Also, fyi that the hardwood floors are going to be refinished with a medium brown stain. Thank you for all your suggestions. Thanks, everyone, for all your great feedback. I so appreciate it!! I tend to tackle home projects in a piecemeal fashion, then get stuck because I don't really know what I'm working towards. Thanks again! :-)

The pictures didn't post