I'm a morning person for sure. I get up at 6 every morning and usually wake up naturally at 5:45. No grogginess and I don't think I've ever hit a snooze button in my life! I have flexible hours at work so I choose to do 7-4 so I can take advantage and have more time in the afternoon/evening. The trade off is that I shut down around 8 pm and go to bed usually by 11. Even if I stay up really late into the early morning hours, I still can't sleep in past 8 the next day. That part is annoying.

I think its really pretty! I have a somewhat similar antique table in my kitchen. One thing to be careful of if you buy it online - make sure you get all the measurements, and check to see if it is a comfortable height for the chairs you already own (or whatever new ones you might want). We had a local woodshop make a copy of the restoration hardware farmhouse table using our own wood. We had them use the dimensions given for the table. When it was all done, it was beautiful, but at 31" high, it just felt too high for standard 19" chairs. I was so upset. My DH cut 1" off each to make it 30" and now it is perfect. Weird perhaps but that 1" change made a world of difference for me.

Great idea about the foamcore Kippy, that would be fabulous and so much easier than painting. I'll give that some thought. I need to get bold, there are so many amazing paints out there. Everytime I go to Home Depot, there is a new line of metalic spray paints. jlc712, I think that the bookcase is where I can make the next biggest impact in the room. I hate to get rid of our beloved Little House on the Prairie set, but if I find a niece to send it too, that will make the parting a little sweeter. Maybe if I thin out some movies I can store books below in the cupboard. My audiophile husband loves his sound equipment, however. To think, I can't turn half of it on! Great idea about the calendars. Clever and budget-savvy. So hard to throw away those beautiful calendar pictures. I've got to put 9 frames of something above the fireplace. That wreath comes down this weekend, its the Feast of the Presentation so the time has come. Maybe I'll find 9 pictures of the Blessed Mother to frame. There is an endless number of painting of her, and I could gaze at those forever. Of course, my husband would want pictures of National Parks, so I guess I've got a lot of thinking to do. Tibbrix, you are right, this big room needs big furniture. The coffee table is 48" and the sofas are 72" so it gives a foot on each side to sit. Remember, we walk behind the sofas, in front of them, beside them AND we chase Captain around the room! It's really a dog run, I guess. I would have loved to buy large English-arm three cushion sofas and lovely accent chairs, but it's the fact that we move the loveseats (sometimes daily) to watch television or play video games. I know this seems crazy. We only have one functional TV. With seven kids on board (well one is gone but we still have her bedroom that she shares with a sister), all of our rooms are full of kids. I figure that when the time comes to change the furniture once again, I have seven people who would love free sofas. ; ) Need to work on paint, don't have a budget for that now. Thank you so much for your thoughtful replies. It means so much to hear your opinions. -Cupofkindness

Your last image (inspiration?) didn't post, but I think I know what you're going for and I approve. A question: are you using furniture you have or purchasing new for this? A classic round game table might be better if you aren't repurposing an existing table. Or an expandable 5' round dining table so you CAN make it bigger if needed. Having to fit existing furniture in is of course a different job than picking out new stuff!