Thanks so very much for the kind words! I can hardly wait for my lamp and framed print to arrive! The tiles and vase were really just ideas for the style direction I'd like to bring to my new office space. Now that I have a couple of items as a starting point, I can bring in a few more things over time as I find those items that truly work best. I have been a fan of mission/arts & crafts-era furnishings for a long time, and am crazy for the Stickley pieces I was able to purchase "in my past life" when funds were a lot more fluid. ;-) (I can't touch Stickley now, but there are lots of fine "non-name brand" items out there.) I appreciate all of the suggestions in helping me come to a decision!

My mother used a smaller, two-layer Whitman's box as a sewing box. It had a lot of little cardboard compartments. As decor, I could see this as the start of a collection. Keep on the lookout for other pretty boxes that you like and when you have enough, display them on a shelf in the kitchen. I like luckygals' idea of spraying it to preserve it. I have a huge tin box that once held Walker's shortbread. It is mostly red plaid, with a bit of Christmas decoration on it. During the year, it holds some Christmas stuff and acts as storage. This time of year, it gets dusted off and filled with old ornaments and acts as a big decoration. It's also used to transport large numbers of Christmas cookies to parties. But it was far too good-looking to throw out.

It depends on what you do in the office and how much you want to spend, but I would: Get rid of the rug entirely and leave the floor au natural, but add a desk chair mat under your chair to protect the floor. Add a few tall shelves or bookcases, depending on what you need them for (files vs equipment vs books) -- Ikea has some nice options that aren't expensive and are easy to assemble. I'd add colour to the window covering (different drape? coloured tie?) and then decide if you want art work/photos and/or a corkboard/white board. If your peripherals (like printers, etc) are small, you may want to consider something like Ikea's Kallax series, because they could fit in some of the boxes, while you use others for books or baskets. I wish I'd thought of that before I got the storage unit I did.

I feel option A is better among all, except for the play area because you will be having a whole room downstairs for that. And maybe move the dining a little to the left near the window. You can add a partition to divide the room into living and dining and mount tv on it. Place a storage unit /crockery unit behind the partition. I would still recommend you to opt for the layout shown in the 3d renders as its quiet functional and space is best-made use of. Maybe instead of a tv on the wall, you can use a media partition to divide the living and the dining. The wall along the kitchen can be used to place storage units or shelving. Let me know if you need me to do more 3D layout to help you visualize better.