Hi, I have done a variety of David Austin, but this year I was having huge difficulty getting Hansa to root (which is a rugosa). Basically Hansa all rotted, similar to what you describe. Time after time, even with totally sterile medium, even with copper-ammonium to inhibit the fungus. My solution, that I finally discovered, was to use "non-permissive" compost- meaning a compost that contains a variety of bacteria that are inhibitory and block the fungus that causes these cuttings to rot. If you search google for new york city leaf compost damping off non-permissive, you should find an article where fresh leaf compost (from this year) was "non-permissive", but stored 10 year old compost, lacked the inhibitory qualities (probably the bacteria had all died). Also look up Allison Jack, the phD student, I think from Cornell, who is studying earth-worm castings, and is studying them to characterize what are the "non-permissive" factors. So despite all the advice that you need sterile medium, the sterile medium was not working with Hansa - all of the cuttings rotted. Then I tried a medium composed of fresh leaf compost from the local place, mixed with garden centre compost enriched with worm castings, with some peat moss, and some hardwood bark, barely damp (must not be wet!) - squeeze it in your hand and it should stick together, it should feel damp, but no water comes out, even if you squeeze it hard. hope this helps - at least see if you can find leaf compost prepared this year, use 50% compost, and see if you can put those beneficial bacteria to work for you. All of my cuttings with non-permissive compost formed nice callus and roots, but some failed due to the foliage dropping off due to fungus, and the small cutting just did not have enough carbohydrate to send up a shoot. Nevertheless I still have 18 nicely rooted Hansas that are sending up really nice canes thanks to Allison Jack!

You asked: I hate it. The bottom one looks like someone took a traditional, wicker sofa and wrapped it in leather. Those very formal, old fashioned arms, and bun feet, don't go with the eclectic, casual style of the upholstery. The shape of the red sofas is much more appropriate, but it would be better in all leather. Leather is great with kids so long as they don't have sharp things in their pockets and can be trusted not to poke pencils into it. It cleans up with water and saddle soap. But it does stick to bare skin, and can get hot. It's nature's vinyl. Which is why they combine it with fabric. Bad move. Either be fabric or be leather. The weight and texture are too different and they rarely come out looking great, especially after some living happens. The red bench is cool! Less imposing than a sofa table (console), but with a lot of the same function. And it's folky and funky. My Aunt had the two sofas flanking the fireplace in her living room. It's a great conversation grouping, but not so much for TV watching. For that, especially for the kids who probably look at the screen more, you want a straight on view. You can do a big square, though. An L of couch and settee or second couch or loveseat, and a couple of small easy chairs that are easy to get around on the opposite side. You have your red chairs. I'm not sure if they're too big to allow people to walk by easily if you close up the square, but even so, you can always pull them over for company, and keep them by the piano for family time with running kids. Re Larry, have your other family members sit tested him? I totally agree about the shape. It's very tired. But that LOVE thing is important. Your family room couch should feel Ahhh to sit on. I'm sure it'll still be there though. Maybe you can find a similarly comfy couch in a more classic shape that will give you more breadth of possibilities. Comfort comes first, but it can be done with a little more style than poor Larry. ;-)

Only you can help yourself. I suspect that your first step is to get rid of the excess clutter because that is usually the "mess". You did not say how old your son is. One thing that many mothers have found helpful is to allow only so many toys and items to float around at any one time. A toy that has the pieces scattered about and mixed up with everything else is not going to be inviting to play with. However, if the same toy or toy set is kept together and brought out as a single item and presented to the child, they are much more inclined to get some use and play from it. Otherwise, it all becomes one big mess o' stuff. I speak from experience. Also, a very young child grows out of things so quickly, both toys and clothes.

looking great party of six!!! the room is looking more homey with the additions. the larger mirror looks better for sure. because you have such a large room, accessories need to be large too. as an example, the tray on the ottoman as was mentioned and even the items you have on the sofa table. you may not have one, but you could probably go with a longer one too. I would consider two large table lamps for the table and you may not need much more than that for the table, thinking too once you put your wall hangings up on that wall you won't need much on the table except the two large lamps.. do you have by chance larger pair of lamps in the house just to see? the other items I think are too small. one other idea... have you considered new down inserts for your pillows, you can get packs of 2 on Amazon for reasonable prices. get one size larger than your pillow size and they will help give them plumpness. I would also get a couple large pillows, like 24in x 24in, again bigger is better in your room. down inserts will make a big difference for not a lot of money. cant wait to see more!