You guys are great!! Thank you so much! We are going to play with the arrangement this weekend and see how it affects the egress in the room. I have a feeling that the couch against the windows is going to interfere with the natural walkways of that room. But, that being said, I just have to see it to rule it out because I really like the idea of the large sofa on that longer wall. I have already purchased a solid blue drapery panel for that window but a pattern might actually be a great idea and add a little something extra to the room. Rebecca, that rug is from the Magnolia collection and it is by Loloi rugs. Thank you, it was actually the first thing I bought for that room. My last several houses have all been in the darker words and darker red‘s, browns and when I saw this house, I knew I wanted to go with something a little bit different hence the blues and the grays. I was also thinking about doing a dark blue on the chairs but then wanted the dark blue on the window treatments and didn’t think I would want to put a dark blue chair against a dark blue window treatment. I hope that makes sense. So my thought was maybe going with more of a natural linen color on the chairs and then adding a pattern or solid blue pillow. Thank you all so much for the feedback and food for thought. I really love all of your suggestions and it really helps to try to see the room in a different way, through someone else’s eyes. .

How nice to have an introvert thread. My husband and I are both introverts, and it often seems as if the whole world wants open layouts where you cannot do your own thing without being interrupted by others. Meanwhile, we are all about walls and soundproofing. As others have also stated, my first thought was also that you want SO much to be different that it sounds as if all signs are pointing to just moving. But I understand that is not an option. Given all that you are doing and wanting, it sounds to me as if what would make more sense for you is building a second story. That'll cost more up front but usually adds A LOT to the value of a home. Run this idea by a realtor and see how much value that would add to the home in your areal Might be worth it? This is why, in terms of your goals, it makes sense: -- If the goal is a higher ceiling in the living areas, you can vault the ceiling as you are proposing. Or you can just make the ceiling higher (say, like, 10'-11') while you're adding a second story. Either way, the roof comes off. -- I don't think you will enjoy an open layout at all. It may make the house feel more spacious, but it's a terrible layout for introverts. And basically miserable if you have no other living areas. My husband and I have and that now (an open layout with no secondary living area) in our one-bedroom condo, and it's one of the main things we are going to avoid our future home at all costs. You just CANNOT get away from your family in that situation. You mentioned that you want your home to feel "restful," and this definitely does not. The normal noise/smells/activity of life in your home are all jumbled together in the same environment, and the result is unpleasant and chaotic and something you can't escape from unless you go lock yourself in your bedroom. We actually set up our bedroom to be a secondary TV room so we could actually escape each other, but it's really not the same thing as a second, separate living space and never will be. -- "I thought I would use the basement space for our family room but I am finding the basement not as comfortable as well. Too cold and too far removed from the kitchen." If you add a second floor, the bedrooms will be upstairs, and then you can use the current bedrooms for a family room. They, presumably, are not cold like the basement. And they're much closer to the kitchen. -- I have thought about adding on to the house but it will mean $$$ and less yard on our narrow property. A second floor doesn't save money, but it take NO extra space on your property. -- "We will move the washer and dryer to the basement (it was already upstairs when we moved in. I love this convenience and will be sad having to go to the basement to wash clothes but we do need the space!)." With a second story, the laundry can go on that second story along with all the bedrooms. It'll be just as convenient, but also not taking up the space you need on the ground floor. Do you have a floor plan of the entire first floor as it currently is, including all the bedrooms? Could you post that?

IMO 10’ is the max ceiling height I would ever do so if you want to look higher I find taking the wall color for the ceiling too gives that illusion often. As for which white I have no cluse and even if you posted pics of your space there is no way to know what works. The best is to choose 3 whites yout think will work, get 3 large poster boards paint each one with 2 coats and then move them around to see which one you like better. Before choosing wall color make sure all the lighting is LED in 4000k that mimics daylight and makes the colors stay true. I like a bit more contrast between white trim and walls so maybe consider a pale gray/ green to work as a neutral Rain washed is a nice neutral

Many Benjamin Moore dealers have a decorator who can help you choose paint colors to flow in your house and will help choose for the light in different rooms. Check with your BM dealer.