Maybe I should have started a new thread for the "After" photos to make this easier. oh well :) loribee, gsciencechick, msrose: thank you! If others have further advice, I'm all ears. I said no to a rug, but I'm keeping my eyes open if one (that looks easily cleanable) really wants to come home with me. msrose: the floor is a pre-finished, handscraped hickory. With two big dogs, "rustic" was the only direction we were comfortable going with hardwood floors. The floors are from a small company called, "Lewis & Clark." (I think it's only available regionally.) Yes, the floor IS dark enough to show dust in direct lighting (same with my black countertop... I can't tell it is dusty until the sun is setting and the light hits it just right.) The floors show wet paw prints, when they dry, in any lighting! We have a patio cover that eliminates a lot of the direct lighting in our great room, so I rarely can see the floors are dusty. I would use lighter floors if the rooms had direct lighting all day!

OK, with two votes from Les and Squirrel, I'm going to go down to Lowes today to get more valances and rods for all windows except the transoms--plus another rod for my bedroom window. DH is going to be busy this Sat. I hope to have some results to post by Monday. I'm really not sure, though, how many panels to use--one or two. The package says for 36" and each window is 42" so if you factor in extending past the trim it will be about 48"W--too much for one panel, perhaps not enough for two, though I could always cut one in half and trim the ends. I like how it is with the dip in the center of the window, though and having more panels will have more dips. Les: We considered the other wall--but it really is not far enough to get the correct viewing distance, plus we need some clearance for the dining chairs. At this point, it would be hard to move it since between the insulation and sheerwall we needed to add to that room, all the walls are closed and I don't want to see any wires along the walls. DH had the electrician pull all kinds of $$ high tech "structured wiring" plus speaker wire so I'm afraid the TV is where it is at this point. I like the idea of having a sofa/console table, though the drop leaf tableis too wide given the dimensions of the room so the only other logical spot for it would be where the ent. center is now and we will have to see how it works once the new console comes in. I do need to do something to the back wall--not quite sure what. Given we are a family of 5 with three kids and this is where we spend the bulk of our time together, this room needs to have a more practical decor as it gets cluttered very easily. My favorite thing is the new ottoman as I can stash all kinds of stuff in there. My kids hate my new plaid cushions and are always throwing them on the floor as they find it more comfortable to sit on the sectional without them. Good thing they are washable! Here's a few other angles the show the wall and area I would like to add a small chair in case you have any other suggestions:

I'm not sure about the difference between GardenWeb and Houzz Discussions, so I hope it's okay to post in both places. We're putting in a 32" x 40" shower base as pictured, and we'd like to have a glass wall on the side facing the vanity and a shower curtain on a track from the ceiling on the side facing the toilet. We'd like to use products from a home center and not spend too much money. Any ideas on the simplest options for the walls and partition would be most welcome. The first photo is from a design program. The second one is what the room ACTUALLY looks like. The white cardboard is a template of the shower base dimensions. We don't mind moving the shower plumbing. The toilet's too close to the wall, but we're not going to move it.

Thanks for all the feedback! I thought about an inside mount but these windows are massive and I don't think it will look right to have that half curtain option. The example photo is a small kitchen window and I think it looks cute there, but these windows are almost 5 feet wide. I'd like the living room to look elegant while still giving us privacy. Top-down shades are probably what I would consider if I owned but they are out of my price range for a rental. Edited to add: the inside frame is only 1" wide so I think an inside curtain would be pretty tight anyway. I'm open to skipping a treatment on the foyer window potentially. I hadn't thought of that before as I thought it might look strange to have that window bare.