Hi Mainemanx, We used Floor Muffler under two rooms. I was told by Fast Floors that it would eliminate the loud gunshot sound that occurs when someone drops something on the floor. That was a total lie. The second time we used some real expensive stuff from Home Depot and it also didn't eliminate the noise. I've since discovered that nothing eliminates the noise. The only thing underlayment is necessary for, from what I can tell, is so you have a moisture-proof barrier between the concrete and the flooring. We installed on a concrete subfloor. We made sure our floors were level. If they are even the slightest bit not level, in that area the flooring will move and the edges that hold the pieces together will eventually break off. I know this for a fact because our supposedly leveled floors turned out not to be level in a couple of places. If you are installing over concrete, you must also make sure the floor is not giving off moisture, which will ruin the flooring. Our installer did this by duct-taping a heavy sheet of Saran wrap to the floor in many places, making sure it was a tight seal and tight fit. He then waited 48 hours to see if there was any condensation on the Saran wrap. I'm not convinced this is the best way to check moisture in concrete, though. The flooring is easy to install yourself. We got a cheap DVD from Home Depot for our installer to watch before he installed the floor. Again, the most important part is the preparation of the subfloor. If you are installing it in areas where moisture may be a problem, I heartily recommend that you do seal the boundary of the floor with sealant -- Pergo will tell you what kind to use. Also, do not bother removing your baseboards unless you are going to replace them anyway, in rooms that are not leak-prone. We did and that was stupid. All we had to do was remove the quarter round -- duh! I guess you live in Maine, from your name. I live in central Mass, and I was worried about Pergo and moisture from outside, especially in the winter. In our entry way, I have placed a large indoor/outdoor rug (it has to be hosed off to clean it) to capture moisture. I wanted to use LL Bean's waterhog mat, but I couldn't get a straight answer from anyone about whether that would hurt the Pergo. Some rug backings do. Good luck!

Designers are told in advance that unless the rooms create "conversation", the designers are likely to not receive any press coverage, A 'cohesive look' is a determination made by the organization sponsoring the showhouse. Designers have to dip into their pockets to do these showhouses, and beg manufacturers to be allowed to borrow items for the rooms. So often you just work with what you can get. I know many designers that simply use furniture from their own homes to get the rooms complete. It costs the designers $$$

Try going much darker paint on the siding and garage doors. Similar to the front door. (Beautiful door btw) Shutters either painted black or the dark stained cedar is quite popular. Add 3 new exterior fixtures at minimum 30” in a black iron modern style. Use false garage door hardware in the same finish. I would also beef up the columns. You have great curb appeal! Enjoy your new home

Is there enough room behind the sofa for a very narrow console table? It could hold a lamp (or two) instead of using any end tables. I could imagine myself sitting sideways on the sofa facing the fireplace and using the table for my coffee cup while I talked on the phone. There is something about the drapes that bothers me. They are beautiful and a lovely color but seem to block the beautiful window. Could you have all the panels at the two ends instead having four groups? I, too, have struggled with a backdrop for ZOOM calls. Remember that on Zoom you see only what is directly behind the person and a couple feet to each side, not the whole wall. So only a few feet of the bottom any large panels would show. You may have to make a trade off on what looks good in the room versus what looks good on ZOOM. For my ZOOM calls, I ended up not using my desk. I took an unused corner of another room and put an old laptop on a small table to make a ZOOM “studio.” I put a console table behind my chair with a large Grecian bust and a small topiary plant over one shoulder and a tall pair of brass candle sticks with two small family photos over the other. The wall directly behind me is blank and coincidently is painted a color that contrasts with my coloring, which also looks better on ZOOM.