We stole a few square feet from our master...well heck quite a few really in two projects. We had a 650 ish sq ft space that had a tiny bathroom (one vanity, toilet, tiny shower and a closet). The tub was actually IN the master bedroom. So we took the tub out, and expanded the bathroom by ohhh let's see, about 3' on one side, and five on the other and expanded that closet out another 3' so we could have a tub, walk in shower, two vanities and a laundry (stackable) on that floor. We then closed off 12' of the room giving us a walk in closet that is about 12' x 15'. Do I regret it? I haven't got to live in the suite with the new bathroom yet (tiling starts on Monday) but the loss of sq ft is no biggie. With the closet (full of buildins and a desk area) we lost all of the furniture we had for storage :) So we don't miss that space. With the expansion of the bath and the closet...we brought laundry up five levels (the main level 1 is down five levels where the other laundry is) which is fabulous, and we lost a few sq ft where we once had a dresser with a TV on it. We will instead have that dresser in the closet and hang a flat screen on the wall. Really...we lost a big amount of sq ft, but since it's more efficient, it's not a big deal. And as to the bath, I don't see ever regretting the change :) Not knocking elbows while brushing teeth is a huge change for the good...and showering without seeing DH on the toilet...priceless :oP We had the place appraised with an as proposed appraisal, and while the master floor (top level) didn't change within it's walls in sq ft, the addition to the bath, laundry and master closet, increased our home value on that level alone by over $50,000. (Closet was $25,000 increased value).

Outside, I enjoy those books too--- my late FIL went to school with Ferrol Sams and we love his novels. I hadn't realized he wrote essays as well. "When attending art shows, I swear off coffee table books but I am weak." We share that weakness, lol. Seems I am "always" never going to buy another huge book... Beagles, that room is fantastic, and I do see your pile of books peeking out from under that chair to the left :-) I'm with you on the kindle, but every now and then I like to hold a real book. Even though I find myself pushing the edge of the page instead of turning it (hanging head). No screen can reproduce the heft and color of those prints in large books, there is something about a good quality art print that is somehow more convincing than an image on a screen. Sloe gin, over the past decade or so I've seen many people putting lovely shelving in their dining rooms to combine functions or simply bring books into a room that doesn't often see them. I love that look, of a literary dining room! And your basket sounds eminently practical, we use our shagreen boxes and ceramic bowls for the same purpose--- the "stuff" has got to be corralled somehow. I have seen that Circus book, Robo, and the Atomic Ranch book also, they are both marvelous! It's clear that our collective enjoyment of these tomes is at least partly for the esthetic quality of the books themselves in addition to the content. I suppose that's what makes them "useful" decor :-) In some cases they might function purely as decor, as the leather books you've used, tinam. Have you seen the book purses that are so popular in some circles? Kate Spade has or had a few, and there's quite a cottage industry on Etsy making real old books into small handbags. They aren't a tenth big enough for me, but I love looking at them!

Scott says: "BTW Moccassin, I do hope your screen name refers to footware and not water snakes. " I'm glad you asked, Scott. Actually it refers to both. I was gone for months at a time working, and my house sat alone. I was concerned about vandalism or whatever, since it was on a small bayou in the city. It is not right to tempt folks, I felt. So I picked a name which symbolized my moccasins rested here. But also, it implied that the very ill tempered and dangerous water moccasins came around in the tall grass down by the water. I painted the name MOCCASINLANDING on an old paddle, and hung it over my carport. It had a snake slithering in the grass. Also, down at my tiny little dock, I hung a board up with lettering as suggested by a man I met down in Texas: MOCCASIN LANDING--PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE SNAKES. To further this mental image of snakes, while I was working in Louisiana, I picked up a 6 foot long dead snake (road kill) which I mounted on a board and covered with a fiberglas resin. It lasted for years swinging from the tree closest to the water. If a person thought it was killed in my yard, that was an impression I never bothered to correct. I never had any problems in the 18 years I lived there with invasion of my space. Except we did cut up a couple of snakes in the grass catcher of the lawn mower. I was really surprised when the body parts fell out. Spooky, yes? Where I am now, we have a nicer kind of snake--the King snake and the rat snake. The king eats the bad snakes, among other things. And I'm sure the rat snake earns his keep too.

Shades of Idaho, I saw in some TV program, I think BANG FOR YOUR BUCK on HGTV, where a couple had somehow mounted the TV inside a console or buffet, and changed the top of the furniture piece to hinge up like a trunk. They had it at the foot of their bed in a smallish master suite. BUT, I think it would work also between a pair of windows even if they go floor to ceiling or have shutters or drapes. Even a TV cabinet like a bench with drawers beneath it, could have the top set to lift up for a wide screen TV, and when closed there could be a cushion on top for extra seating. Thinking up ideas is always a lot easier than doing the real thing, isn't it!!! And besides, the real charm is in making a less than perfect situation work for you. If you notice, our shutters were ordered with the TV location in mind. Each window has only one shutter and it opens away from the TV, so we can get to the full window for maintenance.