My cat's nails used to snag the sofa when she walked on it, though she never intentionally clawed the furniture. Next time you go to the vet, ask to have them show you how closely you clip the claws. It's possible you aren't clipping close enough. Also you might want to use a regular cat claw clipper instead of a human style clipper. Maybe then the claws will have fewer snags. You could also get a pretty throw and put it across the loveseat for now. I know he uses his clawing post, but another thing our cat loves is the cardboard clawing box, the one that sits flat on the floor, you put a little catnip in it to pique the kitty's interest. Just a Christmas idea for His Majesty. Get the velour seat; leather is too cold. Aerobeds are pretty tough, so I don't think you need to worry about that. If he did puncture it, it would just deflate. Don't get kitty declawed.

I will suggest taking a picture or several close-up pictures of the window and ask a good local window shop what they think it is. A good shop will answer it for you to earn your future business. A bad shop will ignore you or try to sell you something without answering to your satisfaction. A fine way to figure out who is good and bad in case you need them. Or post your pictures here so the many professionals reading here can share their opinions before you go to a shop. May be the seal can be fixed, may be it is some hidden cracks or it may require a replacement. Until the pros can see it, no one can venture any educated opinion. GOod luck!

Cloud_swift is absolutely correct about trees and shade around your home. Color is very difficult in my house because I am surrounded by trees and hills. I have a very tall, steep hill (small mountain) directly behind my house (east) covered in huge oak trees, plus a covered patio, so I get NO direct light in my kitchen...the lights need to be on ALL DAY. Because of this hill, it is around 10-11:00 am before I get the direct sun coming over the hill top and the tree line. I have large maples at each end of my house (north and south) that provide wonderful shade, but again, the end of my house that is slightly north-east gets very little direct sunlight. There are huge pines, spruce, etc in front of the house, which block the evening sun. I do get some nice direct south-west sun in the afternoon at one front corner (office and bedroom), Just to give you some examples: Beiges and tans look dirty/murky in my home. Golden tans look dirty (I tried Believable Buff - terrible - looks great in good light). I have a true soft butter yellow in my DR (front of the house) which is beautiful day or night. Greens look good in my home. I have the feeling the currently popular grays will not look good in my home. I have the feeling the blue-greens or green-blues will look good (thinking Sea Salt, Wyeth Blue, Quietude, etc). Have never used dark colors and don't care for them, but I believe they would "show" well. The point I am making here is the outside greenery and the shade SIGNIFICANTLY factors into my paint colors. Hope this helps also.

When you listed the things that you don't like, none of them would require you do do big structural changes. things I do not like include: old, run down cabinets that are chipped and very worn inside, not having efficient and useful storage/cabinets, including two corner cupboards that are black holes; chipped flooring; 1990s countertops... I'd like something new and clean, with ample storage and more counterspace. If you change the way you use your rooms so that you only have one living area and one dining area, each can be a good size. Moving walls can add unexpectedly to your expenses because you need to re-do all the flooring and the ceilings too. If you can find a way to meet your needs within your existing footprint, you can use more of your budget for, for example, these very efficient storage units to make good use of your 2 corners. With the right units you can get a lot into those corners and make them fully functional. I lengthened the wall of your kitchen beside the refrigerator, which is a very inexpensive renovation, to give you more wall space and more counter space. I switched the refrigerator and the "new" counter space, to give you a nice long counter between the refrigerator and stove. But you could leave the refrigerator where it is and put a pantry to the right of it, or a second counter, if you feel that meets your needs better. I think you have room for a storage pantry in the dining area too, especially if you switch the "swing" of the door which is not a big structural change. Your current nook area could have a movable island like this to avoid issues with the low window, or a peninsula of some kind if you like. You haven't given us exact measurements so these are just ideas. Renos can run away with you cost-wise, and it's easy to get carried away and over-improve your home relative to others in your area. I think you can get the kitchen you want without structural changes.