@kmkane... The "old thread" comments, at least from ME... aren't for any other reason than letting some contributors know, that the advice they might believe they are giving, may be moot. I know that when I 1st became involved on Houzz, I was glad when someone indicated that I may be addressing a question which had probably been answered months (if not years) ago. Helped me "learn" to check the original posting date before blathering on about an issue someone was no longer interested in.

If you use masonry paint, we could head in a warm greige direction for all of it - not so yellow . .. something that can give you a bit more contrast against the white windows and trim - even 40 does a lot for us . . . what about a blue green gray? You will get a coastal / mod vibe and it will relate to the farmhouse look .. .above bm silver mink http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/silvermink and below . . . gilbraltar cliffs . . http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/gibraltarcliffs Shingle look siding on the side dormers would be neat to get that cottage mod. . . you can stick with yellow but I don't think it complements the roof tone. With the blue-green grays, the white windows and trim will really pop beautifully. . . You can also go more neutral with a warm gray - greige . . . here's the siding tone http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/capemaycobblestone paired with this for brick - http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/graystone potential future red windows . . .aluminum pits over time, so if you have just one side you want to try, you don't have to powder coat, you can take a small brush and just do them by hand with latex paint if they are 10 yrs old or more. . . one advantage to gray . . future see [houzz=]

As chookchook said in her recommendation about painting, put a drop cloth on the floor. Get a very safe ladder. remove the lightbulbs, and cover the outlets. Turn off the electricity to the chandelier. Then spray it with a mild cleaner (I use one I found at Target that's basically water with vinegar, until it's dripping wet. Start at the bottom and work your way up, so you don't have dirty spray dripping on the bottom of the chandelier.Work your way up and down until the dripping spray is clean. The chandelier may be gorgeous and expensive, but it seems totally out of place in the architecture of the room--more at home in a chalet than a sunny room with a window wall. I would probably try to find a way to get it removed, and sell it to someone who appreciated it better than I.

Hi Calypso. We would need a lot more information to be really useful, but to start with I suggest you look at as many rooms as you can to see what you like. I've put, for example, two very different ways of using it below. What's your style? Crisp, romantic, girly, quirky? Maybe start with whichever of these two rooms you like best and then think about what you would like to change in the room to bring it closer to being right for you. Then look for other styles of rooms, either on Houzz or on Google images or in magazines. Work out what makes you say, "Yes, please!" Then determine what furniture you have that needs to stay -- if the colour's not right, can you paint it? If you could give us a couple of pics of the room as it is now, with that information, and an idea of what kind of room you dream of, you could get more useful help. In my opinion, a reader needs good bedside lights and a well-lit reading chair, as well, of course, as bookshelves -- and there are all kinds of great ways to fit shelves into a room. Do you also need homework space in your bedroom? There are all sorts of super ways to accessorise your room to reflect your love of reading, too. But first things first ....