Now it's beginning to work! Luv the rug! A few more red showstoppers, and I luv the post about matting your family pic, and larger frame for it. Looks like you might be a bit uncomfortable with the great post idea of moving your sofa out into the room away from wall. If so, could you accept putting it diagonally from the entrance doorway, across that corner where it is, stopping at the edge of your window? That's a bit of a move outward, still can see the fp and tv, and show off your new rug, which could go diagonally in front of the sofa. Then, if you like that, after a while you could move it on out as Deb K suggests. Sometimes intermediate steps are more doable for us than those big changes.Same with painting; if you could first paint just the fp wall, then later paint other walls...seems some color would really make it more homey. Would you cosider a quite contemporary fixture for the light in the center ceiling? Maybe a bit of red could go there!

Create a front porch across 2/3 of the front of the house by extending the existing sloped roof on the right side of the house ( except create a balcony behind and between the existing vertical columns). Alternately, create a balcony and porch just around the two existing vertical columns, extending the porch beyond the two existing columns. Use the balcony rail and the porch columns to create the Mediterranean look you seek (arches) -- the effect would be striking. You'd then need some huge planters or cut some holes in the pavement to create a greenspace in front of the porch and/or use hanging baskets. http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2015/3/7/0/Barron-Custom-Design_Shore-Vista_53.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.1280.853.jpeg http://st.hzcdn.com/simgs/d94192130c498e54_4-8517/mediterranean-porch.jpg http://www.ebby.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/25586526-0.jpg

My new kitchen will be light grey cabinets, white and grey stone bench tops. My current dining table is a clear glass top, black leather chairs with chrome legs/framing. I love these gold polished glass pendants for over my island bench but will they look okay with my dining suite or is it too different? I can go for the grey glass lights but they are quite opaque during the day.

Solid Wood benchtops look great with any kitchen style. White kitchens can be transformed by the natural glow of timber. Darker kitchens can make use of the many stain options there are on today's market. To Stain or not to Stain? No doubt we have all noticed a swing towards darker tones in kitchens over the recent years. Colours often taking a more contrasting approach such as, blacks, golds, whites, charcoals and petrol blues. Some may ask, where does solid wood fit into this? Walnut is naturally a dark chocolate to charcoal color; the flecked grain creates texture that looks great paired with exposed stone or other industrial materials. If the client is prepared for the investment (and many are), walnut creates a strikingly moody and luxurious kitchen design. Stained Timbers can save a considerable amount if walnut does happen to blow the budget, with USA Oak or Bamboo able to create an equally striking impression while maintaining the texture and grain of real wood. Popular standard stain colors include Light and Dark Oak as well as Chocolate and Earth. Home owners love the darker tones combined with the distinctive wavy grain of Oak that creates a true centre-point for the kitchen. Which design would you choose?