Much as I love wood blinds, in your case I would go with the white. I'm afraid the wood blinds would chop up this expanse of windows where as the white would give you a blank slate. You could always add color in roman shades, etc. (Love the flowering trees!)

Thanks houssaon and rinqreation! Funny - hubby has the same 2 door hate! It sounds like I'm being outvoted on the shared ensuite idea. :) We've actually been set on both the configurations you suggested, we moved away from yours houssaon because we really wanted to keep a closed off office space (and hubby built the front deck and landing already for the door at the end of the hallway!). And I don't know why we shifted the door on the bedroom back to the same area, I think it was about having easy access to all the kids bedrooms. But maybe we should shift it back as you suggest rinqreation. Joice, the door at the end of the hallway is the front door, the entrance closest to the street, that you would come to first if you were a visitor. Not totally necessary, but we reinstated it before we decided we wanted the entrance up the stairs (middle bottom) which would be under a carport. Thanks for all your input!! It's really helpful to have some unattached opinions. I'm keen to hear from anyone else on the shared ensuite or 2 door hate question! :)

Now for Mr 16 months... I really can't decide. His room is going to be on the cold side of the house, with not so much sun so I want it to get that cozy sort of feeling when you come into it. I was thinking yellow or orange curtains? But then I don't know what colour to do the walls. These are some fabrics I like:

Lino has been used in bathrooms, laundry rooms, kitchens and entranceways for 150 years (it is the THAT old...yep). The traditional checker board (black/white) is quiet "hot" in many areas of N. America...especially when a "retro" theme has been brought in (think 60's Diner). Lino is the old fashioned "vinyl" before plastics were invented. Then plastic was invented and people switched to "vinyl". Now people are moving away from plastics ('cause we've learned a thing or two about the environment) and are going back to the tried and tested Linoleum (Marmoleum = brand name for lino). Lots of fun in the black and white checkers! I think you'll like it.