The ghost chairs are AMAZING! Very strong and stable. It brings a a lot of space for a small room and the loui style are very classy. Ok I will buy the table, it's goof price and I totally love it. I am living in a construction camp at the moment! Everything is a mess but I hope everything will look beautiful when the renovation finishes. I have just moved in with my partner, the typical manly man and I am the typical burly so it's hard to compromise in colours and styles! Plus there aren't many cost effective options in NZ so decorating is basically a mission!

I love a QUALITY paint job. Few people know the ins and outs of a quality paint job but, a seasoned painter for INTERIORS will have many techniques and processes to dial up the end result. I love my painter and I listen closely to his advice and he is so expert (40 years) and good that he makes it look effortless. BUT IT'S NOT. Will find and post favorite picture of painted trim here. I think the secret is style and proportion of trim and then the quality of the finishing. Did you know most paint curing really needs 2 to 3 weeks to set up as a really good tough finish? "In a hurry" is the curse we mostly experience for improving interiors. I wonder sometimes how different things would be if people took the right amount of time to do things in the time frame related to that finishing task!

There is nothing worse than ceiling-mounted lights--harsh shadows, flat lighting. They are strictly for utility. I would put a large-ish, shallow cylindrical shade on them and put nothing more than a 15-watt bulb in them. Use them strictly for lighting your way as you walk through the room. I agree with Vincent; the chair in the corner doesn't fit at all, nor does the one under the A/C unit (put that one with its mate behind the love seat). And the curtains look smooshed. I think the problem with the bookcases is that they are uninteresting. Did you buy books-by-the-yard? What are all those identical books? They are visually uninteresting. I'd get rid of some of them and get some colorful ceramics/glass/photos. The room is absolutely overwhelmed with furniture. It needs one less love seat. Do you really need all of them? Pushing them against the walls/curtains so tightly just visually emphasizes the fact that there is too much furniture. I don't think a mirror above the fireplace will work. When people are sitting down (which is most of the time), all they will see is a reflection of the ceiling--the plain, white ceiling. Get some real art in there with some color.

My ex-husband and I had an issue with a large window that looked out over a sidewalk where people were constantly walking by and looking directly into our living room. We solved the problem by using window film that was one-way so we could see out but it was like a mirror if anyone tried to look in. There are other varieties as well. We still got all the sunshine and light but didn't need to worry about whether or not the neighbors could see me watching tv in my nightie on a sick day...It also meant the door to door salesmen couldn't look in and see that I was home when I didn't answer the door. http://www.gilafilms.com/en/privacy-window-film.aspx#.VOuUBS5vksQ