update

Thank you so much to each of you who contributed design ideas on my blog. It was so fun reading what different ones had to say and incredibly helpful. When the room is all done I'll post some pictures and you can say, "Oh, that was my idea!" :-)

I also wanted to thank you all for your prayers and concern last week when I was so low about my health problems. I am very grateful to report that I've enjoyed over a week of very little discomfort and have been able to get through (most) days without (too much) will power. Now if I can just manage to avoid soy for the next few months we'll be golden. . . .

Ideas, anyone?

Quite a few of my faithful blog readers have a great eye for interior design. So yesterday when I was decorating our mantle Evan and I we were pretty happy with what I came up with, but we knew something was missing. We aren't sure what to hang on the wall, if anything. So I thought, Hey, I'll post some pictures on my blog and beg my friends for their expert opinions!

So, what do you think? Are you proud of me for completely departing from purple and bright colors?! Going with neutral colors is new for me, but one can get tired of the same old, same old after nine years. What do you think we should put on the wall behind the ship? A mirror--and if so, metal or wood frame and should it be round, oval, or long (width) and narrow (height) rectangle?

Also, any recommendations for a paint color? (Yes, Jen and Sue--we really are going to paint after all!) Keep in mind that our couch slipcover is a dark mocha and the kitchen, which opens up from the living room, has purple and blue and green in it (couldn't get away from those colors COMPLETELY!). We were wondering about a warm slate gray but would love to hear what y'all think.