The age of the goddess - most of it was doggedly destroyed to get rid of evidence of it - bet it was gorgeous! Bring back the nature and family revering goddess too while you're at it! Lilith - the goddess of sensual pleasure (not sex - a crass western concept). I'm thinking I would not have been dragged to those ceremonies. "Hurry up mom and dad or we'll be late!"

HI -- Above all you need to make this look like it is NOT a basement . Why people feel they have to have the fake wood wainscoting is beyond me . So either re-move that and/or paint the whole wall , wainscoting included if need be all one color . Find an ocean glass color that you like -- young and fresh or as mentioned above go all white , walls, and fireplace and ceilings too. Paint the trims white too and paint the patio /French doors and entrance door , and fireplace mantel , black . Or do a driftwood color mantel . Having the ceilings and the walls all one color makes the ceilings look higher . You say the desk is teal , so add a little more of that to maybe another furniture piece and as accents in décor but don't over do . Carry this decorating into the bedroom and bathroom too. So basic color scheme is white and black and teals and ocean colors and driftwood . Add in a bit of a coral color too in some accents and décor items . Also because the fireplace is not working , stuff the hole with fire wood logs with the ends showing or paint the interior black and add a ethanol burner to get a real fireplace affect . This could be fun and look wonderful . Bless you for helping your parents .

Pergo = laminate. Pergo and water/urine do NOT mix. Pergo (the traditional pergo...they now have Pergo XP, etc) has been known to swell and then disintegrate in the presence of moisture (animal urine, dog's water bowls, steam from dishwashers, wet shoes, leaking fridge/sink/anything with water, etc). So long as you work with the APPROPRIATE Pergo (the one that is more expensive and is designed to be water resistant) you will have a better shot at this. For incontinent animals, the "go-to" floor will always be sheet vinyl/lino. Porcelain tiles with the proper grout is also an excellent choice. Any floor with "seams" (like laminate, vinyl planks, etc) have the potential for urine to get caught BETWEEN the planks. When this happens you have a lingering issue of odor. If you must have a plank floor, please start with vinyl. If you really want an appropriate floor that is built to handle urine, then please work with SHEET products like vinyl or linoleum. Laminate (traditional laminate like Pergo) is out.

May be you can put cork tiles on top of them. At least in some areas where you would prefer the cozy touch of semi-soft flooring. They are durable and pleasant and have the same warm colours. I had such case with the livingroom and the kitchen of a young couple who did not want their tiles removed and we glued cork on them. This is the kitchen before the renovation: This was several years ago and they are still happy with the cork tiles. As you can see we used similar pattern granite for the backsplash and countertops wich softens the dark brown cupboards.