What's staying in the room? What do you want to use the room for? Reading, napping, office work, t.v. watching? Do you want to replace the carpeting? What flooring is in the adjacent room? What colors do you like?

Great questions, Katinparadise! I'd like the room to be multipurpose since we don't have a lot of room in this hse so office, tv watching and chilling would ideally happen in here. As such the work desk and tv (or another version of these items) would stay . Book shelf could stay if it works but not a must. I know using the room for multiple purposes is less than ideal, but i need to make that work given our space constraints. The flooring in adjacent rooms is hardwood so I'd like to do the same in this room cost permitting. Colors I like are white base with deep blues/Aquas and our warm color is orange (similar to the clock on the right wall & below).

Anyone have any idea on how much it costs to remove popcorn ceilings e.g for a space around 250 Sq ft?

Ah-some of my favorite colors! How long is the existing built in? Any chance of having a comfy cushion in a great fabric made for it and adding pillows? You could add a floor lamp to the end and a small C table to set down a cup of coffee.