I've been thinking about your house and I think the thing to do is change the doors, and/or change the storms. Here's a few ideas: Paint the doors a lighter shade of turquoise or something similar as discussed above, French blue, sage or olive green, lavender... as discussed before that meshes well with your brick color. A better picture taken straight and earlier and on a clear day would really help to figure out the color harmonies. It is deeply recessed, so you will have to go lighter and or brighter than you would normally. Experiment with some samples and posterboard to see what color looks best. Definately get rid of the black stom doors. A slightly darker color of whatever you paint on the door or maybe a creamy white or oyster gray could work. I would seriously consider dressing them up with: 1) A laser cut lattice panel mounted inside--perhaps a stacked square starbusrt pattern something like the one below. Crestview and O'verlays have some that might work. Or you can get a local shop to make something custom (maybe not even lattice) if you provide some clip art to use as a pattern. Dover books has some books with old typsetting and design scrolls and such you could use. Lots of architecture books too. 2) Or maybe a lacey metal grill with some leaves and art nouveau flourishes mounted to each door (but nothing too security screen, Spanish villa, or 50s porch post looking) 3) An ethed pattern with etching cream, or if you are feeling timid, carefully cut window film to creat a nice French inspired pattern on the glass. I might experiment with a spare piece of glass first to get the right look. 4) Applied leading, perhaps little squares of color or crystals. Decraled from England looks fantastic and lasts a long time--you can go to their website to find US suppliers, and Google it. It is removable too. 5) Remove the storms and put strap hinges on the doors (if there is space) or paint to highlight the panels in a subtle way. Perhaps even add a bit of stenciling. Porch furniture, even in the winter, makes a house look more inviting. You could really set the scene with a nice wicker or metal table and chairs, maybe even a bistro set. I think you need something heftier than that though. Having some bright colors to hamonize or contrast with the front door could be nice. It can be more contemporary with a dash of French infulence to better reflect your interior. Landscaping as mentioned before, could also really help. Go for some stuff with interesting bark or shapes in the winter too. Houzz has some good articles on fall and winter garden interest ideabooks and the comments with them are good too.

I love your carved chair and table!!! And those brass pieces are awesome. I would use all three of them on the table next to the sofa that is away from the dining table. This will help balance that end of the room. Use a stack of books on the other end table to raise the lamp. Add your photos and that small statue I saw. In your before pic there is a tall vase that might work well on the dining table. Adding light colored seat cushions to those dining chairs would lighten & soften them. Look at garage sales or thrift stores for a used lamp to place beside the bed and add a touch of old world charm to that area like your sofa area now has. Personally I don't think this floral rug adds to the room & does distract from the carved table. Maybe it could go on one side of the bed. I can't tell how much room there is. But, you should be very proud of yourself for making such a transformation in the room!

My mother left me her Starr Parlor Grand, purchased in 1921 by my father. My mother was just a little girl living across the street but her brother paid for lessons and soon she was paying visits there to play on the Starr. When she was 18 they married; both of them played. The Starr is in the house they built in 1960, where my daughter lives now. She plays too. I bought a nice 1890 upright when my girls were little and both learned to play. I gave it to my younger daughter; now her daughter has it and I hope maybe my little great-granddaughter will learn to play on it too.

No one has mentioned what I believe is (or will soon be) the most common reason for needing a safe - prescription medications. I have had addicted friends or family members steal meds from my home and my stepmother also lost meds this way. I learned that the fire safes are useless for this. Pounded or dropped enough, they just fall apart. We have installed a $300 wall safe in the spot where a medicine cabinet used to go. It is screwed into the wall studs from inside the safe. My carpenter then hid it behind a mirror using a piano hinge that is not really visible from the front at all. I have tried to use a Magnetic Secret Latch system (below) to make it impossible to open the mirror, but I cannot figure how to make it work in my configuration. I would recommend it as a great way to hide a safe, however! If they just think your mirror is firmly attached to the wall, no one will find the safe behind it. I would use one latch at the top, and another at the bottom of the wall mirror. If we remodel, I will have the carpenter work the magnetic latch into the design. We keep money, unused credit cards, and my pain meds and the dog's pain meds and dog's phenobarbital in the safe. Although it is digital, the safe does have a manual key and a battery-operated back up auxiliary pack for getting in if the internal battery dies. For ease of memory, a childhood address is the code - not from the side of the family with the addict, though! http://www.leevalley.com/US/hardware/page.aspx?p=40353&cat=3,41399,41403