Our living room has lovely bones, elements that have outlasted many owners throughout its 100-year history. However, five of the best features of the room are also what make it so hard to decorate! The glass paned doors leading in from the foyer; the strangely pretty faux fireplace; the painted radiators, the shuttered windows and the pocket doors. Every few feet you bump into one of these five elements, limiting the options for furniture placement.

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I've been obsessed lately with the idea of pausing a moment or two before jumping into the day. Before opening the laptop or getting ready for work, before taking care of kids or pets, taking a moment for yourself to enjoy a cup of tea or coffee, sink into a favorite chair, and overlook the beautiful home you've worked so hard to create. More

Q: So here in the first picture is my living room (the problem area.) Here you see it from one angle, from the one doorway/entrance from the hallway. On the far wall behind the couch is one of two windows that looks east; the window to the right is on the south side, so I get pretty good sun all day. There is my big couch, that I like to do my relaxing on at night. To the very left is a closet with a door that I have my craft items in. More

Q: I will be moving into a loft for the first time, and I am struggling between a smaller floorplan or a larger floorplan. I work from home, so I need to have an office workspace. The smaller (731 sq ft) plan does not have a built in desk. More

Q: Hello! We recently moved into a new house and are trying to decide on furniture and furniture placement for our largish living room. Details: 21' x 13"8'; 10'5" ceiling; opens to dining room and to hall. More

Q: I'm about to move into a beautiful new apartment in my ideal location, but to keep within my budget, I had to be a bit more creative about splitting a 2-bedroom apartment into a 3-bedroom space. Because after all, the more the merrier — but really, the more roommates, the less rent! More

Shopping for furniture is nothing like shopping for clothes. Once you get that pair of shoes home and discover that they don't work with that dress in exactly the way you imagined, returning them is as easy as plopping them in the mail or swinging by the store. But when the sectional that looked great in the store turns out to be a behemoth when it lands in your living room, returning it can be a lot more time consuming and complicated. More

Today's One Minute Tip comes from Fay Wolf, with three simple ways to rethink vertical space. More

Q: I am moving into a new apartment which I have fallen in love with...but it has a tricky layout. It is a Studio and both my boyfriend and I will be living there. I'm looking for ideas about how to set up a living room/bedroom space as well as a dining room/study area for us. The best (and trickiest) part is the curved wall full of windows! See floor layout. More

Who doesn't love built-in furniture? Whether it's shelving on walls, around the fireplace, under the stairs, a desk, or anything tucked into odd corners or low spaces — there's no denying that they're money and space saving charmers. More