Living Room Pre-Planning

I'm getting ready to start re-designing my living room.  This room is in the front of the house and has a huge window that looks out to the front yard and our street.  When we have the blinds open during the day, this room is very visible to those walking or driving by.

Right Now:
This is Taylor's room. She watches Dora DVDs and has picnic tea parties in this room. We have a futon couch and a recliner in there right now. The TV is not hooked up to cable, only a DVD player.  It is painted yellow.

What I Want:
We are getting a piano similar to this one:

Also, I want to get a new couch.  I have my eye on one, but need to get the measurements to make sure it will fit where I want it.  I also want an accent wall.  I have my heart set on a reclaimed wood wall similar to this:

Contemporary Kids by Birmingham Interior Designer AMW Design Studio

or this:

Eclectic Living Room by Atlanta Photographer Ashley Anthony Photography

I really like how it looks, but am a little worried about the maintenance.  Have any of you put one of these focal points into your house?  I also love that I can marry gray and brown because of the varying tones in the wood.

If I decide not to do a wood wall, I am thinking about a stenciled accent wall like I did in my family room at our old house.

I would do either a light/dark warm gray, or a flat/gloss dark gray/black for the colors. Maybe do the three other walls in the Gobi Desert (tan) that I've used throughout the downstairs, and the accent wall in Manuscript (the gray tone):

Maybe I could do a wood accent art piece?  That would bring both of these colors together.

What are your thoughts?  The couch I am eyeing is gray so I don't want the other three walls to be gray.  Also, I am liking these curtains from IKEA:

Also, Jaden's birthday party is in three weeks. I am kind of on a schedule for this room re-do. Help me out here!

Brainstorming Session!

Alright bloggers!  I'm feeling the need to organize, so obviously I've come to you for help!  I have a bunch of "ideas" that I've printed off over the years.  They are all stacked in a tub where I can not get to them easily.  In hopes of moving soon, I want to get these ideas organized!  My Household Organizational Binder pages have been hugely successful, so I want to create something along that line to help organize craft ideas.  Welcome to my...

BRAINSTORMING SESSION

Should it be:

• Binder?
• File Box?
• Both?

Things to include:

• Printed ideas from blogs, Pinterest, etc.
• Ideas pulled from magazines
• Paint chips
• Fabric swatches

Possible sections:

• Home decorating
• Sub-sections for different rooms
• Party planning
• Sub-sections for themes/party types
• Sewing
• Paper Crafting
• Re-purposing
• Holidays
• Food Crafts
• For the Kids

Comment below and let me know what you would like to see added.  If I were to make printable pages like in my HOB printables, what types of pages would interest you as a crafter?  The purpose of this is to keep ideas in a central location to allow easy access.  Pinterest is great!  I absolutely LOVE it.  BUT, do you know how many Pinterest ideas I have actually made?  Neither do I.  Sometimes I even double-pin ideas because I forgot that I pinned them the first time!  I want this organizational tool to be a hard copy of Pinterest.  I want to print the actual photo or idea so when I'm feeling crafty, I can go to my binder/box, pull an idea, and go create.  

For each craft, I should probably include a "title page" of some sort.  Included on the title page would be:

• Photo of finished project
• Materials needed
• Notes/tips
• Approximate cost?
• Approximate time?

Let me know your thoughts!  When I have it completely finished, I'll give away a few copies  :o)