mforr - It's funny you should mention that, because I just looked at the map of queens, trying to remember the name of the highway that went thru a friend's neighborhood like that .. and I think they renamed it! There used to be an "Interboro Parkway", and now it's called the "Jackie Robinson Parkway"! Wikipedia says it was renamed in 1997 .. who knew?! "The Jackie Robinson Parkway is a 4.95-mile (7.97 km) parkway in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. The western terminus of the parkway is at Jamaica Avenue in the Brooklyn neighborhood of East New York. It runs through Highland Park, along the north side of Ridgewood Reservoir, and through Forest Park. The eastern terminus is at the Kew Gardens Interchange in Kew Gardens, Queens, where the Jackie Robinson Parkway meets the Grand Central Parkway and Interstate 678."

I would paint your bookshelf the same colour as the walls and stuff it with, well, books! I would paint the built-in corner unit to match and just use it for potplants - ivy that hangs down would look good. As for the coffee table, if the room is small, what I did in our little family room was hunted around and found a large curved hunk of tempered glass from Freedom and it sort of 'floats' and looks invisible in some lights. Seriously, I think the line was called Ghost and was very reasonable (they also had a side table to match). Throw a bit of cherry red around and see how it looks with the creams and the taupes. Here is a pic of the coffee table.

NB, the above do not reflect the Houzzer yearbook, and are there for humour only. We don't have user photographs with comments under, like that. We also don't have negative comments.

I love mirrors - they bounce light around and depending upon what they're reflecting they're great to use for feng shui - if you're really worried about using mirrors - ensure that they reflect back something terrific (say such as green plants outside). You need to review how you use plants - the ones that youve got are low - you need something that is eye height and on your furniture - to create different levels of greenery - so think about taller indoor palms, and when you get your TV wall mounted, you could use the TV unit for storage and put a plant(s) on top of it to give you different levels. If you can replace the map for other keepsakes/accessories from Mongolia I think you'd be better off. Soft fluffy "hairy/furry" cushions will soften your lounge and refer back to traditional heritage. You could replace the map with a Mongolian style rug or traditional artwork. Utilize a strong horse statue or vase, hanging a piece of traditional costume (similar to the way Kimonos are hung) or a piece of reproduction artwork - just pick things that you love on your coffee table and other walls. You could also do shadow box frames traditional jewellery/horse stirrups/bridles for something eye catching (you can source these online or if you've got family still in Mongolia it's well worth asking them to check out markets/antique shops). The map doesn't really do your home or your background justice - Mongolia has such a rich history and culture to pick from - have some fun with it. I think as soon as you remove the vertical blinds and replace them with curtains you'll instantly feel better - (hang them as close to the ceiling as possible - it'll make your room feel taller and the curtains themselves will bring a feeling of soft comfort) and with changing the coffee table you'll be on the right track.