Oceanna, I think many of those shows actually have very tight budgets - the real key is that the designers aren't personally invested in the space so it's a lot easier to buy something to stick on the wall - they don't have to live with it day in and day out like a homeowner would. Also some really junky stuff can look sumptuous on camera but tacky IRL. Although I do agree with you, Oceanna that some shows where the homeowner is paying for everything, some do have large budgets for art. Winker, you're in a tough spot. I would pull everything out and move things around to the rooms that you think they will work - keep moving things around until you have found some a "home". Consider storing the rest for a year or two and if you never use them, sell them. If you are brave, you can sell them right away to get that load off your shoulders. Tough love, sorry. If you have stuff you haven't used for two years - get rid of it now because it's likely you'll never use it. I know it's really hard sometimes to give this stuff up. I find TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Kirklands etc. are very dangerous stores so I usually avoid them like the plague or I'd find myself in the same trap you are in.

Those calculators are all based on lending guidelines, which vary somewhat, but rarely seem to reflect what people can actually afford. The best thing to do is to sit down and make a detailed monthly budget including what you can afford to spend on a mortgage, insurance and property taxes. Don't forget to include larger utility bills if you are currently in a smaller house or apartment, and don't forget to set some aside for maintenance on the house. Also you might want to think about the fact that taxes don't go down and will likely go up and likely faster than your salary will so you need to factor that in - in 5 years if your taxes go up 10% per year, will you still be able to afford your house if your salary doesn't rise? I would run a few "what if" type scenarios on the taxes to see and make sure that you can afford a reasonable worst case scenario (maybe research what taxes have done the last 5 years to get a better idea). When you have a number that you can comfortably afford then you can run mortgage payment calculators on houses you are interested in and get an idea of whether you can afford what you are interested in. This is the only real way to know if you can afford a house or not. Just because the lenders will give you money doesn't mean you can afford to pay it back.

If you use lisa_a's with 2 entrances to the pantry it may just vent itself easily as I'd imagine the pocket entry door to it from the garage may stay open or ajar frequently. You could possibly fit it in the bump back to match the entrance stairs. Fridges in garages are pretty common around here but we have more issues with freezing temps than overly hot. Otherwise I'd put it in that spot in the garage where the writing says small appliances for inside the kitchen. That's not far of a walk at all.

I'm having a hard time really seeing the space right. Is the striped couch just by itself? In the first photo, does the green wall wrap around to the yellow wall or is there a walkway that leads around there. The second photo, can you stand in that spot and take a picture to the left?