Wow all great suggestions you have. The only difficulty is I have to make sure that I do not end up sleeping in the
dog house sharing
her home. I love this little project but keeping my marriage intact would also be nice. Yes, I have just given away who is the boss.
aarons, this might help:
front speakers test layout. Thanks for the info about the speaker versions and I am not focused on upgrading to the M5. I like the M22's, nice to heard that even after all these years they still hold their own.
Mojo maybe one day I will be able to build a dedicated audio or A/V room and you could be right, I might be hosed. I see this as a challenge and adds to the fun of rebuilding the room so I hope you can stick around for the challenge.
bridgman, the pictures that I made for the bookshelves is not showing very well the role they play in the room. I have made some additional pictures:
bookshelves 1,
bookshelves 2. I hope it gives a better sense of the layout. As you can see the bookshelves are the wall, removing them would be a big job. Also the front of the bookshelves acts as a corridor in the room to access the gazebo, not a very good spot to have components in front of the bookshelves. The receiver in its position on the floor is temporary for testing purposes. I could install a retractable projector screen:
Family Room Plan A Front Screen in that corridor but that would complicate things even more for my speaker layout. I like your input about the subwoofer, thanks.
alan, good point there is a floor rug and possibly a replacement one coming? It has been put away for the renovations. Me posting here and the sound project was a last minute decision when I started wiring another Wifi unit in that room. This is why the pot lights are sticking out (Lights and ceiling is open for replacement). The thinking behind me making this post was to understand the difference between this setup:
front speakers test layout and the use of on wall speakers in the bookshelves or do they have to stick out more and how much?
The curtains as first suggested by nickbuol and reaffirmed by more confirms the 101 title for this thread to be more exact than I anticipated. I admit I did not see that one coming. Seems to me that there is a consensus here for me to work on the room curtains. My wife is very much on board with your suggestion, hmm... have you guys been plotting this with my wife? My wife is thinking that linen curtains such as the curtains that we have in our
dining room could potentially be a better choice than the
family room curtains that we currently have in the family room. No question the linen curtains weight much more than the ones we have in the family room. I wonder when the curtains are closed will it make a difference for sound if the material is stretch out or the more pleats the better? bridgman blinds suggestion did not go very well with the boss but would the curtains pleats provide similar goal?
The topic on back speakers by bridgman is a good question and possibly also ceiling speakers is another topic that I do not know how to approach. I do have speakers in the back: a pair of well hidden
QS4 surround speakers. I have been playing with 2 pairs of M2 bookshelves speakers for the back to get them out of the curtains, not bad. But the wife would prefer if the speakers stayed on the wall (that one is negotiable). I was thinking for a while going Dolby atmos, the lights that you see hanging could be replaced by speakers but I might be digging a hole for myself on this one. From what I understand from this thread is the more speakers the more window reflection? and curtains might not help that much?
I am very appreciative to all for your feedback and the time you are spending helping me.
Note: All the windows and doors for the family room are up for replacement in the next two weeks, so more to come. More curtains pictures, etc..:
Family Room Curtains 
