Bark Avenue Invitation

I think Ikea would be good for some of your furniture...such as storage systems, side tables, etc.  But for furniture that is going to get a lot of wear like a couch I would agree that you should go with a better quality maker.  I LOVE Design Within Reach.  [linkhttp://www.dwr.com]http://www.dwr.com[/link]
However, I'm not sure who's reach it's within, because it's certainly not within mine.  lol  It's great minimalist furniture, but it's costly.  If I had the funds I would certainly consider a sofa from them, though.
 
As for color, what colors do you love and what moods do you want each section of your home to exude?  For a living room you may want something more lively and inducive to conversation, whereas a bedroom you may want calming....or something more passionate and romantic.  It's all about color and textures.
 
It sounds like your place is going to be stylin'!

We just purchased a new TV.  We looked at plasma screen TVs, but they still have not been able to correct the burn effect on the screen. In other words, if you leave the TV on a channel like CNN that has the logo in the bottom corner all the time, it will burn the emblem into the screen and it will always be there no matter what channel it is on.  So for the price, no I don't think they are worth it.  They have flat screen LCD TV's that are just as clear.  We ended up getting one, and I have to say, there are some nice ones out there for around $1500 in the 36" size.  If you do your research, you can get a good one for a decent price.  Then again, there is the option of the projection screen set ups.  You could have a drop down screen where you don't have to have it visisble all the time.  Those are pricey though.