New speakers. New room.

I agree with everything the OP had to say. Life, like that room, is full of compromises. Like comedian Jackie (Moms) Mabley used to say, "I see you all looking at my shoes. They may not match my outfit, but they match my feet."

@mijostyn. You might be surprised.I had that same concern. It was unfounded. I have listened to these speakers with three different amps including a nice Bryston (with Shinyata power cable and power conditioner). I would certainly give the edge to the Bryston, but the difference was not a deal breaker by any means and I'm quite happy with the SQ of the Sonos. (I, apparently, do not have golden ears, for which I am often thankful!)

I still have the Bryston amp and choose not to use it. The SQ difference is not enough to warrant the bulky unsightly equipment that my wife would not like the looks of. She would also not use it with the added complexity that most of us take for granted when approaching a full system.

These speakers have a reputation of being finnicky but that has not been my experience. I think they sound great with almost anything you plug them into. A real tribute to AA in my opinion even though I think they kind of enjoy the reputation of making hard to drive speakers. I think that is an appeal for some folks.

But @aewarren is correct, this whole set up is about compromise and so far I think it is well met. The wife is happy. The room hasn't been transformed into my personal listening room (I already have one of those with my primary system). And I find myself listening in there more than I expected that I would. And so has my wife!

Very cool room. Out of place? No. And don't come back with a post that say's, we may have to get a new carpet to match the speaker grilles. Enjoy the music.

For years we used our living room as a museum.  We went in there for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Finally, a friend of mine came over and suggested we turn it into a listening room.  So we did and now we use the living room as much or more than the family room.  We even added a 65 inch Sony XBR TV and we are enjoying it.  We enjoy have people over for dinner and spend time listening to music with them over some wine.  Best decision we ever made.  If you add a nice stereo cabinet between the speakers and add a nice amplifier or receiver, you might be surprised how much your wife likes the sound.  There are some beautiful stereo cabinets available that a beautiful pieces of furniture.  One of our favorite rooms in the house is now our music room.

I found out what your REAL problem is when you posted the pic.  NIKONIANS?  You have been spending too much on photography!  (Me, too!)