I realized I didn't explain a lot of things here. I was asked to shoot these for my interior designer friend's portfolio. I was not really bent on doing this because I didn't think I can do justice to his work. He insisted anyway, so there. Alpha-- to answer your not-so-dumb question-- the realtors built the houses for show purposes only. The houses were ill-planned as these were built without consulting the designer. (Windows here and there, in some no windows at all, the electrical system isn't great, etc.) We tried shooting during the day, but the daylight was much too bright that it drowned the interiors in darkness, even with the lights on (I'll post samples in a while). Flash was ruled out as an option because it just makes everything visible and plain-looking, plus it gives off that ugly glare on shiny surfaces, glass and mirrors. My friend also specified that he wanted to showcase the lamps and candles for the mood, ergo the late afternoon/night shots. The available lighting was still not enough to make everything visible on film so I looked around the place and found (please don't laugh) two 60 watt incandescent spot lamps to use for additional lighting. On top of that, a tripod, the ever-reliable Nikon manual SLR, several bulb exposures, and lots of gut feel. (Notice in the third shot, I placed one of the lamps behind the couch. If there was an electrical source available from the ceiling, we would have placed a bulb in the huge black Japanese lantern.) I kind of like the shots myself, but I know there's lots of room for improvement here (if I only knew what I was doing LOL). I wanted that homey, relaxed feel, but with slightly less yellow. The longer my exposures were, the more yellow I get. Sometimes it's not so bad, and in others it looks great, but there are times when the long exposures already drastically alter the "real" colors. The thing is, I don't know jack schitt about reflectors, soft boxes, set-ups and what not (my photography prof will kill me...), and I don't have the equipment. Now if somebody can provide tips for "makeshift" light set-ups and the effects they produce (in layman's terms please LOL), I would really appreciate it. Thanks for the comments, everyone! (* Btw, Bsteph, what pipe thing? If you're referring to the pair of long things in between the divan and the chair, those are wicker candle holders that were kind of bent due to temperature changes.