Haha. Oh dear
Well the good news is that the HTM-200 SE speakers do about as well in "less than ideal" placement situations as is possible! That's one of the main reasons I recommended them so highly in the first place! So at least if you're forced to place them in those spots, they won't sound awful the way most speakers would. The only real shame is that they won't sound as great as they are capable of sounding if they are placed more "ideally"
I can sympathize with your situation. No home theater system is worth a pissed off wife
But I will say this, I've found a lot of people absolutely HATE an idea until they actually see it in action. I've set up systems for folks who were totally against my furniture placement and speaker placement ideas. With a couple of them, I got them to leave the room, I set things up the way I knew was best. When I brought them back in, they went, "oh! That's actually not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Having the couch there is actually ok! I never thought I'd be ok with that!"
So yeah. Obviously, you know the women in your life far better than I do
I don't know them at all! But you might give that tactic a try. Just position the couch the way I described, maybe even hang a full curtain across that entire wall with the two windows when they're not around. Then have them take a look and assure them that you only did it to see how it really looks and feels in real life. You might luck out and they might actually like it when they see it, rather than just imagining it. Lots of people balk at the idea of a couch that isn't pushed right back against a wall because that's the only way they've ever positioned a couch! But furniture stores sell those narrow tables that are specifically meant to go behind a couch for a reason! Couches that are out in the middle of the room are often LESS in the way that when they're pushed up against a wall. It goes against instinct, which is why people so often avoid it or oppose the idea. But it's really all about walkways and clear lines of sight. Putting the couch in the middle of the room opens up walkways all around the perimeter, and when you're standing, it's easy to see over a typical couch, so clear lines of sight are maintained
Most women LOVE curtains, so I'm a bit surprised your wife doesn't like that idea
I guess she must love windows more...lol
Anywho, that's about the best ideas I've got. Try just positioning the couch the way I said and pinning a big curtain across that wall one day when she's out. She'll probably say she hates it right away without even really looking at it, but try to get her to really look at how well the room functions this way. Also keep in mind that the curtains do not have to be dark. White, light colored or translucent drapes can actually brighten up a room and make it look very fresh and clean. I hung a satin-shimmering golden toned curtain in a basement once. Actually covered right over a non-functional and unused fireplace with it! The folks I was setting up the room for had never ever thought of such an idea, but they LOVED it once they saw it. Said it made the room feel like a stage instead of a dark basement! So yeah, folks can't always necessarily picture what it will actually look like. I say try it, see how it looks and feels in real life. And then decide
My minor surgery was a cinch, by the way. Thanks for asking
I had a thrombosis in a surface vein. Very very not fun
Had to have the surgeon there though because they weren't 100% certain it was fully clotted. If they'd cut it open and it wasn't clotted, I would have just bled and bled until a surgeon could properly close the vein! So yeah, it was really all just a matter of "better safe than sorry". But it was just a clot. Cut it open, took out the clot, all healed up in two days! Easy. But still a bit scary none-the-less. I highly recommend keeping your blood clots on the outside of your body if you can! Stupid blood...
