the facet, handles and rim area with a paper towel, let it set a few seconds and rinse with hot water spray and wipe with a paper towel to dry and shine You get a sparkling clean, germ free sink at a very low cost and you do not need any special products to do it. My sink always shines and I know it is germ free when I use Clorox to clean it. And if you have rust spots on your sink you do not have a truly "stainless steel sink" or you have one of poor quality, stainless should not rust.

to hold things on the shelf you could change the things on the shelf with the seasons, now for Christmas some tiny toys, Christmas balls, battery candles etc etc, tiny pumpkins and some dry stuff in the fall, some delicate china for Easter or some garage sale colorful plates, or just some things you have around that go well together and look good over the window, I collect antique pitchers, they would look great over the window on a dark stained shelf. You can get inexpensive unstained shelves in any of the craft stores i bought one for my sister to use to display an antique platter. You can then stain it to match your signs on either side. the shelf is the best idea I feel because you do not have to deal with fabric and you get to change it all the time and really have some fun with it in your decor.

the size of a postage stamp that had been a a chicken coop ( yes a chicken coop on Lincoln Avenue in Ridgewood NJ) we had little furniture and this chair moved in and had pride of place in our first house's living room. I covered it in flowered chinz, I loved that chair. When we had 4 boys the chair got hard use and I later sold it at a garage sale we had.

chandelier over it in some style you like that is shiny and reflects light on the table, cover the dining chairs in white slipcovers to the floor. do something with the furniture, everything is so dark and you seem to have little ambient light available. If you like your furniture lighten it up some how , either slipcovers or lots of pillows in some light shades, white, cream, grey, whatever works with your taste. Hang a big mirror over the sofa, if that is a sofa on the left, You could put a light colored rug under the table but I do not feel that will help, you need light and reflection to give it life. Some very large leafy plants near the window might bring some life into the room I would have to see how that works, the greenery might work well to bring some life into it, It seems so gloomy!