Whatever you decide to do with that side wall, I would suggest that you keep the idea of an "art gallery" in mind. The furnishings/accessories you currently have in the room are strongly suggestive of this theme. Even your kitchen is very "artsy". For the buffet/bar, I would suggest three ideas. The first picture is of a mid-century modern console. If you are into the eclectic idea, some wood would bring some warmth to the space while at the same time keeping with the modern vibe. The second picture stays very closely with what you already have in the room - black, sleek, modern but also brings in a bit of wood for warmth. The third picture goes in an even more eclectic direction with a very ornate console painted in a gloss black. All three ideas would work so it's really up to your personal taste. For the shelves above the bar/buffet, I would go with all glass as in the fourth picture. I would try to keep most of the barware in clear glass so that the items on the shelf will still have a "lightness" to them. Keep books, etc. in the drawers in the console. Liquor could be arranged on a mirrored tray on the console itself. Keep clutter to a minimum. I'd still like to see some art on that wall, too. Another idea would be the last photo, which is my least favorite, but, again, its a matter of preference. Replace the green portion of the wall with red and I would do the wooden cabinetry in black and the shelf in glass. One more idea, to bring the red into the lounge area, consider a red rug with a sculpted design to fit under the entire sofa area. Any chance we could see a pic with the sofa in the middle of the room? [houzz=] [houzz=] [houzz=] [houzz=] [houzz=]

Fascinating to watch this transformation. I would suggest removing the wall from floor to cill level from below the old living room window opening to create a more open plan and wider feeling space. Obviously this would mean moving the radiator as well but it may help with the flow from living to dining room (difficult to tell if this is definitely the case without floor plans so this is an assumption). It would also make the living room much lighter.

Hello jasa05, How about an oversized mirror? You could lean it up against that back wall which would be rather interesting 8ft x 6ft and there's a shop on ebay that sell them this big.. (You can then paint it to blend if you like with the wall colour).. Not only reflecting even more light but it's a gr8 focus to a room.. What about then swapping the sofa and armchair around the distance between the chair is good from the wall as you could have a console behind it for example with something interesting on it.. Or lamps or something purely decorative... You might then situate the floor lamp in the corner of the two with perhaps a table lamp on that side table you have that has magazines on it.. You could further define the room with a coffee table.. The black chair could be in the opposite corner (dining side) facing the seating and thus you have chairs that face each other ready for conversation.. : ))

I agree that the room should be designed with the size of the table in mind; does it need to seat 10 all the time? An extendable table can be a good idea if you would only need to seat the larger number on separate occasions. One thing to think about are bi-fold glass doors; something along the lines of what so many people use at the back of their houses going out to the garden these days. These can be made for internal use as well, and would allow you to have the space almost completely open (just taking up the space of the folded doors), but closing if off for air conditioning on the days that that is necessary. That way you could also be more flexible with furniture arrangements, as the use of the rooms becomes more fluid according to need.