There are lots of very minor and/or free tweaks that you can do to the whole floor space which will change the feel and lift it. Firstly move the floor standing lamp (and side table?) out of the way and push your sofa right up with an inch or two to spare before it touches the wall. Then on the opposite end site the lamp (and side table?) and put your telephone on it rather than balancing it on the back of the sofa. By moving the sofa up, the space immediately feels larger when you walk in. The lamp by the door and over the back of the sofa will serve two functions -1. it will make a nice soft over light for reading or relaxing & 2. it demarks room division (which you have done very nicely with the shape of your sofa.) Next move the sideboard to the right of the radiator so it is covering the plug points to the left of the fireplace (as you look at the fireplace sat on the sofa) Hang the wall mirror over it and keep what you have on it already - that's a good job. You now have penty of space to walk around the table especially if dining guests are mingling bewteen the kitchen, dining room and lounge. Lower the height of the mirror and wall art - it should be at eye level. You have lots of lovely art in similar frames. They are mounted a little too high and you could gain more impact by grouping them as they are relatively small in size. Re. the art I would suggest making the frames darker in order to match the dark chocolate colour of the sofa. At the moment you have lots of oak (incl. the floor) and consequently nothing is "popping out" as a feature. Darkening the frames will achieve this along with grouping the art. You have a great colour palette but maybe you could add a colour pop? Gold or organge would add to the space - change the rug, add a throw, fill the mantel piece with vases and containers of flowers of various heights in a couple of colour popping colours and bijouterie. Add texture. What you have done so far looks great but sometimes it takes a fresh eye just to tweak. I am at this stage with my lounge. I'll be posting it up in a week or two. It's finished but it's missing something and I don't know what!

Hi David. An exciting new project you have there! Here are my initial thoughts: Living room: I would lose the warm tones and pattern, as I think this is what is making it feel dated for you, and introduce some grey and white, with possibly a touch of petrol blue. Shutter style blinds may be nice for your windows - you can get well designed yet affordable slatted blinds that resemble shutters these days. Again, I would stick to white and keep it fresh. I would build in a chimney breast for your TV, and how about a modern style log burner? Prints work well on cushions, so if you did want to re-introduce some pattern into a more modern setting, I would mix geometric printed cushions with simple plain ones to break them up. There are lots out there at the moment. If you wanted to keep the oak floors, you could look into sanding them back and grey-washing for a modern feel or indeed keep them oak. Just by sanding them back they will begin to feel a bit more modern. Note - oak changes colour over time, so if in direct sunlight it will start to go a warmer colour. Bedroom: Remove arch if you can, which would open the space up quite a bit. Perhaps the curtains could go and you could go for a fabric roman blind instead - this would soften the windows a little, yet still feel modern. Plain white waffle bedlinen is always a good move, and if you like a pop of colour, layer it with a throw and blanket, as well as three - four cushions, stacked in front of the pillows. This could introduce a little colour for you. If you stick to cooler colours, you could keep the oak floor if you wanted to, as it may balance out nicely. Can't quite see your pendant light in the shots, but perhaps white origami style pendants and lamps with soft glows would be nice. Keep it fresh, yet soft as this is the room you want to relax in. Greys and tonal colours work well in bedrooms. Not sure if you were planning on keeping your furniture or not, the black could work well for a modern setting, but if you were, you could look at white or grey gloss styles as options. This will keep it looking clutter-free with streamlined pieces. Hope this helps a little. Fi

Hi Doz, RE THE CHAIR: I really like the chair, if it were me I would re upholster. It's a little retro but thats a good thing. Try shopping around for quotes re upholstery to see if the price is fair. If you really want to breath life into the sofa strip the woodwork and re stain black. Re holster the grey cushions. Add some really nice large cushions (Patterns but stick to one colour) RE CEILING I must confess I normally remove these or over clad. I have tried painting but they always look oppressive even with a coat of paint. Here is a hall I did, the before was painted boards, the after was with the ceiling re plastered. BEFORE = PAINTED T&G AFTER = T&G REMOVED AND CEILING RE PLASTERED Hope that helps, Regards, Martin www.angel-martin.com www.3dinteriorillustration.co.uk

Thank you minnie101, I did have a keyboard behind the door in the lounge which was taking up a bit of the room available to the single chair to the right of the fireplace, but that has now gone so I can shift the cream sofa up a bit, however I can't really move it too much as it looks funny when it's not central to the window, and same with the brown sofa against the panelled wall. Maybe it's just me being too picky but it makes my skin crawl a bit if it's "out"! :D When we first moved in and were trying to fit our furniture in I tried multiple layouts and so far this is the one that works best for me, and I would prefer to keep all the lounge furniture together, although I have looked at maybe getting something for the bedroom, but so far nothing has jumped out at me, and I'm afraid things really do have to scream before i buy them!! :) I fully agree with your suggestion of a lamp, although the spots are dimmable it definitely needs a lamp too. And thank you for your suggestion of a throw, I hadn't thought of that I will keep a look out for the right one. I like the pic you included of the mirror on the chimney breast, I hadn't thought much about doing it that way round as I had been thinking of putting art on the chimney breast and mirrors in the alcoves and moving the letters somewhere else, maybe getting a table/shelf/ bookcase or something. You've definitely given me food for thought.