Hi. The main problem with the hall is the flooring - which I guess you know from your comments on it. It's sucking the life out of it and making it appear smaller. Regarding storage I would go for a large wardrobe style piece in the corner where the unit it. Height for coats and low shelves for shoes. Beside it keep the plant. You may not notice it but the middle of the space isn't actually used that much so I would lose the bits and pieces around the edge of the room and go for a round table in the centre of the space with a stunning light above (in your homes style). This (once the floor is done) will look stunning, inviting and grand. On here is where I would put my key trey! :)

So with the windows, I’m hoping to keep whatever goes in the dining area symmetrical with the play area as when you look from the sitting room you can see both clearly and I feel it will look best if the symmetry is kept. I was thinking of Roman blinds. Perhaps wooden shutters. I won’t be able to play with the the weight of curtains on one side or the other because of the fixed toy storage on the opposite side preventing curtains from hanging neatly and also the drawers from opening (they go right up to the wall).

Hey! We might have a few options that could suit your space. I had a look at the links and I really like https://www.heals.com/joule-4-light-pendant.html. This particular style is very popular at the moment, especially with a lovely frosted or even transparent glass sphere. I have linked a few options below that may tickle your fancy, hope this helps! https://www.darklightdesign.com/nuura-miira-1-glass-pendant/ https://www.darklightdesign.com/tradition-bulb-sr1-pendant/ https://www.darklightdesign.com/brands/tooy/tooy-nabila-pendant/ Olivia Darklight Design

My suggestion woukd be to knock through your kitchen and dining room. Turn your existing study into a utility/bootroom/pantry. Put a door with a keypad lock on it (similarly the side gate) which will really encourage you/the kids to use it raher than the front door. Put your kitchen cabinets floor to ceiling along the stairs wall and continue to the back of the house with the last door being a ’secret’ door into the boot room. At the bottom end of the stairs ne of this run of cabinets' , build a lower level cabinet to house the guinea pigs (following the kitchen cabinet line but not tall so the stairs don’t feel narrow). Don’t worry about your comfy chair but definitely Use the money you save on not building an extension to tidy up your patio and get some comfy chairs out there. Maybe even a glass veranda cover if money allows. Similarly, buy comfy bar stools for your island and you’ll sit there all day. Make sure you have a socket in your island somewhere to plug in a laptop. The kids can do their homeweork there while you potter. The rest of the dining room become a dining/sitting room and your living room becomes a snug/study. These two activities rarely happen at the same time but it means that working from home is not confined to a cupboard. Your front door is then a non-muddy entrance for grown ups and guests. One last thing, if you have a dog, put a hot/cold mixer tap outsude the bootroom to rinse the dog outside before bringin him in. Good luck with it all.