Hi, there! What a great start to this room and a great friend you are for helping this gentleman. 1) I agree with what others have said about placing the two sofas facing each other perpendicular to the fireplace, with the coffee table in between and turning the rug. 2) I also agree that the artwork is what should go above the fireplace, not the tv. Then I think the tv could go on the wall opposite the fireplace, if there is enough room. But if placing the tv in the room with the artwork above the fireplace is difficult, then the tv could go above the fireplace. 3) It's hard to tell where the chandelier is located, but if possible, I'd swag it to be centered over the coffee table and centered with the fireplace. 4) I'd place a large tufted bench with roll arms and small side table or floor lamp in the bay window. This can easily be moved aside or in front of the fireplace during Christmas to make room for a large Christmas tree. 5) I'd go with a medium to dark grey on the walls, leaving the moulding white and LOVE the idea of the accent color of purple on the fireplace wall. I'd also paint all the radiators in the same color as the walls to "hide" them a bit. (You can also have boxes built around the radiators to make it look like a piece of furniture.) 6) If you move the artwork, you will have a blank space between the wall sconces. If those are permanent fixtures, you could place an assortment of mirrors on this wall arranged like artwork. 7) I would find a nice buffet (maybe something like this: http://www.westelm.com/products/parsons-mirror-console-g199/?pkey=cconsoles-buffet-tables&cm_src=consoles-buffet-tables||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_--_-) to place under the sconces, then you can place the chairs to either side of the buffet. It would be a great counter to have for entertaining purposes, to put out an assortment of appetizers. And a design like this, you don't have to be too concerned with covering up or getting too close to the radiator. And the chairs can be stored to either side, but be brought out into the main area for entertaining. Alternatively, you could place a large decorative floor mirror leaning against the wall between the sconces (with the chairs on either side) and place a nice buffet console table behind the couch across from it. 8) To either side of the fireplace in the "nooks", I would put some wood console tables or cabinets (they don't have to be a matching set) in a deep rich java. On top of those, I'd place a tall buffet table lamp and place either one nice piece of art on the wall above or an arrangement of smaller art. You could also do one piece on one side and an arrangement on the other. 9) I would straighten the back couch cushions to make them look more streamlined and place the accent pillows against the back in somewhat of a line, rather than haphazardly. So, there would be one small accent pillow for each of the back pillows or at least evenly spaced out. Golds and bronzes would also look lovely with the greys and purples and I like the idea above about adding something zebra print, too. You have such great pieces to work it, I think most of it will just take rearranging and adding a few things here and there. Good luck! I would love to see the "after" photos!!!

Assuming the door opens fully, I'd be tempted to have it always open and tucked behind the sofa (pull it forward slightly). Or if you need it closed in the winter, just keep it always closed. Then you could stick basically with your layout, with the chairs pulled in and centred more on a large rug

hi Alison, it is unlikely that the system can hold back water and over spill to the floor above. it looks to me like the membrane was finished at a high level and not taken further up the wall. As the room is a basement water will travel through brickwork through capillary action and you probably have damp on the wall in the ground floor of the property. unless you have running water going into the basement the system that was installed can work. it is not always necessary to have a full sump system when using the membrane. I'm not sure what the ground floor area at this is like, but it may be you have a problem with rainwater at ground level. check the drainage and ensure that you have water flowing away from the property. possibly add a aco type drain against the front of the house to collect water and run it to a drain. check that you dont have broken gullet, but dont do anything until you have these itnes checked as it is a cheaper solution. if you have to install a sump, you can do this without installing a perimeter drainage and it will still work as the water will find the lowest point. Get a reputable company to look at the work done. it may be better to employ a surveyor to carry out a thorough inspection and report. companies tend to want to opt for their work to replace what could be fixed. I hope this helps!! Rowland

Hi again & thanks for all the advice/opinions so far. We are thinking of all vertical lines with the windows now, mainly because it appears easier on the eye. Hopefully we won’t miss the small openers too much. Downstairs will be sliders for the window & doors. Can anyone help with frame colour? If we stick with the brown brick (which I find dreary/dark tbh & is very marked/damaged) then we’d go with light window frames. My preference would be off white or a similar pale neutral. However, the front windows aren’t being replaced so will stay pure white for now. The soffits & fascias are white. The other half of our semi next door is white. How would this work - would we need to change fascias to a different colour so as to link the white & off white? The other option is to paint or render or clad the rear of the existing house to disguise the old brick. This could possibly allow us to venture into a different colour for the windows & doors at the back, maybe pale olive green or similar. Is this a no no when part of a semi detached building? Should we retain the same look as our other half, even if it is dated? Any advice much appreciated. Really want to brighten the house up but without making it stick out like a sore thumb as it’s semi rural here with a lot of mixed housing stock (mostly character builds). Attaching an attempt at a mock up if that helps…