Horay we have only finished the house after 5 years !! ...a couple of pics of the living rm. After all your comments (Thank you x) we embraced the dark! ...we have now sold after 2 days and are off to do it all again!! Have a new design dilemma in our new purchase so will be posting for some help !! :-)

I love little nooks like this! Why not get in touch with your local timber merchant and source some reclaimed wood to hang as shelves, one above the other. Find some eclectic accessories to dress the shelves and add character to your room. To fill the floor space why not put a dresser for your bits and bobs, socks, ties, jumpers, etc. That might help to free up storage space in the rest of your room. Some gunmetal coloured pendant lighting dropped from the ceiling will look really stylish if possible, otherwise your current spotlight will work just as well. You can then transfer the style to the rest of your room, I think it will suit your bedding and light wood floor really nicely. http://houzz.com/photos/192218 Good luck!

I don't mind the current colours although a greys and beiges tend to suck light out of a room, a brighter colour rather than just white will help. I agree with much of what Jill says above, with a few tweaks ... the lighting needs attention. The room needs some interest, colour and texture to create depth. Get a larger rug, more colourful, with organic pattern which draws the eye outward. Big enough to sit the furniture on. Pick up some of the colours from the new rug and get some cushions. A couple of plants would help with texture and add life to the room. I know you are using the mirrors to add light and space but the one under the stairs is just reflecting the underneath of the stairs ... try a colourful print of a pathway between trees for example, to draw the eye beyond the room otherwise it's a bit bland. The TV is just on a stand that is too small and a bit low, go for a wider piece or try positioning the unit against the other wall in that same corner so it is facing the sofas, then the TV won't look so out of balance. If you make the room a bit livelier and interesting the light issue won't be such a problem. Consider pale turquoise walls for example rather than just white and add some artwork.

So one way to do this would be to knock down conservatory, and replace it with a much shorter full width extension across the back (out to the front edge of the patio). Then kitchen & living & new extension are knocked together to form big open plan space. Garage is split in two and becomes study at the front (accessed from hall) and utility at the back (works well with side access). Sitting room stays as is. Expense is not small but depends partly on how many pillars you can live with in your open plan space. Having said all this, you have an unusual plot with all that land to the side, so there may be some completely different options using that! Might actually be better building that way as you can retain more of your rear garden.