Hi Robin, Lovely room - I love the wall colour and bookcase! How much of the bookcase does the leather sofa block? I used to have a sofa against a bookshelf and while I grew used to it it did annoy me a bit with the wasted/hard to access shelf space! You could rearrange the furniture in the room so that the leather sofa had its back to the radiator and the seating area was in more of an L-shape rather than with the sofas opposite each other, and then put a rug/layered rugs down (which always looks nice on floorboards, at least I think!). In terms of what to do above the fireplace - I like the idea of hanging a big artwork, or photographs, or you could hang a large mirror, or both a mirror and artwork!

Hi Ellie, You should have a lintel above the existing window already and therefore if the door is the same width as the window then you shouldn't need to replace this. You will need to consider the damp proof course of the house (depending on the age of the house) and where that sits in relation to the new opening for the door. If you are taking away bricks below the damp proof membrane then you will need to add extra under the door. You will also need to think about how the water sheds off the door cill. A good installer will be able to advise you on this. Unless you are in a listed building or a conservation area where article 4 has been applied by the council you shouldn't need planning permission for this.

Hi There, Taking into consideration the general layout of the space I think that this room could serve well as a dual purpose room, converting it to a study with a play corner for the kids could allow you the opportunity to take care of your daily admin tasks while keeping an eye on the children and as they grow desk space could be made available where they can have their own work stations. Other more extensive options would include a side extension next to the kitchen which would allow you to open up the space more effectively and make use of natural light through the addition of skylights over the kitchen extension. This space could then become a family orientated living area while the front living room could be decreased in size or split in two to form a study and play room for the kids. A under stair storage space could also meet your requirements of a cloak and boot room... We hope our reply has been of some assistance in the decision making process and feel free to contact us should you require any more assistance. I'll be more than happy to advise you further. You can contact me through our site - betterspace.co Good luck, Ed.

If you both like to lie on the sofa then definitely go for a corner or a corner-chaise. It may not look as open/spacious, but you've got to strike the balance between looks and how you like to live. If you can't enjoy relaxing on the sofa then it defeats the point as you just won't use it. We had an amazingly comfy corner sofa which we (and our guests) loved but we had to change it to a 3 seater when we moved house and it just wasn't right for our room. I miss it so much and next time we buy a sofa I will absolutely be buying a corner or a corner-chaise. We like to lie on the sofa too and the 3 seater that we have is way too cramped.