We got the IKEA shelves that are pictured in the butlers pantry photo I posted when we were on holiday in Melbourne, Australia. We don't have IKEA here in New Zealand! Hubby is going back over in May/June so will get him to get more of that sort of thing when there. We would pay about 4x the price for that sort of thing here in NZ. I need to work out what I will do now where the fridge was and there is the angle change (does that make sense?).

Try this. Hang the television to the right of the wood stove on the wall opposite the french doors. Use the wall with the high windows for a looong sofa and add two chairs across / angled slightly - low back so you can look over one to television. use console / sofa table on entry /bed door wall just past where entry door opens so you have a lay down surface. Forget glass, it isn't for this era and won't make it feel bigger. Paint ALL french doors inside and out and small windows and entry door same color and trim same color too. Try a charcoal rather than a black - something in the blue-green-gray shades like new providence navy. do all the walls in kitchen and living in a warm white - this tone has the wood as an undertone - http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/woodash then, for the cabinets . . do a bungalow thing and go deeper on the cabinets to a classic drabware tone - with the wood walls and floors / try bm bracken biscuit http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/brackenbiscuit these will all go together like gangbusters, keep it light and bright but interesting and work with a new blue green gray back door in a tone like bm beach glass http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/beachglass templeton gray as a counterpoint on some craigslist piece of furniture . . add warm undertone tan and oatmeal nubby tweed upholstery to start . . the teal navy gray will work with the black iron stove and accents without going black. start keeping the left door to the kitchen closed and get a door stop to hold the other one open permanently . . this will work because you need a little more wall to make the tv work well - in the kitchen, pull your table away from the wall just a tad - consider a padded bench on the wall to provide a kind of sitting space in there and put the chairs across - if you shift your television to the wall (high enough the heat is not an issue , you can still have big speakers work well - and remote the media equipment - run the wire and patch the holes. Hang it mid-height - eye level when you sit plus 15 degrees . . check out the amazing sconces you can put on the entry wall - shades of light petersik pendant with home-made trim wood brace to pump it out from the wall since the power is high? over the console? round wood table in middle - even a hd butcherblock round on a painted drum base in trim tone? With those tones - teal gray, biscuit, creamy off-white, muted blue-greens - paint your white chairs and a hand me down bench wythe blue and find a graphic sunbrella print with a little blue green, chocolate and orange for cushions and pad skirts with velcro at the table . . make a galvinized pipe leg / plank 1 x 12 / clear finish console for behind the door . . now you are cooking with gas . .

You might paint the walls a bold color you really love, but I would recommend staying away from wallpaper as it is costly and too difficult to change. I agree with another poster that wider trim around the doors would help, and I would suggest that you paint all the trim white and add crown molding and a mop-board along the floor-wall junctures. I love the wood-tone door and would keep it as an accent piece and for contrast. You might add large, framed mirrors to the walls to reflect light and perhaps add a console table with a fairly large lamp. An interesting print area rug also can add pizzazz to this space. If you can use the bold wall color as an accent throughout the house, it will help to tie the entire color scheme together and give your home a unified look. In the offset hallway shown in Photos Two, Three, and Four, I would suggest you place a desk and chair and/or perhaps some bookcases and curio cabinets to make an interesting entrance way that can double as a study or home office. As an alternative, you could place a narrow dining table with leaves that fold down to allow easy traffic through the hallway. Above the table you could display some framed mirrors and, in matching frames, family photos that can serve as conversation starters. When you entertain, the fold-down dining table could be pulled out and/or moved to another room to accommodate your guests.

Hi Suz38, Being a creative business you can get away then the most offices so if you can take the challenge and have some fun turning your client meeting room into something crisp bright and colourful. Paint: walls a matt bright white, table - white high gloss white. Chairs: using colour therapy philosphy each chair should be a solid colour - yellow, green, and blue - yellow for optimism, green for creativity, blue for trustworthiness. This subtly sets the mood for the meetings you want to take place in this room. Art: Hang pieces of abstract art using the above colours (you could even have the staff paint them as part of a team building exercise). Lighting: LED strip lighting with covers at skirting board/floor level it'll make the room feel bigger. The covers are imperative for this idea to be appropriate. LED sconces in a sleek architectural design - put one or a pair on the longest wall Then group 12-16 mini 3W LED down lights over the centre of the table these down lights are small lights usually used in cabinet but look spectacular when used in non-traditional ways. During the day they'll add more light to the table and if you keep these grouped on a different light switch/gang you can use it after hours it's perfect for client/staff drinks. It's a very modern and looks glamourous without being over the top. Good luck - show us what you end up with, I'd love to see it.