I won't bother with lattice, barrels are partially obscured from the street by fencing and if I put it up I would have to work around the lattice in order to turn the valves for water. If I can just make better use of collected water I'll be happy. We are at the end of our growing season so I should be cleaning up the garden and putting it to bed for the winter, just can't seem to get motivated. We had our first frost last week. Usually, our average early frost date is 1 November. I got almost no produce from garden this year, but there is always next year. Chookchook2 I've seen some of those decorative metal panels and they are gorgeous, sure hope your budget will allow you to get some before too long. Most of our state has been on fire for a good part of the summer. The closest is across the river from us and they have been battling it for almost a month. Some friends have had to evacuate repeatedly. We've only been concerned once, a small grass fire on our side of the river on a day we had wind gusts up to 65mph. Fortunately, it was put out quickly. Australia and New Zealand have both sent firefighters to help with the blazes. I can't begin to tell you how appreciative we are. The closest fire was fought for almost a week by local volunteers only as there were no other resources available. They were all on other fires. The Army National Guard (reserve troops) were called out to help with support duties and for the first time ever the federal Department of Natural Resources (DNR) asked for civilian volunteers to help with non firefighting tasks, cutting fire breaks, moving supplies etc.

Having only 4 feet above your face sounds tight to me. Guess you could have a couple of people hold a thin piece of plywood at that height as you lay on the floor. Think I would move the doggie den somewhere else and use a couple of those feet for the sleepers.

Wow! What an incredible view you have! I think you first need to frame it out. I would suggest changing out the carpet with hardwood floors with a worn or weathered look. Definitely get rid of the plastic and replace with white base moulding. Next I would paint the walls a color in the pale grey or grey/blue family. Next, I would suggest some crisp white sheers to frame each window. In the pictures, it looks like the Windows on the right are two windows wide. If so, I would also place panels in the middle of those 2 windows to continue framing the view. These are for decorative purposes only and not intended to distract from the view. It looks like there is a big space between two of the windows. I would locate a large architectural piece to place on that wall to add some interest. Remove all the small items from the window ledges. Finally, I would love a round table in that space. Good luck with your reno!

Can I make a suggestion: Is is quite hard to gauge the space / layout by the two photo's you have posted. Have you considered adding a picture of the floor plan even if it is just a hand drawn rough drawing.