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 . .

Mine are 5 years old, get cleaned once a year and still look good. They do age into a mellow white which I can live with.

Hi there, this is very touch. But you have discovered the base principle already, soft materials or materials with a lot of surface area absorb the sound. Just shooting out some quick ideas here for you: A soft and thick rag or bath Matt on the floor. Curtains are a good sound absorber, but not to much in a moist bathroom. Potential mold issue ;-) Another idea could be to hang bathrobes on hooks or a fabric laundry hamper onto the back of your door. If you find its still not enough.... since your walls are already tiled. you could do something on your ceiling... like a timber slat ceiling or a painted plywood paneling with holes in it. Make sure you use polycaprithane paint for moisture protection on the timber.... hope this helps. If there are questions or you need more help, feel free to send me a message. Cheers Gunnar

Thank you for your comments. I really appreciate your help. I think we are on the same track. The rugs I have brought home have fought with the terracotta colour plus the busyness of the small tiles. I did come across this picture on Houzz, which I think looks good. What do you think? It would need some of that burnt orange from the chair upholstery as well as the aubergine to tie in but I liked the dark border line, it matched with the grout.