The chairs are a good match. Leather is probably best, great for kids' spills and accidents, but any fabric will do. Not sure on purple with green - those two colours together clash a bit for me. The green kitchen looks great, and I'm a fan of dark wood. The only thing throwing it off at the moment is the yellowish coloured walls. If they were repainted a soft white, this would make the green and the dark wood really pop, giving you a fresh and sophisticated, calm look which I think would work well. You could then upholster in a green to match the kitchen which would look appealing. Finish it off by some fresh white flowers as accents in the room to draw the eye and you've got a beautifully transformed space with a fabulous feature dining area :)

Thanks for the replies! My wife suggested we talk to a local real estate agent, so i think that is a good idea... just that Im not sure how helpful they are likely to be if we arent selling yet :) As for saving for our dream house, I dont disagree, however if doing this up nicely over the next ~5 years or so while we live here nets us some extra in the eventual sale, then that of course will help us as well. Interesting thing happened today actually. I got a knock on the door and one of the older neighbours asked if he could take some lemons from the tree. I of course said yes. Anyway he was telling me he had lived in the street for 40 years. I asked him if the house had always looked like this, and he said no that ~30 years ago the old old owner did a massive renovation and pulled off the timber and put up the bricks and gutted the inside of the house. Interesting stuff!

If you think hitting the lamps could be an issue, just move them a bit and add some low accessories (opposite sides to pic below). It's better to have a bit larger lamps and with your ceiling height anything shorter would look skimpy and they don't overwhelm the bedside tables once you balance with something above the bed. Just a thought...if you accessorize your bedding with some soft colors, they will also help to compliment the glass and crystal. You could even change the hardware to a silver.

Beauty and practicality; Mmmmmm ..... When it is something that you love .... real wooden floors. Now vinyl just gets dirty , Ply looses it functionality, real wood however gains a patina. You want that. People pay thousands of dollars for that. Go with the most genuine example that you can afford of what you love. Factor in your budget and add to it, an area at a time and be pleased that your life gives character to it every day. By analogy; A mahogany french polished table will just give you a nervous break down every time someone doesn't use a coaster ... a hardwood table can be replenished over and over with hard wearing protective surface .... which you can repair. If you love it, if it adds genuine warmth and character, you won't mind maintenance. You won't be saying ...." look at this floor , isn't it amazing? It looks just like the real thing?"