Really old thread , so my apologies for bringing it back from the dead . If Roni is still around ( i.e. notifications get through ) -- what did you do in the end ? Personally , I don't like the red beams in the ceiling , or the blue chairs . But I quite like the warmth of the wood in the dome , so I would have done the beams or rafters ( just the few lower ones ) in a charcoal , left the floor and ceiling as they are , changed the seats to a red or burgundy -- either reupholster or replace with complete new seats . And those witches hat lightshades -- go trendy modern all round balls or similar , maybe with bright red cords and/or brass fittings or similar .

Ozbern: we had a similar dilemma, lovely backyard and then they started tearing down bungalows and building four story townhouses all around us. I built a single depth pergola along the back property line, the beauty of this is not only the privacy, but it brings the scale of the yard down to make it feel more intimate when we are outside. We also added a 10' x 10' (little over three meters) pergola right up against the house where we had a wall of windows. Will try to find that photo too. We have coral vine now growing in it. Dies in winter, comes back in spring. You can always do more contemporary details if this is too casual.

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!

I love the general concept of beams and adding beams, but in this space with the ceiling as it is in the drawing, I think adding beams at lower levels makes things too busy architecturally, considering the soffitt and all of the other planes, angles, and openings.