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.

Hi Courtney, Thanks so much for your reply. Sorry to have taken so long to answer. We have been a bit busy here, especially with a brand new granddaughter born this past week. I have not bought new furniture for the room as my husband is not well and finds the old furniture so comfortable. I have been trying to freshen it up with new accessories instead. What you have suggested looks very nice and down the road we might do that. I appreciate your input.

Burnt orange sounds good! Either that or a bright red, any vibrant colour that goes with your room will work.

I agree you probably need to centre the vanity and the cabinet on the wall or they could look a bit odd! You don't say why you don't want a space between the window and the vanity - just my opinion, but I would think 300mm could be quite useful for a bin, a clothes basket or box, or a small stool for putting clothes on? The only alternative to leaving a space, is to fill it with something as the response above suggested. To avoid it interfering with the window, you could make this something lower, so it sits level with the top of the vanity. This could be built in and the wall lining put over it to create a single "shelf" level with the underside of the vanity top, or if you can find some freestanding open shelving of the correct width, which could also be cut to the correct height, you could wedge that between the wall and the vanity side when fitting the vanity. Just bear in mind also, that you'll lose some of your towel hanging space if you put something too high in the space.