As chookchook said in her recommendation about painting, put a drop cloth on the floor. Get a very safe ladder. remove the lightbulbs, and cover the outlets. Turn off the electricity to the chandelier. Then spray it with a mild cleaner (I use one I found at Target that's basically water with vinegar, until it's dripping wet. Start at the bottom and work your way up, so you don't have dirty spray dripping on the bottom of the chandelier.Work your way up and down until the dripping spray is clean. The chandelier may be gorgeous and expensive, but it seems totally out of place in the architecture of the room--more at home in a chalet than a sunny room with a window wall. I would probably try to find a way to get it removed, and sell it to someone who appreciated it better than I.

Sorry I am so late coming to your site - you are an inspiration to all, homeowners and advisers alike. For your planting advice, I suggest you call Merrifield Garden Center to see if they will come out your way. They currently have wonderful garden centers in Merrifield and Fairfax (both in Fairfax County) and a new one in Gainesville, but they may come further south to wherever you reside. (www.MerrifieldGardenCenter.com) Even if they don't send designers to your area, they are worth a trip to see their huge selection for a day of pleasure and inspiration, or to pick up some plants. Most of my clients are in the Fairfax and greater Washington area, but I am currently living out west below Front Royal, VA on the Shenandoah mountainside - wonderful views. cascio.offsite@gmail.com

Create a front porch across 2/3 of the front of the house by extending the existing sloped roof on the right side of the house ( except create a balcony behind and between the existing vertical columns). Alternately, create a balcony and porch just around the two existing vertical columns, extending the porch beyond the two existing columns. Use the balcony rail and the porch columns to create the Mediterranean look you seek (arches) -- the effect would be striking. You'd then need some huge planters or cut some holes in the pavement to create a greenspace in front of the porch and/or use hanging baskets. http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2015/3/7/0/Barron-Custom-Design_Shore-Vista_53.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.1280.853.jpeg http://st.hzcdn.com/simgs/d94192130c498e54_4-8517/mediterranean-porch.jpg http://www.ebby.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/25586526-0.jpg

Thanks very much for all your feedback. Just to answer a few queries - the deck is directly outside the main room so the new doors open out onto it. The doors won't be French - they're just the only doors that the 3D planner I'm using had, they'll actually be large stacking doors. I've had another idea too which would be a lot more expensive but offers a completely different approach. This is quite rushed so doesn't show accurate layout of kitchen or anything like that, basically just provides an idea. Thoughts!?