Try wood and glass. Consider hanging the mirror vertically and about 5" from the sideboard top. You could also move the table under the light fixture, change it out for a chandelier, and put the sideboard and mirror on the clock wall where the mirror could double the chandy which should hang 36" or less above the table top.

And I would be planting trees – real trees not dwarf versions of trees and no more palms (unless you want to have palm tree themed garden – in which case a lot more palms are needed). I am not advocating planting forest giants but there are trees that will provide shade, shelter and a sense of scale that you won't get from yuccas and buxus and mondo grass and succulents alone. But before you start buying those trees you have a few decisions to make and a bit of analysis to do. 1. Orientation – you need to understand the basics of winter sun and summer sun, how much westerly sun you welcome and how much you need to shelter from it; where your prevailing winds blow from and whether this changes with the season also. So, once you've worked out where you want the sun to penetrate and at what time of the year, how to allow for wind, frost, whatever... you need to 2. Decide if you want a predominantly native garden, a range of deciduous trees or a completely eclectic selection (like the best 'English' gardens – which are planted out with plants from all over the world – Indian subcontinent, Asia, Africa, The Americas etc. Even some from Australia!). 3. Now the tricky bit – what do you love, i.e. which trees and plants make your heart really sing – and hopefully for more than two or three weeks of the year? Once you have that list which of those are likely to be happy in your climate, in your soil and with the amount of gardening attention (watering, feeding, pruning etc) that you're likely to enjoy lavishing on them. Your long list will by now be a much shorter (and more manageable list) but trees are what make a house look bedded in and part of a landscape rather than just sitting out in the open in a way that is both self-conscious and a bit awkward. Although, again I guess you could embrace the suburban awkwardness and go all Howard Arkley in which case keep it all small and suburban... But it is your garden and your house – make it look like what you want your house and garden to look and feel like! Good luck!

I'd like to suggest that the most important thing here is more about who is using the room. If It's a child's bedroom use lovely children's curtains - there's so much around and any pattern could pick up the wall and floor colours. If a guest room and not used often I'd suggest a beautiful velvet or good quality Linen and forbid the little ones from going in to that room!!!!!! alternately a blind attached at floor level could be raised or lowered so the view is still there but with privacy from waist height perhaps. Good luck. Bee

I didn't like any of the stock standard vanities I saw being sold. By chance I happened to see a second hand vanity being sold on FB so I brought it ( see photo). I liked its shape and solid profile but didn't like its colour. I took it to a auto car spray painter and had them spray paint it in Benjamin Moore Kendall Charcoal (a greige grey). They did an awesome paint job with a mirror like finish. I brought a piece of primestone (marble look) for the top, two small towel rails to be fixed in the underside of the vanity that is sticking out so I can hang hand towels on either side. I brought a new tap for it (but kept the vessel basin). I ordered in some new legs for it online because I didn't like the legs on it (see below). Its currently at a joiners getting put together. I've actually enjoyed the process of pulling it all together. Sure by the time it has been put together I probably would have spent the same amount that it would have cost me to do a custom vanity however I think there is something to be said for re-using something a second time round rather than buying into consumerism that abounds us. All up I've spent $1,074 NZD for the vanity, the spray paint job, new legs from www.prettypegs.com, the new towel rails from Reece Plumbing & buying a new Elementi tap. That doesn't include the joiners costs - yet. I needed storage in my vanity. This one fit the bill for me. Good luck with what you choose to do! I am doing a bathroom remodel as well and enjoying it.