squeakerd - it is really hard to get a perspective on the whole area but if this is part of a much larger area then I feel you need to first decide just what you want as the end result. Do you just want your entire area to be one open plan or do you want to break it down into visually defined areas within the open plan. As you have the area now, I don't feel any cohesiveness between your table and the sideboard, I think I would move the sideboard to the end wall, it looks more like it would belong there, even just by the shape of the room. Definitely a larger rug will define the space better - just be careful of any trip hazard with the door nearby - but before you decide on the rug, consider window dressings and whether you want things plain or introduce some bold patterns and what colours look best in the area. Artwork can go where your sideboard is now, but again think colours and impact of design on the whole area. It is all very well to build a room around one piece, but you need to look at the impact that piece will have on other items and what limitations it could cause. I would suggest you set aside some serious time to look through photos on Houzz, especially if you can find areas similar to yours, till you find what appeals to you, put the photos into your ideas book and use that to build your room. I have found this invaluable in the past and it has saved me many an expensive mistake.

I would avoid using dark colors in a room with wood paneling as it would make your space gloomy. You also don't need to match the dining room set. I would go with a very light and fresh cream with very light brown stripes. You could also choose something like this (https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/57/8f/6a/578f6abfb4e7b991e594b64cf4f2c174.jpg) to add the blue to the mix and have more colors.

A small sink would fit in the second floor plan w/c. its 2.8mx 1.4m so definitely enough room. If we use the last floor plan with separate w/c then it opens up the bathroom to be 2.7mx 3.2m which for New Zealand standards is a big bathroom for a shower, bath and vanity. I'm still trying to decide if the space for the dining and kitchen areas are big enough?

Hi , I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this , or whether it's even allowed , but a question here on Houzz today got me thinking about a house my parents built . I spent my childhood living there , so it is probably the most 'special' memory for me . The moderators can delete this if its not suitable , and anyone and everyone can add to it . . . . . . . . . . So it was 1973 in rural New Zealand , my parents were farmers and ambitious , they had bought their first farm about 5 years earlier , and had just bought the neighbouring property . They wanted to take on staff , and it was either build them a new house , or one for 'us' . I was just starting at school , and the old wooden farmhouse was nice -- the old slide up windows , wooden floors , nice verandas -- it was fun . They decided we would get the new house , and unbeknown to me then , they must have been mortgaged up to the eyeballs , but they got an architect , chose a nice slightly sloping spot ( the joys of many hectares to choose from -- or maybe the few facing the road with a view too ! ) , and a plan was put in place haha ! Being a sloping section , it was built on 3 split levels . I think that was fairly common then , but this was slightly different -- the top 3 bedrooms , one bathroom , one toilet , and office , had an 8ft ceiling height . The next 2 bedrooms and another bathroom and toilet , and the garages and storage ( which was basically a wing out the back ) had a 9ft stud . Then down 3 or 4 steps , and the lounge , kitchen , dining , washhouse , and family room had an 11 foot stud ! The lounge had a huge ( for the period ) glass window , from memory 9 ft tall and something like 14 ft wide . One piece of glass . Hopefully strenthened glass -- we never broke it in 20 odd years luckily ! With 4 opening windows down one side . Aluminium framed , like every window in the house . So we are talking 1973 , very high ceiling , large glass window . The entire house was in a weird ( but trendy at the time ) chocolate brown brick , but roughcast on the outside with these charcoal big flecks sticking out half an inch or so . And here was where it got more unusual -- the opposite side of the lounge ( opposite the huge window ) was done as a feature wall , in the same brick , inside ! So this huge 11 foot tall brick wall as a feature wall in the lounge ! Strange ? Well -- about 2ft 6" in front of that was another wall , in the same brick , about 2ft 6 tall -- yes , a planter ! The middle 3 foot or so of this planter had a 'ledge' , and our huge 25" TV ( or whatever was huge at the time ) was on this ledge , almost hiding amongst all the leafy plants , in pots , in this planter box ! I guess iconic 70's , just seems a bit naff now . And one weird thing ( knowing what I know now , it makes sense ) -- a long house on a sloping section , built on 3 split levels , but with a flat ceiling , would look weird wouldn't it ? Even with a large feature window , it'd look quite boring ? Umm , no . I didn't know it at the time , but this must be where architects come into their own . The 'rumpus room' ( it would be called a family room these days ) on the left hand end had a ranch slider , with a terrace out the front , and the ( tiled ) roof came 4 or 5 feet out from the front , to cover this terrace . And this room was maybe 20 foot deep , most of the rest of the house 30-35 feet . So this roofline was a foot or so lower , and 3 foot lower at the peak , than the rest . Then was the dining room , with the kitchen behind it . Set back 5 or 6 feet , so quite a deep terrace , with a 6foot square fixed window and the main entrance door . You could just about hold a conference of 30 people on that terrace , out of the rain haha . The kitchen was at the rear , and had windows on the side wall ( as it was quite a bit deeper than the 'rumpus room' ) and one of those glass things with angled glass on top and sides ( bay window ? ) at the rear . This 'section' , and the lounge ( with laundry and a seperate toilet and a sewing room and a hallway , all behind the brick feature wall ) , all had the same roof profile . Then the whole house 'stepped back' 3 foot , as well as 'stepping up' 2 foot , so it had a whole new roof profile . And then the 'top' part stepped up another foot , but slightly strangely , also forward 1 foot . So outside was 4 completely seperate roof profiles -- inside were 3 split levels , but the ceiling was completely flat ! From memory , it was about 2200 square foot ( which was big back then ) , and another 1000 or so garage and storage . I'm not sure if they were joking or not , but Mum and Dad used to say that the garage was put around the back , because if it had been added on the end , people would think we were rich haha ! I think the house was about 90 foot long , the garage would have added another 40 ! And for anyone wanting modern measurements , work it out yourself haha . Whats your story ?