I have just turned a double internal garage into another room and turned the existing driveway into a courtyard. Swapped the drive to the other side of the front garden and built a Stratco pavillion as a carport. Best decision! Our garage had a 2.5m ceiling so it actually steps down from our hallway opening. I like the idea of integrating the laundry into a large pantry in the kitchen, will be doing the same next. original picture

The right coffee table, throw and wall art are not going to be enough to disguise the fact that you have downsized from a much larger home with your large, dark, formal furniture that dominates a compact room. Have you considered moving pieces to other rooms, or selling it, and buying clean-lined, contemporary style furniture off eBay? This style will fit the proportions of your room, and make it easier to live with your dust free strategy. The beauty of second-hand furniture is that when you can afford to upgrade you can sell it again on eBay. and recover your costs. Never paint perfectly good pieces of timber furniture as it will devalue the pieces. Sell them as is, somebody will cherish them as they are. I would keep the couch, decide on the tone of your new timber floor, and use these two elements to decide on the rest of your colour scheme. Your celing fan/light is also a distraction, so replace with something sleek and contemporary that is not such a feature. Your room layout is problemmatic with the number of doors coming into the room, but it is hard to suggest a better stategy without a floorplan. Best of luck with making this house your new home, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls

It really is all about the rug isn’t it. Really sets the tone of the room but must must must be large enough the old standard 160x230 is really a bathmat. Then the art. Thank god I’ve done the rug part in most of my house it’s one of the hardest parts of putting a room together.

Hi Lindsey, I also agree with the comments regarding adding indoor plants to fill the gaps on either side of the TV. Some great, low-maintenance indoor plants are the Fiddle Leaf Fig, Monstera (also known as Swiss Cheese Plant) and Snake Plant (Mother-In-Law's Tongue). They're all beautiful plants and very ease to take care of. Another option would be to have some open shelving on either side, similar to the one we have used in this Living Room styling below. This could work really well, especially if you have limited storage for some bits and pieces you would like on display. A bonus is that including taller items like this will create a sense of balance in the room, and accentuate the height of your wall which will create an illusion of taller ceilings. Hope this helps! - Elena