As a guide - the bigger the room - the bigger the furniture needs to be ! I have, for example , a pair of 8' ( four seater ) sofas in my lounge and the day I ordered them, three times they asked/checked I really had room for two of them, as they were the biggest sofas in the shop !! My lounge is about 6mx5m with 3m high vaulted ceiling - and the sofas actually look the right size, anything 'standard' would look too small in there !!!

I love your fireplace. I would not alter it. The door and the floorboards draw your eye straight to the fireplace. I wouod definitely alter the light fittings. I would have the tv on the dining room wall to the right of the arches. I wouod have one lounge on the window wall opposite the tv and a chair in the corner if there is enough room. I would have an eyecatching wing back chair to the left of the fireplace opposite the dining room and white lacy soft curtains softening the window wall. To the left of the fireplace near the dining room arch you could add some interesting decorating piece. I would concentrate on making the fireplace wall the focal point of the room and the tv corner a secondary focal point that is soft and relaxing. You could trow down a couple of beautiful, thick, soft floor mats to soften the brick and provide a texture contrast. Overall, I love the room, it has character and strength, its not boring and mundane. Good luck! I hope you find something that suits both you and hubby

Annb1997. Thanks for your suggestions. I don't think I need a heated towel rack if have a central heating radiator. A hanging rack would go above this perhaps too but also near the shower. In my lomg experience of CH the towels dry off fine in winter this way. In summer also when radiator not on if the window is open. I really do not like sliding doors on showers so have to find a solution with a 1000mm square shower with door. I have spent two hours today in a showroom looking at all possible combinations. Clearance is insufficient with certain size fixtures as you state with the vanity in the new position. So my homework tonight was choose from all the possible variations that we determined would work. Wish me luck!!

i too prefer symmetry but with limited space this option has worked well for me to store all the things you mentioned including a vacuum cleaner and carpet shampooer but another option for you could be to have the original arrangement and use the broom space as an alcove without a door or walls keeping in mind that the counter needs to be at least 2150 wide for the laundry basket, washer, dryer and skinny tub and should be at least 650mm deep to allow for the water hoses and cords and power points behind, leaving an alcove about 450mm by 1m with no door and a very narrow side opening to squeeze everything in