Looks like a small space. Gray lest her with chrome legs sofa 2 sestertius. Think scale. Place sofa to look at view or a TV.? Not sure what room is used for? Get 2 swivel chairs in a fabric print. Yellow and gray works. No rug over rug. Never lays right. A black small 20" round metal coffee table. Lamps in stainless with white shades with end tables buy sofa. If TV a long low media in black or white. Ikea, go there for all your needs. Good price, and some great art. There is the London underground 40" for over sofa. Hang all art 6-7" above top of furn. Keep it low, clean sleek lines. Not too big. On windows gray and white print panels on ends of windows only. Ikea. Hang on a black rod. They should touch the floor. Accessories on coffee and other tables. Tall pots in black, grey, yellow. Teal, or blue green works with gray also. Keep sofa always a solid color and chairs can be a contemporary design. Use only one accent color in a small room. Carry same accents to other rooms to tie together.

If you are after plans of architecturally designed homes, magazines may be your best bet (try libraries as you are unlikely to get most at the newsagent), however there are also a number of open homes and architecturally designed homes that are open to the public, including the Rose Seidler House. Also, if you are trying to get away from the kit-home look, take note of how the architects and designers use everyday material creatively in unexpected ways to achieve a highly polished look. As for your floor plans, further work is needed to the downstairs plan. I would seriously question whether you need two bathrooms downstairs. The bathroom for the guest room could be used by everyone (maybe consider setting it up as a three-way bathroom). You can remove the doors between the pantry and the butler's pantry, it is already hidden and just uses up space. As MB Design & Drafting has said, there is a lot of empty space on the downstairs plan and there is going to be an empty void around the meals area. Also of note, try to have continuity in your windows - that is, try to minimise the number of different sized windows and ensure they are standard sizes where possible (its cheaper and more cost effective to make 10 of one thing rather than 10 custom sizes); and try to ensure that the header and sills have a relationship. You have engaged an architect as you feel they are able to successfully design you ideal home. I would suggest giving the architect the ability to experiment and push your brief, otherwise you are doing yourself and them a disservice and you should have gone to a draftsperson how would have simply just drawn up your ideas as you stated them. You are on the right track, so don't give up! Often a design needs lots of discussion between the client and the architect before a great design can be achieved. Whilst it is wonderful that public forums such as this exist, ultimately the discussion needs to occur between yourselves and the architect as you are the ones who will be living there. Take time to listen to their ideas, and don't be afraid to question something you don't understand.

I do like the idea of the hob in the island so you can be connected to the living area while cooking, but splatter can be a problem. Have you thought of connecting the island to the bench under the window, and putting the hob at that end of it? That way you could have a low splashback in front of the hob. It looks like you've got plenty of space to be creative with the shape of the bench here if, as I suspect, there are doors adjacent to this area. When I lived in Italy, I saw an apartment kitchen where the space was very limited, and they had a door to the balcony from the kitchen, so they had to very creative with the layout. The bench was a lovely sinuous shape, which tapered from the bar/eating area to a narrower end in front of the door. It was absolute genius. The sink and dishwasher could also move to this area if you have the budget to move the plumbing, keeping your cooking and clean-up area together, and the splashback would provide a bit of cover for dirty dishes. I like the idea of moving the cooking and cleaning zone away from the thoroughfare of the stairs. Alternatively, you could move the pantry into the alcove and put the sink where the pantry is currently. You could make the alcove area galley style, which would make that area feel more spacious. Am I right in thinking that outside the kitchen window is an outdoor dining/living area? Are you planning on changing the window so that it opens up more? A bar either inside or outside the window would provide a nice connection from the kitchen to the outside, especially if you move the hob to this area. You have so much space here that your options are pretty much endless. I suggest having a good play with cutouts of your appliances on a floor plan to see how you could make the space really sing.

I'd agree with adding darker colours to the mix... if reupholstering things is not in the budget just by adding chocolate, charcoal or navy blue to the chair and bedding will help. Add some rougher textures, chunky knits, pin stripes, vintage linen and right on trend velvet.... Adairs have a sale for another couple of days on their linen and other products https://www.adairs.com.au/search/?q=Vintage+washed+linen Accessories to consider are things made of dark marble, timbers, geometric shapes and gold... A bold feature wall could give some mood to the room again in the above colours.