Hi everyone, I'd like to thank you all for your input. Have been a busy spring and summer, but now I'm back and able to focus on the living room. Couple of things have been done/removed since lately: 1. Leather lounge set: I've (luckily) sold the leather lounge set - absolutely great piece with great quality, but not my taste at all. It made a world difference to the living room and even dear hubby, who liked the set, did acknowledge that the difference of less furnitures is great. 2. The rug 3. The white cabinet 4. New curtains with pelmet I love the pelmet although it's old style and yes, the curtains are too short! Will amend this at later stage :) These changes have made a huge impact on the room. Also, I'm also open to change the dining table with chairs for another nice option in an attempt to make this more interesting/cozy/inviting. So, these are the only things that I won't be able to change (we may (note on may) also move house by the end of this year/early next year) # Blinds # Colour of trims and built-in bookcase # Camel back sofa - I'm happy to reupholster it though and change the fabric. This will cost $2000 but I think it's worth it since they are really comfortable and are of good quality. I'd like to integrate the white frame with the gold poster in the design - an idea is to place 3x posters on the biggest wall of the air conditioner. I'm aware that a brown frame may suit the gold poster better, but I'm so tired of the colour brown at this moment. --------- So, I now feel I'm able to adjust as per your suggestions and recommendations much easier now. Appreciate every response and idea (And sorry for the mess of papers on the desk and floor! We're busy professionals and sometimes I have to let my husband have his creative space despite my OCD when it comes to decluttering and keeping it tidy)

Hi Kathy, so thrilled to hear my comments got you started thinking of the big picture, it has been a pleasure working with this. When you are starting totally from scratch like this it is easy to become too close to the issues and the brain becomes overloaded so you can't see the woods for the trees. I think this is also a classic example of why I always tell people to live in a house for a year before beginning to decorate, as hard as it is to be patient and wait, you do need to get the feel for a house and relate your lifestyle to it. I do like your idea of splitting the room into two areas, the room looks big enough to give you this option, and to me intimate spaces within a room create a more welcoming and homely feel. When you have a good idea of the furniture you would like, put what you have in the room and measure anything else before you buy it, use newspaper or cardboard boxes the size of the pieces and put them around the room to ensure you are going to get the desired result. It can be so easy to over or under estimate just how much space furniture will take up. Sorry the green lounge in the study didn't work out, but glad this has helped you see options. Just my personal opinion, one of my joeys had a lovely old grandfather clock in her lounge room and while it was a beautiful piece of furniture to look at, I just found it a little on the intrusive side - with its constant chiming it just didn't make the room feel relaxing, one was just so aware of the passing of time. Of course this can be advantageous when certain rellies visit. She ended up moving hers to her entrance foyer where it was a stand out feature and the lounge room became so much more relaxing. Love to see some photos of your landscaping.

The mirror is the wrong size for the mantle. There was a Houzz article some time back on sizing mirrors above fireplaces. First, you need to decide whether you want a mirror, a large picture, or a collection of objects on the mantle. For a mirror, it would need to be much larger. The upright edges of the mirror's frame should be the same width as the corbles under the mantle. The bottom of the mirror should be at least 150mm above the mantle and the top edge of the mirror approx 200mm below the cornice. Working with what you have got, try turning your existing mirror so the long edge is across the chimney wall and at least 150mm above the mantle. Petapea's idea of a round mirror is great and will alleviate lining mirror edges up with the mantle or fireplace. Otherwise, try styling the mantle and wall with assymetry. The sofa is out of whack with the other chairs/furniture given there does not appear to be a TV in the room. It looks too big for the space and is pushed up against the wall to fit it in. A large 3 seater sofa with feet similar to the chairs would be better. The sofa would then be visually smaller, there would be flow around it, and it would make the space look bigger as you will see more floor. Do you need a rug? Get rid of the rug or get one that fits under the legs of your "new sofa" and the other two chairs. A glass top coffee table with silver/bronze legs will be more sophisticated and make the space look larger too. Good luck.

remove the table under the TV, place it on the dresser in the corner but on a diagonal tilt so it can be seen clearly from the couch. The lamp just looks wrong - I would remove that all together and replace it with a large Pot Plant to soften the corner. Nick Nacks etc can only be chosen by you as you have to like them but I would go for something either antique to match the lovely ornate fireplace or modern like gold, silver, brass glass. I would replace the ceiling light fitting with something modern matching the colours of your Nick Nack's. I am not a fan of the mirror I would place a large mirror on the wall that is currently utilised by the TV - this will reflect the light from the windows - again use the colours of your Nick Nacks and new light fitting for the mirror frame or go entirely frame-less. I would then find a large / modern piece of art to place above the mantel. Obviously my choices / ideas come with no budget in mind but you don't have to do everything at once..... spread the cost if you need to do it all bit by bit. Good luck with what every you choose to do.