sterlet14, I still don't know what I could call "my style" I have joked and said I am an eclectic minimalist and I say eclectic, not in the sense of heaps of styles and colours all mixed together, which is how I see eclectic but more so, that all the furniture that I have bought for my new home when the construction is complete, is second hand, they don't all match but have a common ground of being solid timber and or leather. As for saying I'm a minimalist, I currently live in a 7 sq home where everything is packed on top of everything, absolutely no sign of minimalism here but can't wait till everything has it's own place in the house to live and preferably in a cupboard or draw, with absolutely nothing on display anywhere, save a vase on the dining table and a few pot plants!! As for your statement about choosing classic but trying to follow contemporary, perhaps you already know what way you seem to be going. Classic and contemprary is an odd one to put together but the photo's supplied show it's not only doable but done allot AND looks great!!! I guess the only thing you have to decide is, if you are mostly classic with a touch of contemporary or the opposite or yet again happy to share the style equally. I think contemporary with a hint of classic is very nice and not at all over done but I don't think you could do it as well in reverse. Cheers, Barbara

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)

Two years later... We ended up purchasing a 3-seater for wall opposite fireplace, a 2-seater for under the highlight window (leaves a comfortable space to enter the room) and an armchair placed diagonally opposite the couches. I've fooled the advice to pull the furniture in off the walls a little. We have just updated the fireplace with the (professional) installation of an insert wood heater and (DIY) replacement of hearth and tiles/timber mantel to conceal the brick while meeting the safety specifications of the heater (required a much wider/deeper hearth than the existing brick one so we removed and replaced with a slab of honed granite, and the minimum height for breastplate/mantel shelf posed a few design limitations). TV mounted above fireplace to allow for better furniture placement. Not quite the picture I had settled on 2 years ago, but works with the style of updates we have made elsewhere. Thank you for all the advice. before: After:

To be blunt -- the room isn't really big enough ! So you have to sort out priorities , and space . You have a dining table , and a computer desk . Can you get rid of the computer desk , by having your computer tower mounted behind the couch or similar , and a wireless keyboard and mouse that you can use on the dining table ? Mount the monitor on a wall , or if you don't need in depth graphics , I understand you can use your TV ( I've heard something about the 'refresh rate' is less on a TV ? ) . Maybe even have a monitor but also the option of using your TV ? Could you use a 'breakfast bar' , probably where the computer desk is now , I know its not sociable all staring at a wall , but it would/could serve as a brakfast bar and computer workstation . Could you get rid of the dining table and chairs , and have a large coffee table , or 2 smaller ones , and eat 'casually' ( my polite way of saying eat sitting on the couch ) ? Even mounting the TV on the wall will let you get rid of the cabinet , but I gather you have gaming consoles in there ? And the present arrangement with the pot plants uses some space -- maybe some shelves with them on will still retain the plants but free up floor space ? Just some thoughts off the top of my head .