Hi Maria, we love the wood but it is a little overwhelming in that space with the timber floor. A liming white is a great idea as mentioned by a few people here. This will let you have the best of both worlds, a lighter, brighter finish while still allowing the wood grain to show through. You could try Feast Watson Liming White Floor Finish (yes, it's not a floor but it has the size of a floor!) and build up the number of coats until you are happy with the amount of timber grain showing through. You'll probably need to give it a light sand first as it's most likely already got some type of coating on it. The other option would be to leave the walls as is and consider a large, light neutral coloured rug as pompom suggested on the timber floor and perhaps a good sized piece of art on the wall or white wall shelving instead of the dark side unit you have to reduce the amount of timber in the room.

I personally don't do the feminist thing of She shed, etc, I just call it MY ROOM AND IF YOU DISTURB ME YOUR CHOICE OF PUNISHMENT! Hee hee, no, I call mine my Workroom. Like you I have a ton of things to do in there! I craft, I bead, I have storage, and I occasionally just go down there with a glass of wine, turn on a CD and chill on the chair looking out at the scenery. My room is a work in progress, too. What I do is have designated spots for different work areas. So one wall has beading supplies, another wall has craft and knitting supplies and the other has storage and in the middle is a big rug where I can lay down and veg or actually do yoga if I so desire. For you, I suggest you do a mix, since your walls are limited, put a chair and a table (can be longer like a bench if you have the room) along that hip height window. You need natural light for any painting, etc you like to do. The cupboard you mention can become your storage area for the painting equipment. You mention you wish to study too, so having a half side of the table for painting and the other half for studying should do the trick. The fact you want to exercise, run nuddies, relax etc can be done in the middle of the room. Without dimensions I can't really offer much else. Is it possible to get a few pics of the area with something in perspective, (kitchen chair is easiest) if there is no furniture already in there? Sounds like a hodgepodge in the Heaven Haven. ;)

If time and budget permit I would add horizontal screens (timber stain or charcoal/woodland grey) from the right pillar to the garage (hiding the down pipe) and from the left corner of the house (hiding the bins) Do basic landscaping, two narrow beds either side under the windows, bark mulch and simple plants e.g. Lomandra longifolia (a native low grassy dark green clumping plant) is common but easy spaced every 30 cm Valuers like safe and neutral schemes, so keep with the Woodland grey roof/fascia & Classic cream garage door and repeat this on the upper feature slats for now. Then add a warm complimentary colour for the front door, this is Dulux Rodham Then get a lush new plant for that pot too. If you keep it simple (KISS Principle) for now it will come together for sure :)

I'd suggest framing it out and using it as a window seat. A carpenter could get that done in half a day. Anchor the frame to the wall, get a custom cushion made and fill it with some cushions and you have a beautiful space to read. Bonus is the minimal cost.