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

Wow, what great feedback by everyone! We are happy to spend a bit of money to make it a modern, usable backyard. Balmain is quite a close packed neighbourhood, but we are lucky that our yard is quite private, even if there were no plants. I realist that there would be 3-4 months of the year where we would not use it at all, but those other 9 months we really want a space for outdoor dining, bbq-ing, sitting outside reading. Our personal taste is modern. Plus the property is worth well north of $2M, we want a space to reflect that valuation. The bricks pavers are nice, but require constant work to look good. Still leaning towards what they have done to that Bondi property above.

overlapping comments and questions!!..i would have less glass in the room but more carefully positioned but have the walls already been built? and you said the joiner wanted 1500mm on either side of the heater and with the heater, say 900mm+ 1500 + 1500 =3900mm leaving only 700mm for the window seat along that end wall so don't think the corner position works any better but, assuming that the window seat is essential for seating crowds, i suggest that the western window could be shorter with bookshelves on sides and above the window leaving north and south walls for the couch and heater (although the heater and couch in my first suggestion could also be swopped over) but it's difficult to be precise without accurate window sizes and the orientation and direction of best views ....to have pendants for dining tables would make it impossible to rearrange furniture so i would have ceiling spotlights evenly distributed around the room with pendants only over the island...and i'm wondering about the room outside the living areas (an entry foyer perhaps??) and other options for the heater and piano but we need names and measurements of all the other rooms to make any other suggestions and/or could you use a heating cooker positioned in the kitchen?

Thanks once again oklouise for your comments. I have already been told by the draughtsman that I cannot put in skylights. No idea if this is true but he seemed quite sure and it was he who 'designed' the layout of said ensuite with what I consider a too small window because of ease of plumbing and drainage. He says that can be changed...............Supposedly only put like that to get the oversize plan in fir consent. This department is only interested in the outside view and the effect on the neighbours, which I actually dont have any. The positioning of the ensuite and WiR has changed too from the first plan as I had to come 'out' of my bedroom into a corridor past the WiR door and then into the ensuite. Technically they were both in my bedroom as had not entered the hallway but did not seem like it. So the wall you have now suggested for the door is a small lobby to the bedroom and I had planned to put furniture on it and a full length mirror. I will now look again at the whole space with three zones to see what can be done. I used the word solar tube as I thought that was the generic name for the 'tube' installed which reflected light into a room. Do they cause draughts? Have had no experience of them but will probably want to install one in my scullery (or Butler's kitchen) but am going to work in it a few months before deciding that. I am really quite a novice about function of installations and of building code.