I have 3.5m high ceilings in my house and I did not go as high as the roof as it would have crowded the room. I went with the 2.7 height and its great. I can still use the space on top of the cupboards for storage if I need too without the whole wall looking like a wall of cupboards.

The house isn't built yet but the builders want us to decide now. I'm not good at deciding these things. Most of the 'things' we want to show are already packed away at real estates advice so I can't even line them up. And yet they won't all go out at nice, I hope to change them around.

Hi Martea, I agree with Dohraime, an open bookcase would help create an entrance way and provide some storage that appears to be much needed from the floor plans. You asked about dimensions, I would personally make sure that the minimum clear space between the staircase and end of the book shelf is a minimum of 1200mm, but at the absolute minimum, 1000mm (1 metre) clear space is needed; thus it should be between 1200mm and 1500mm in length and the height should preferably match the head of your windows so approximately 2100mm. Depending upon the dimensions of your existing 3-seater sofa, I agree that you could back this onto the open bookcase. However, to ensure the best look, the sofa should end when the bookshelf does. As you can see from the diagram I have included, you could fit 2 arm-chairs and a coffee table in, however care will need to be taken to enure you have enough space to walk comfortably around the pieces of furniture. Try to search for a narrow coffee table. Given that you have replaced the curtains with shutters, you could place the television and console in front. This is not ideal in regards to lighting, but the space is constrained. I would also include a large rug (as depicted) for the living space so as to clearly define it. It could be approximately 3 x 1.8 m. This rug could be something bright and colourful given the muted colour scheme you have so far used. A bold pattern would also work. In regards to the dining area, it is possible to also fit a buffet in the space, and would again provide more storage. Something I noticed, and I am not sure it is within your budget, but the dividing wall around the staircase at the entrance is very dark and interrupts the clean lines you are going for. I would suggest if possible to remove it and replace with a glass balustrade. This would open up the space more and help to bring more light into this space. I hope this has been of help. If you want further advice or information please do not hesitate to contact me at admin@gracedesign.com.au and we can go from there.

The rangehood looks rather disjointed from the whole look - did it come with a flue extension that could go up to the ceiling? I don't know if it's because it doesn't have top cupboards near it as well that adds to the problem, so if you tiled up to the rangehood and put the floating shelves just above the tiles like in the pictures in the last post, it might help to visually join everything together.