. Its just way too much timber! So the floor should stay, because its harder to change. Start by definitely at least pull out the part of the kitchen with the weird enclosed fridge space. that really cramps the room. Then pull of and replace the cabinet doors and the laminate bench top. pick some amazing tiles and have your husband work his magic! Paint the walls a nice colour to really make the space look more vibrant. Get rid of those horrible blinds completely! We are doing out kitchen up and we don't have much money or skills or access to tradespersons anyway. So we are keeping it to a minimum. Do it little by little. We started with a new stove with really changed the feel of the room. We plan to just paint the cabinets.

I have a book on feng shui for the southern hemisphere... But before I share a few things that you might find helpful from it, a word on superstition. Feng shui is not superstition or a religion, its a science and a method of designing. its a different way of understanding something. It uses a different language to explain what is happening because it is a lot older than the science we know, but it is a science in that it uses tried principles applied with a methodology. If you can look past the difference in language and the 'foreignness' of it all you will see some things that are just common sense. Its about creating good flow between room, avoiding unhealthy living arrangements, having clean fresh air, light and a feeling of balance and peace in the home. It avoids having areas of stale air and stagnation ( ie bad air quality). Its about good design. It is not hard to understand why having a home that is too open to a busy street will not be the best thing. Its good your front door is at an angle and your path turns... but having some plants to buffer the bend in the path and protect your front door will help. You want the energy to meander along the path, not gust in from the street at the bend. Its similar to how water moves... if it meanders gently along a curve it will be slow and gently, create long straight channels and it will speed up. Long hallways are to be avoided because they tunnel wind and air and energy along them... but you can put plants along them to slow the wind and freshen the air. It will create a meandering path down your hallway. I hope that helps! A house with good feng shui just feels right to be in and people enjoy the space without really knowing why.

Hi Sue, do you have a photo to show the space? It may be better to have the pendant over the dining as a pendant in the lounge would have to be higher up therefore may look odd. General lighting would be needed at times and then soft lighting for reading or tv watching but hard to say without seeing the room If it is between two sofas it could limit their placement in the future or any changes to the furniture layout. A tall lamp may serve you better but it depends on your lighting needs & the room, ceiling height etc.

One other comment. We have a bedroom off the great room but we set the door back by building out the wall with a fireplace. It helps with sight lines. We used built ins on the left to hide the TV when we have company, and the fireplace is a woodburning BIZ which heats the entire house (we live in a forest,,) the side is for firewood storage and we keep matches, batteries, flashlights in that area, but it does help when our guests are on the sofa from seeing right into the bedroom.