Suy When you approach a school project - in fact, any project - you need to think about 'what is the real question here?' What you need to think about is the environment in which the building is to be placed Wind, salt, moisture, strong sun, abrasion from sand all have effect in an ocean area All building materials will weather - it is their nature Perhaps you could use this to your advantage and go 'Wabi Sabi' with your design Best case scenario - minimise damage and choose materials that need minimum maintenance as a boutique hotel will be busy and have minimal staff Enjoy the project and research involved

siriuskey, Yes, the courtyard is open to the sky (no roof over it), I assume this is what you mean by double story. Ref. below photos, I would love to get this look, especially the first and last photo, where you can see family living space from the first floor. I can't achieve this in my plan as it eats a lot of floor space upstairs. The referred plan (photos) has a very big void combining staircase, hallway and dining area. I know it is not easy with cooling and heating when you have such a big void. So, I explored a few ideas (with my limited knowledge on this topic) before achieving the current floorplan. I have also thought about, in my current plan, extending the void on the staircase to the dining area (it is more like L shape) but i wasn't sure if that makes any difference. keen to hear your thoughts.

We have recently done a shaker style kitchen makeover for a client, it‘s in the album „Kitchen Renovations“ and from what i understand they are mostly solid wood for the cabinets.

What area rug material is the best?