the problem is that the bay windows and walls haven't been positioned to suit the purpose of the rooms and the pathway needed to move through the rooms and around the furniture and removing the wall between the sitting and lounge will not change this but try partly closing the door to leave only a 90cm wide opening and force you to walk closer to the walls....also consider swopping the dining and lounge (including the TV space) and you'll have already thought of smaller furniture

disappointed i couldn't offer a better suggestion when you've already done so much

there must be some other options..why not post the plans for the whole house

have fittings in the central powder room been completed and where is the bathroom for bed 2?

what about the tv on the short wall between the sitting and lounge?...the wiring would need to be considered but then a lounge could move back against the bedroom wall but the cheapest option would seem to be smaller lounge chairs or try the tv in the library and the piano in the sitting room or consider stealing some space off the guest room but i can't see the dimensions to identify an amount that might work

How will you use the room labelled 'library'? Does it need to be so large and in that location?

I would remove that wall between the sitting room and lounge and put the TV on the wall backing onto bedroom 2. I am building a house and love open plan design. I decided to remove the wall between our lounge and sitting room too. You still have the Library for quiet space and you can still divide the living room and sitting room with freestanding dividers/partitions. Another suggestion could be putting holes in the half wall like in this picture.

Another option which may be too expensive is to make the Library part of the Dining Lounge and close off the Sitting Room and make that into the Library. You would need to make a new entry in the wall area where the Piano is. Sometimes it is hard to see what a design will look like on paper. Next time I build I will ask for a 3D images of the plan to help with the spatial aspect of designs. If you don't change the design now you have to make sure you will be able to live with it, otherwise you will always be disappointed with your house. Have fun :0)))).

I think you are correct in wanting to keep the dividing wall between lounge and sitting room; that was your original intention and those basic requirements should be kept if at all possible; nothing worse than regretting changing from your original plan - you had it for a reason!! Removing that wall will not change the 'path' through so I would keep it - the wall is not the problem. The problem is insufficient space in the sitting room. Short of extending the sitting room bay window further outward to give more room internally (an expensive option) there are other options I can see:

1. I would reasses the length of the wall between the library and dining: shorten it/step it back to allow more open flow room between sitting room and lounge or even put an angled corner there (personally I don't like angled corners but you may not mind them.) Its a bit hard to work out what all the detail is on that wall/area between the library and dining so I'm unsure if this is an option?

2. Move the wall between library and sitting room in toward library by 500mm + and then shorten the wall between library and dining accordingly. The library appears to be larger than the sitting room and you need to work out which you will use the most.

3. Considering you have 4 relaxation spaces (library, lounge, sitting room and family room at end of kitchen) do you need that many - do you actually need the sitting room to be that? Could you consider different furniture in there such as a couple of single cane/arm/chairs and small table for tea/coffee with view out the bay window? A single couch & coffee table along the bay window facing in or outward?

4. The dining area appears to be the largest of all those rooms - will you be using an 8 seater table? Could you put the dining in the family room at end of kitchen and make that entire dining/lounge space in to the lounge? Or, if you want a seperate room for entertaining, dinner parties etc, you could make the entire space the dining allowing for the table to be postioned either way and you would still have 3 other relaxation areas/rooms?

I don't think the issue has anything to do with the positioning of windows either, it is insuficient/inadequate space for what you want to use it for - having a lounge suite. Whatever you choose, if you are able, spend what it costs to get the right option for you even if it seems expenisive: I look at it like this: will you look at it in 6 months, 2 years, 5 years time and be pleased you did it, spent the extra money, or will you have that ongoing little annoyance wishing you had done it and are then having to put up with that niggly feeling every time it bothers you... Lastly, good luck and good on you for asking here - a great forum for help! :)

You have an enormous project and spending a great deal of money to get an unsatisfactory outcome. Not very smart. Hire an architect/building designer/interior designer, pay some professional design fees and invest in a workable outcome that will add value to your project.

Why would you ask public opinion to offer suggestions to how you should live?

a window seat in the sitting room might be all u need. I like the idea of the gallery in the walking space between communal areas, nice

I haven't read other comments yet, but what if you replaced the half wall/cavity door with glass French doors? Glass would visually enlarge the space but the doors, when closed, serve to define the areas.

For example:

Hi Leanne, I think these dividers are better for shutting off a room such as your library, the hallway you have is a walkway and you would always be opening and closing those doors..my idea is to create a window seat that wraps around the window, and along both walls, so 1 or 2 people can sit and look out the window, or along the window if it is sunny. Artwork can be hung above the window seat which would enhance the space.

Andy has a very good idea regarding window seat in bay window sitting room. Some photos:

subject to correct measurements i'm wondering if adding back an extra wall at the end of the guest bathroom would help direct traffic (between the dotted lines) and clarify furniture options in the public rooms

I am thinking that you don't really need this as a sitting room as you already have a lounge, family room, and library. Can it be opened up into the entrance hall to provide a larger grand entrance? Could it house the piano instead of having it in the library? Could it be turned into a new entrance with the entrance door being shifted to the bay window and the old front entrance becoming a larger closet? I like Andy Pat's option of ditching the wall and just making the whole of the window area a window seat. This space really is just a large walkway and I don't feel that it will ever fulfil a need not already met in a couple of other spaces.

Berbie

I would leave it as it is. It's a good idea to be able to close off the sitting room if you get unexpected guests and the kids are glued to the TV. Leave the sliding door open most of the time and solve the problem with the way you furnish the lounge area. Perhaps a lounge under the window and another on the wall adjoining the bedroom. That would open the area and allow an easier approach to the sitting room so that you won't run into the couch. This room doesn't need to look outside as the sitting room already does. Moving the TV or the furniture is much less expensive than moving walls. Good luck.

I would swap dining and lounge. The table would not be really any further from kitchen as more direct. Could add a server station on powder room wall. Alternatively, would it work to swap the two furniture layouts for lounge and living. The back of the couch would form a hallway of sorts Good luck. Keep going and bring in the furniture and play. I'm sure it will fall together.