Ive been researching for quite a while,,and Houzz photos have been a great resource.

Option 1 - having the single chair on the left makes the room appear smaller. Option 2 - will have a more open feeling when walking up the stairs. Option 3 - you could have the chaise under the window on the right side with the single chair and side table backing on to the dining area. This way the living area would be easier to access and should give a better sense of space. However this arrangement would not be ideal when viewing the TV. The entertainment unit could be moved a bit further to the left. Why don't you try Option 1 for a week or two and if you don't like it, change to Option 2 or 3?

@Cee, Yes precisely what can happen with whites. I know nothing either but my daughter has a fabulous eye for what's in a colour that quite frankly bewilders me as I simply can't see the blue, pink or orange tone so I was lucky that all the colours my daughter chose all matched each other and in my case were all warm tones which I love. If you have an artist as a friend that would help you no end but otherwise take the colour cards or names of the paints you've already used to a paint store and they'll help you chose or even get yourself a colour wheel and spin it around and try to determine what you've used on your walls and look at the colours opposite to your colour or lastly get someone from the paint store to come and see your furnishings and they would be able to find colours that work for you.

As for your other question about hydronic heating. Firstly, are you considering hydronic panels (radiators) or hydronic underfloor heating? Each has their advantages & disadvantages. But be aware that the water temperature for panels must be significantly higher than required for underfloor hydronics. I'm assuming by "solar" you are talking about solar thermal (evacuated tubes or panels), & not solar PV (electric) panels. In any case, solar thermal is not really advisable for hydronic heating, for a few reasons. Firstly, hydronic heating (like any space heating) requires a lot of heat. A normal sized solar thermal system (of 30 evac tubes) may (or may not) be enough to heat you're domestic water in winter. But it will not be enough to heat a hydronic system. Not even close! A solar thermal system this size will need boosting to a very, very high level. Even a very large solar thermal system with over a hundred tubes will most likely require boosting. Secondly, hydronics operate in winter, when your solar thermal is performing at its worst. If you put in a very large solar thermal system (sized to operate hydronics in winter) what do you do with the vast quantity of hot water produced in summer? Waste it no doubt. Finally, solar thermal is expensive to buy! Installing a system sized for hydronics would be stupid expensive!! Even for a system sized for just heating domestic water (30 evac tubes/300l tank), the current thought is it's not worth the investment, & you can get much better returns on heating your water with solar PV panels. Solar PV is only getting cheaper & cheaper, & once your water is heated the electricity produced can be used for other purposes, or exported to the grid. For houses without good solar access a heat pump domestic hot water system can be a good idea. So for hydronics, as solar thermal isn't worth the investment, what are your options to heat your hydronics? Gas boiler. Expensive to run, bad for the environment, but cheaper to install than a heat pump. A heat pump. A more expensive to install, much better for the environment, much cheaper to run. Particularly if coupled with a large PV system (even better if a large buffer tank is also used). A "wetback" water jacket wood fire system. Appropriate away from suburbia, though a lot of work (or cost) to keep it fuelled. Personally, if I was going to all the effort & expense of installing a hydronic system I'd like to think I'd take the green option, & heat it with a heat pump. It would cost though!