Hi everyone, I'd like to thank you all for your input. Have been a busy spring and summer, but now I'm back and able to focus on the living room. Couple of things have been done/removed since lately: 1. Leather lounge set: I've (luckily) sold the leather lounge set - absolutely great piece with great quality, but not my taste at all. It made a world difference to the living room and even dear hubby, who liked the set, did acknowledge that the difference of less furnitures is great. 2. The rug 3. The white cabinet 4. New curtains with pelmet I love the pelmet although it's old style and yes, the curtains are too short! Will amend this at later stage :) These changes have made a huge impact on the room. Also, I'm also open to change the dining table with chairs for another nice option in an attempt to make this more interesting/cozy/inviting. So, these are the only things that I won't be able to change (we may (note on may) also move house by the end of this year/early next year) # Blinds # Colour of trims and built-in bookcase # Camel back sofa - I'm happy to reupholster it though and change the fabric. This will cost $2000 but I think it's worth it since they are really comfortable and are of good quality. I'd like to integrate the white frame with the gold poster in the design - an idea is to place 3x posters on the biggest wall of the air conditioner. I'm aware that a brown frame may suit the gold poster better, but I'm so tired of the colour brown at this moment. --------- So, I now feel I'm able to adjust as per your suggestions and recommendations much easier now. Appreciate every response and idea (And sorry for the mess of papers on the desk and floor! We're busy professionals and sometimes I have to let my husband have his creative space despite my OCD when it comes to decluttering and keeping it tidy)

A suggestion that the professionals use and makes it SO much easier choosing colours - and then the perfect shade of that colour. Get a paint swatch of the Hog's Bristle - or paint a little sample card from leftover paint. Bring home 5 or 6 samples shades of navy from the paintshop to get the the closest shade/tone of navy to your couch. Armed with those - and a sample of your bench colour - hit the shops with confidence! You will see easily which yellow, or which Marsala or which 'whatever-colour-you-choose' looks great. There are many shades that might look like they work in the store, but when you get them home will be NQR,,,,you know, not quite right....and you still may not be thrilled with your room. It's a simple and almost foolproof way of choosing colour and has worked for me throughout many renovations.Couldn't do it without those little bits of colour! Have fun...

Definitely the basket is unnecessary and without it makes cleaning easier too. If I really want to be picky, I prefer just the three pieces on one side, just swap the plants for the brighter colour. I like things a bit off balance. I hate to do this to you, but memo for the future - always get non reflective glass in frames, makes a big difference. Now have some fun with some Christmas decorations to give it a whole new look:)) You will find this is an area to have a lot of fun with and to make regular changes to.

This looks like a pretty good start but keep in mind that you already have a lot of hard surfaces (tiles floor, stone benches etc) that are going to bounce a lot of sound around that space. The big trick with open-plan living is to try to keep the ambient sound levels muffled and soft. Make sure that you put nice soft felt floor protectors on the feet of everything – you don't want to hear each time a chair or stool is dragged across the tiles. Don't even think of adding a glass-topped table to the mix – every time a glass is put down, a plate is shifted or cutlery moved it clinks and bangs (not to mention that they are the very devil to keep spotlessly clean and shiny and if they're not they look horrible). A timber table does not have to look 'woody' or clash with (or match) the floors – timber can be painted or stained and there are some very classy looking laminates out there that are easier to live with than glass. As others have said some rugs defining the zones within this large room will help to soften both the look and the sound, as well as introduce some colour. I also find the spacing of the pendant lights rather clunky – try spacing lights across the island rather than stringing them out across the full width of the ceiling.