I really like the suggestion Modern feature walls. Combined with some greenery inside and out as suggested by chookchook2 , you can start to soften the 'boxy' look of the space which is now reinforced by the line shape and form of the couch you introduced in the updated image. If it is a breakout or meeting room could I suggest, budget permitting, some form of window treatment. Some simple and relatively cheap e-screens would add a degree of privacy, but more importantly remove potentially annoying distractions from outside; important if you are using the room both for work that requires concentration' .. or alternatively, impromptu meetings with others that may be held in the room. I do like the green, but the photo projects a rather drab uninteresting interior despite your efforts thus far.(imho). I think making a call to Modern feature walls should be on your call list. Something has to be done with that ceiling which I find not only distracting but is actively working against your attempts at creating a really inviting space that people will want to break into. I can a hint of a table off to the right in front of the window. The best breakout spaces I've used have the facility to informally and casually sit across a table with sufficient desk or table space to spread drawings, images and presentation ideas. .. It just doesn't work as well if you and a colleague(s) are forced to sit or stand along one side of a table with the yard providing tempting distractions when the focus should be on communication and collaboration. Mounting the TV and raising it would open the room up further and likely break up the 'box-iness' further. .. A bit beyond my field (Window Treatments) ... but you did ask. lol.

Wuff, that's how it should be...unfortuntely things are hardly ever as they should be and mny people these days haven't a clue about ettiquette....that applies to some adults in particular. I agree that fine dining restaurants are not suitable for children...unless of course, as you describe, the children hav been schooled in proper behaviour. One restaurants I've been taken to on specil occasions actually has a policy of "no children"..but in order not to breach discrimination ettiquette they have a special chidren's dining room with waiters dressed in colorful uniforms. There's also a fine dining children's menu. The children are called 'maam' and 'sir' and have their chairs pulled out for them....they have their non alcoholic drinks served in lovly glases as if it were champagne or wine....it really delightful. They also have themed evenings. There's a dining etiquette that the children are expected to observe..and how to hold and use the cutlery. Parents are given a little booklet about it.. I thought it a good way to instruct the adults under the guise of instructing the children. It works well and the restaurant owners are to be commended for such a novel approach to...well, it "manners" isn't it? And not many know the mening ot the word these days. The children come away from such an experience feeling important..and I think some parents learn a few things too. There's nothing worse that not being able to go out for a dignified meal because other people don't realise that some places are just not for children..especilly their chidren. Its one thing being well-to-do and completely another having manners. My dear old Mum was the eldest of 12 children...their Dad was an Engine Driver, but he insisted that each and every one of the children learn manners.. As disadvantaged as they were, they "dressed" for dinner in their best always clean, pressed, starched clothes,,, darns, mends and all, and he'd inspect them all before they were allowed to be seated. Mum's Aunt Laura taught her to..."be a lady" and educated her about the arts, taught her how to dance, how to set a table for a three course meal, how to dress, how to be polite, and..how to cook and manage a home...so she would be able to "mix it with the best" and not be thought out of place. How things have changed...its all more relaxed. Manners and respect for others seem to have..."Gone With The Wind"..regarded as outmoded and old fashioned. Pity! Wonder how we can get a gracious, respecful society back?

Bravo to all these amazing creative minds. I hate wasting stuff that still has life in it. By the way, though I have read that some pallets are treated with a fumigant which is toxic. Generally, make sure pallets are stamped with “HT”, which means they haven’t been exposed to chemicals (at least not in the treating process.) Avoid unmarked pallets or those with “MB” for methyl bromide. Well, if anyone wants some really nice, bargain 2nd hand windows we just pulled out of our 12 y-o house to make way for a sliding door, and you live around Melbourne Australia, please check them out here: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/112070272414?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1586.l2649

1. Noise cancelling walls, if you have children, no matter where they are in the house, you can still hear them. 2. Space and or everything has a place, some people thrive in chaos, most don't. Have a drawer where you stuff things in so its out of your face and clean it later. 3. Surround yourself with inspirational things, some like posters with words, some like sculptures, books, games. Whatever motivates a person to get in the zone to do what is necessary in these rooms should be highlighted somewhere in the room if not everywhere in the room. 4. A clock, should try to limit yourself and set time frames for things so you know your on point. 5. Keep it a toy, food, junk, washing free zone. Don't have these things in this room period. 6. Calendar, planner something to get your task management on point. 7. Quality Electronics. Don't compromise as they date rather fast and this years computer will be next years paperweight. Buy something that can be upgraded with just parts for a few years. 8. Lighting, you need to make sure you can see what your doing, most people are on computers or laptops or an ipad these days, but old school still use pen and paper so having a desk lamp for night time or windows, solar lights during the day are also good. 9. Plants, we all know they help keep the air blah blah blah, but good oxygen means better brain processes. 10. If budget permits, NOT IKEA FURNITURE, its been done a gazillion million times and it still looks the same old boring blandness as it looks in the catalogue.