That central area of 9.5x5m is a good size to use the space as a room or entertainment space. Plants will always generally look better in the ground than pots and are easier to keep nourished that way so make sure you plan adequate space for the plants with say min. 700mm wide beds. You say you have picked the plants. It is a good idea to mark them on the plan at their mature spread size so you can plan enough space for them to grow. If you use what you have as a base plan (after adding the doors and windows) you can make extra layers for your plan and start to work some concepts for the space using kitchen greaseproof sandwich wrap. Get out a big fat pen and start playing with it. Apply some shapes. See how it looks.

Have you considered laminated and tinted glass for the windows, daytime privacy and noise stop all in one job. To me the vertical louvres look prison-like! We had the same dilemma and did the upgrade on the glass, simple, sleek and uncluttered facade and cooler in the summer as the heat is deflected with the reverse in winter plus the heat stays in the room rather than flying out the window.

Hi Carol, You can get porcelain and ceramic tiles that are dupes for sandstone and other stones that don't stain and they come with a 3 or 4 slip rating (if your in Australia). Check out your local tile shop as they'll be able to help you out. I know that cement look tiles are popular - but I feel that they could date - but that's just my opinion.

The print that your husband loves is by a famous photographer Charles Ebbets & there are many more in this particular series that you could use to complement the existing one & fill out that wall - see allposters.com - that way everyone is happy! What colour is your lounge? Difficult to tell from my monitor & the photo - grey or dark taupe?