Formal living rooms are rarely used from my experience. I can't tell you how many times I have "re-done" them for clients because after living in a home for a while the home owner realizes that they are wasted space. My advice to you about a formal living area is to leave it undone for 3-4 months and utilize the rest of your new home. See what is missing. Do you need an office, a den? A library? Quiet reading area? An exercise room? A craft room? Or maybe you really do need a formal entertaining area for your multitude of guests that come around every weekend where you entertain very high-brow style. But figure that out first otherwise your investment will be wasted. Part of why you and your husband are drawn to different furnishings is for these reasons: 1) The function of the room is not well established. So he envisions sitting on a big bulky comfy couch watching TV, and you envision sipping tea on a gorgeous ethnically inspired piece of furniture and chatting with your friends. This can only be vetted out with time and understanding how you as a couple will use all of your house. 2) You have different ideas about home design. Your husband is interested in comfort and you are interested in style. You will need to find a happy medium. Instead of saying well his style isn't going to fit with my style, think about how he can have a comfortable piece of furniture in the room that is perhaps tailored enough to go along with some beautifully wood carved, ethnic pieces. And this may actually enhance the look and make it look less "themed". And at the end of the day you may want to consider hiring a designer to help you through the process - often times that can help you weed through the process of balancing out form and function and his wants and your wants in the space. Best of luck!

First, I would ask the builder to give you the dimensions of the furniture used in the plan. Since they've already done the legwork-you will know which pieces will fit. Many times folks go the the furniture store and end up with a huge sectional and it over powers the room. Second, just get what you love! You have to live there. Start to create an idea book in Houzz. You'll start to see a pattern. Then just find a sofa like the one in your pic that is in your price range. Just keep repeating until you have all your pieces. Same thing with wall decor (which I would do last). Have fun!

Keya, glad you decided to take the one reader's idea about moving the armoires in front of windows that you don't need and giving the bed a wall of its own! And, yes, you can have Roman shades on one wall and layered drapes on the other. When I had drapes made for my tall sitting room windows/doors, I had them use the same fabric for the Roman shades for the smaller windows on the other wall. For me personally, in these older Indian homes with all the odd nooks and niches in the walls, perhaps it would be more soothing to have a light/med tone paint on the walls that blends with the drapes/blinds for an 'uninterrupted' look, and I would use the same color on ceiling and beams. (but that is just my thought) I would start the process with a large carpet with your favorite colors, then choose your Bedcover & cushions, then your wall paint and fabric for drapes/blinds ..Not certain what style you like, but if you really like a particular Ethnic bedcover fabric, you can always have them stitched into curtains or Roman shades too. Can't wait to see the "After" pics!

Hello Kayzad Shroff & Maria Leon! I'm designing my bedroom all by myself and now I want it to seem like I'm living among a rainforest. So I went for wooden times, veneer laminate wardrobes. The bed will be a platform bed so it'll be low to the ground. I'm now stuck with the ceiling and the wall opposite to the headboard. I thought of wall murals, but that particular wall has windows on the right side, so can't get the wall murals/wallpapers to give that Forest feel. So could you help with your suggestions?