Style - well that is a good question... I would say it is a modern contemporary urban style home, brick frontage etc... not a victorian style or anything like that. Have solid wood two tone staircase, with dark and natural color maple that stands out prominently when you enter the house. The rest of the house, the Kitchen etc is bit traditional, yet modern finish. Dark solid wood cabinets. I do have 9 foot ceiling but only 9', as that is the maximum that we are allowed to have in our neighborhood. I like to add bit of character and architectural personality to the house, but wasn't sure if wainscotting would in turn make the house look very aged, as we generally see them on older Victorian style homes. Or perhaps I am just mistaken in my limited knowledge about home styling and decor. I see soooo many different styles, which makes it so difficult to choose one because I like them all. So the challenge is to pick one that suits the best. Is it generally better to keep the stains neutral so that the wainscotting trim blend with the wall or will it stand out too much if I make panels that are stained dark. These are the questions that are holding me back from venturing in to this project. Any other comments/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I think they mean 5 rooms, not 5 bedrooms.....one master bedroom and 2 bedrooms for children with twin beds or bunk beds in each. I lived in a 1,300 sq ft house for 2 yrs with my husband and 2 sons. My suggestion would be to have an open floor plan for the kitchen, dining area and family room in one large room. Add a bar in the kitchen for casual dining. Be sure to include storage in family room for toys, games, etc. Add a built in desk in eiher the kitchen or family room areas . The master bedroom and bath should be large enough to accomodate a queen size bed and if possible a sitting area (maybe a bay window large enough for for a small loveseat or a couple of comfortable chairs). I would recommend a large walkin shower but no tub for the master bath. Instead have a nice size tub/ shower combo in the hall bath. Too make your house feel larger, use neutral camel, beige, gold or grey paint and carpet through out the kitchen, dining area, family, hallways and hallbath. If you want to add color, limit it to 3 bedrooms. Hanging all your window treatments at ceiling height will make your rooms feel larger and taller.

Hi Reena, It is better to have the chalkboard wall away from the bed or study table for health and convenience. Even the chalkboard wall can again occupy the whole wall or contained within a pattern like below: For painting, a great way of using up space will be to purchase small square canvases that she can paint on and as she finished them, have a wall dedicated to this. This wall can be the wall with smaller width of space available where 3 or 4 canvases( atleast ) make a row. These are the ones I am talking about: She can paint on them and eventually fill up a small wall: Try to stick to sheets that can keep up with this type of decor. Do share your thoughts and other concerns. For a detailed interior decoration work you can reach out to us for a free consult with one of our experts! Atom Interiors, Bangalore

As it's a North facing house, I would suggest keeping most of the openings to the north, will illuminate your house beautifully and will lessen your electricity bill. A duplex will be suitable according to the area and requirement. That will allow keeping a lot of open space which will give the feeling of being in even larger space than it really is. I hope it helps. I could have suggested more if I knew more about the project.