Thank you roj leather and Simon for your recommendations. I like the hanging chair and the almanda creeper on the wall. This will certainly liven up the patio.

You have very high walls so I would do a tall wainscot on the walls to create some warmth and decoration at the same time. Take everything off the walls and remove all the small little shelfs and decorations, leave only the big furniture. Then start over with the wall decor. Need some bold statements to create some balance and interest but not clutter. Add some larger shelves if you need shelves, something hefty and interesting. It's hard to see wall color and how it works with the upholstery. Do you need all that furniture in the space? I would thin it out. Remove one of the sofas and place the chairs across from the other one. Open up the space in front of the window. Add a sofa table behind a sofa along the wall and decorate it with a couple large vintage style lamps with some accent color (pull a color from the rug that you like) on each end and tablescape the middle of the table. Add a huge mirror above Bring that same accent color into the space with some bookshelf decor but not cluttery. I am not a fan of the drapes; something more neutral in a grommet panel style that can easily be opened. Hang them at the ceiling. They will look really nice because they create nice gentle folds if the fabric is a bit heavy for weight. Good luck [houzz=] [houzz=] [houzz=] [houzz=] [houzz=] [houzz=] [houzz=] [houzz=] [houzz=] [houzz=] [houzz=] [houzz=]

Tsilanko, I would always recommend professional installation where needed. But what I am doing here is suggesting that WHEN you are planning to build or renovate, to consider how your plans will affect you in 20 or 30 years time. Split levels are very hep when you are young. A kitchen 3 steps down at 30 is rarely a problem, but might be a hazard at 60, or, as Marjie1059 suggested, if you break a leg. ... All my parents' homes were terrible for old people. They were forced to move to a bungalow in extreme old sge because the location and design of their home was more suitable for an active young couple with a large family than for an elderly couple with stroke disabilities. I would not want to move again, so my present home has features built in that make ageing in place simpler. Mostly small changes, like grab rails, and lever handles on doors and faucets. A major disability suddenly suffered requires major changes if permanent. I did look at this because it came up in the discussion, but if you look at the heading, Planning for Disability, it means just that. Plan ahead so you don't have to make expensive changes later on. But thank you for your advice, yes, major changes are not in the DIY domain.

There are discrepancies between the two plans you have provided, so it is difficult to understand what has been built and what is proposed. That being said, the powder room will have more of an impact on the garage space than you are indicating, and think that will have negative impacts on the garage which you will want to avoid. The location by the dining room and stairs will also require significant changes to the plan in that area (powder room is still represented too small). The powder room adjacent to the pantry seems like a great place to put it, or in the ancillary seating space to the right of the main living seating. That seating area does not seem to have a great functional importance except to have the dining/living/side living space extend across the whole house, unless there is something happening that isn't apparent from the plan view alone.