Hello! If you have about 7' of continuous wall space, you could centre a small desk on the wall, then flank it with Ikea Kallax storage shelves. Use their Drona tote bins to corral messy stuff, and leave other cubbies open for the backpack, books, etc. Showing below the 48" wide Josephine desk from World Market - the front drawer can also flip open to come a keyboard shelf. Also comes in other colors. Also, the smallest Kallax shelf in their series (16 1/2" wide). Another possibility, depending on how the room is configured, is to butt the desk up to the foot of the bed. This should allow about 2' of chair space in front of the desk. You then might be able to use a larger Kallax shelving unit. They come in some great colors in the larger sizes - turquoise, pink, etc.

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.

I moved to India in 2008 and had to relearn how to store food safely. These airtight plastic containers keep insects and humidity (mould/fungus) out of my dhals and spices. India cooking requires larger spice containers than shown in the above pictures. You can also get this same type of container in smaller sizes. Nice to have all of them in the same colour!! Makes the cupboard look tidy.

@Rock Doc: Are you addressing this to me? I haven't actually bought these tiles yet - when I do, I will definitely be going for the handmade ones. They're a work of art and irreplaceable in my opinion. However, there are also screen-printed tiles available in the market in more or less the same patterns; the workmanship is of course different, but you get them cheaper, and they're also more easily available. You could give that a shot. I'd recommend Aakaar Flooring Solutions - they're here on Houzz and are able to provide both the above-mentioned types.