I strongly second One Plan's idea about looking for another architect. If this one is not motivated, all the fame in the world is not going to help. An alternative approach to finding an architect is to find some good contractors who have built things you like. Ask them for architects' names. Make sure they work in your price range. In the meantime, you can find out from your local building department what the set back and height restrictions are. Are you required to build parking areas or garage space, what kind of airspace restrictions do you have for neighbors' views and sunlight, that kind of thing. Often this stuff is on city websites or handouts at the office.

Interesting seeing designs from another country. Assuming the PUJA is located in the right location and the entrance to your home is the set of double doors adjacent to the car, I have the following comments/suggestions: 1. Regarding the bathroom on the bottom of the picture: a. It appears you have a walkway taking you from the large double doors(gate?) to the bathroom window. Is this correct and is this what you want? b. The room is sufficiently wide to add a bathtub or a shower. Switch the locations of the sink and the toilet, have the toilet turned to face into the room. This would provide easier use. You might also want to consider using a pocket door, will make the room feel more spacious. 2. Regarding the bedroom on the bootom of the picture: In the US we have built in closets but I kow other cultures use stand alone wardrobes. Not knowing what is custom in your country or what your preferences are, I would suggest moving the door over a couple feet and providing a building in closet the full length of the wall. This would allow you to completely customize the room's storage capacility - will it be filled with shoes and clothing or will is have boxes of files, luggage, etc. 3. The drawing room: a. If outsiders are not to use your family space, the orientation of the room will force people to see/walkthru your family lounge. b. If possible, can you shift or resize the drawing room such that it align better with the family lounge? If it can be shifted downward a few feet, you could angle the entry into the kitchen and the view from the family lounge would look better. c. As an alternative, could you reverse the stairs such that the main family lounge area shifts upward? recognize you will likely need to move the bedroom doors and possible reverse the bedroom and bathroom on the lower part of the picture to make sure the doors would work. 4. Kitchen: By US standards this is an average to smaller kitchen. we certainly have smaller ones in condos, apartments, and small homes. That said, I do believe in maximizing capacity and capability. The kitchen traditionally gets a lot of use by the family and has to be able to meet a multitude of needs. I am assuming the plan for the frig is to be located immediately next to the sink - where the empty space is. here are some thoughts: a. Do you need a door for the kitchen? If not, remove, if yes then make it a pocket door. b. Center the window to the OPEN area over the cabinets and align the sink in the center of the window. this will help with symetry. When in the kitchen, typically people spend a lot of time there - prepping, washing, drying, etc. It would give a nicer view than a blank wall or upper cabinets. c. Center the stove - this again helps with symmetry whioch in turn helps with aesthetics. d. Do you have sufficient storage in the house - think of everything that you have and the food products, kitchen items you will need to store. Again, culture differences mandate different needs. In the US we tend to do a bit of bulk shopping and generally have more "stuff" than we need so it is hard to determine what the right level is for you. Make a list of ALL the items you have for the place and assign a space to them on the plan. This is the best time (and least costly) to make changes to construction. 5. Regarding the bedroom on the upper wall - is there a reason the windows are different sizes, why not stick to the same size? 6. Storage room: Is there a way to relocate the "Low Height" restriction at teh entrance? Not sure is this simply means you aren't going to loose a couple inches or if this means a few feet. Big diffeence on how usable that space is. I hope some of these comment are useful. Best of luck with your project!

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.

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!