Manipalgoyal: I like your basic plan. It is well thought out....What does the top floor look like? The only thing that I would do differently from my very "Western" perspective would be to move the rear right bedroom upstairs and open up the back courtyard to the kitchen area. I would create a "great room / kitchen area with doors that open both to the front courtyard and to the back. This allows for good cross ventilation to help keep the house cool and comfortable on a hot day. It also provides easy access to the rear yard area without having to walk through a bedroom. Now all of the precious outdoor space is easy to use. The other element that I would introduce would be an atrium (or an opening in the floor) all the way up to the second floor with openable windows high up on the second floor to allow hot air to escape to the top of the house and out (since hot air rises) This is called the "chimney effect" and is another way to keep the house well ventilated. Of course this is how it has been done in hot climate countries for years, so you might be familiar with this technique already. Even if you don't change it, your floor plan is very nicely laid out. I would be happy to help you answer any additional questions that you might have. I do have a few questions for you: 1. Where is the laundry room? Is it in the storage space? This does seem a little narrow. How wide is it? You might want to work on how this space actually lays out. Is there a sink in this space too? 2. Why do you have such small openings to the outside from the drawing room and the rear bedrooms? Are they doors or windows? Wouldn't you wnat a door with an openable window with a screen adjacent so that you could have ventilation at night without having the door open? 3. How will you lay out the kitchen? Who is doing the cooking in your household? Is cooking a family event or is it done by a helper? You either want a bigger more open kitchen (Western design) or a more private kitchen (Asian design) Or a combination of both.......To me this is the most important part of the house where the family gathers and hangs out..... I would love to hear back from you. Christine Lampert

OK... but the wire wont be lower as it is fixed now. The wire in the pics below is the wall facing each other. They were leveled on equal height but the beam on one wall makes it seem a little above. But i think you guys are absolutely right that up and down lights wont look good there. I think you are right about down lights lessismoore. Would it look good if i go with two different lights on opposite walls??? it would look odd right.

What a beautiful house, Shahbaaz! I live in a similar house - a 150-year-old colonial bungalow in Kumaon. You have already received lots of excellent advice from better-qualified people, so all I would say is, keep its age and heritage character the central theme. The white tiles do clash, I am afraid ... flooring with terracotta tiles would echo the roof and look lovely. The columns and the arches over the doors and windows are amazing. But I'd say, leave it all chuna-painted - there's a beauty and softness to it. Don't let the painters add too much neel (indigo) in the limewash -- in the hills where I live, they put far too much if I don't watch out and the result is a harsh white. Natural lime has a softer, creamy look.

thankyou so much :)