A houzz contributor, not too long ago, had made a wine rack out of 4'x4' wooden pallets, that are used in the US to move a load of goods with a fork-lift truck. Perhaps they have them in your country. He cut them in half so they were only two feet deep and stacked them up to high counter height. The wood would be a nice contrast with your concrete, might add a little warmth to the space. cascio.offsite@gmail.com

I think a comfortable distance between the island and the counter is around 42". It seems that you have only 30" between your cook top and the counter. I might be a little too tight. The wall between the entrance and the kitchen could be 4' long instead of 6', you would then be able to move the island a foot which would give you more room between the cook top and the island. Could you switch the location of the toilet and vanity in your dad's bathroom so your enter facing a vanity instead of a toilet which is a lot nicer.

A few suggestions based upon your lower photo, the fourth I guess. a. If you had the wall built, ask the guys that built it to perform your wishes. If it came with the house, call the former owner, whose name is on your deed. b. If the former suggestion is a dead end, let's analyze before we plan. You want to have a space for cooking and dining outdoors. This is such a beautiful yard, it does not deserve a portable BBQ unit exposed when not on fire, so put it in the garage as soon as it is cool. If you are going full hog for a builtin BBQ facility, perhaps it can be built against an existing wall, and just the dining area then needs the increased space. A 6' wide round table, requires about 12-14' for itself and the surrounding chairs and service area. Will you be happy with only a 15' or even a 20' section of wall moved? c. Remove the plants from the area that you plan to usurp, and about 5' beyond, and rent a sod cutter to remove all of the lawn from the vehicle entry point to the lower curved wall, by the palm, and stockpile it in shade, if possible. d. Have the contractor saw a vertical cut in the wall at the points of removal. Measure the distance of the plant bed to back wall. Cut the front bed wall that is to be removed with two sections of that overall bed dimention, so they can be placed as end walls for the two sections of bed that are no longer continuous. e. Have the contractor dig up the wall, and cut the two pieces to remain so they are free of the wall to be dumped. He will remove the existing soil from the bed. Modify any irrigation that exists, and then install the two wall slabs to their new duty locations, attach them to the remaining walls, backfill and replant as required.. f. The next step is to cultivate the compaced earth in the lawn area, rake it and resod. If the dining/BBQ areas are to be a dining terrace, you might wait until the sod is reestablished, say another month, before initiating that construction, as you don't want the sod to remain in a pile for long, or you will have to buy new. If it is to be a flagstone terrace, you can have that material delivered and stockpiled where the bed used to be, while the wall crew is just leaving. Will that fill your need. Give this post to the contractor so he can take measurements, and provide you an estimate overnight. Summer cookouts have already begun. Looks like we will miss the 4th of July bash.

Hi Nishi, Beautiful furniture and a very cute cosy nest you have. To begin with replace your existing coffee table with a hard wood simple coffee table. Replace your cushions with an assortment of pink, turquoise and golden yellow in different sizes and shapes, this will add some brightness to the room.Replace the pictures on the wall with a big mirror as per the wall size and add a nice frame to it. On the shelf on the picture wall place the candle stands currently on the centre table. The stools can be replaced with a nice upholstered ottoman bench in a printed fabric as sofa is plain. Cover the entry door with curtains as well so that it gives an illusion of a single wall behind. Since the wall behind the bench is already textured do not put anything on the wall. Remove the white bench there, instead put two big white teracotta pots there of different height and put bamboos on it. Finally put a blue/brown shaggy rug below the coffee table to complete the look. Hope you find the suggestions useful. Also you could put a few glass shelfs on the wall behind the 3 seater and place all your small knick knacks on displayLike how I have done on my wall