Depending on the budget, you could hack a portion of the wall "closed welcome passage" and put up a wall horizontally by the main entrance (creating a passage way to the living area. The window there should be able to shine a bit of light into the house. Replacing the wall between the living area and garage with Large glass panels would also help brighten up the house. At the same time, will give your house the elite concept (of having a vehicle in the living area) http://homememo.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/kop-properties_sky-garage.jpeg Hope this helps. :)

A narrow, long space like that can feel like a challenge, but if you figure out how you want to use the space before you start designing you will find a lot more success and fewer headaches. Here are some considerations before you start your plan: How much does privacy matter, and not just from neighbors but privacy from the indoors to the outdoors (considering you glass walls and ceilings you’ll need to think about how the space will work from both the inside and the outside). How do you plan to use the space? More specifically, do you plan to host lots of big parties or are you looking for a quiet place to enjoy your morning coffee? Or both? What is the material of your boundary wall? How can you use the wall to enhance the design and functionality of the space? Could you grow a vining plant up the wall for more greenery, or add narrow planters at the base of the wall for a vegetable garden? Do you want any type of covering for the space, like a pergola, roof, umbrella or other sun covering? Do you want it for the full space or just one area? What is your budget? Depending on your goals and timeline for the project, you might have to adjust the rest of the plan (if you don’t have the budget to make your dream space happen, consider taking the project on in phases and slowly save up to make the next phase happen). In the meantime, we’ve created alist of considerations before you start a landscaping project, as well as ideas for pergolas, andpatio lighting ideas. Here are a few images to get your design wheels turning:

As per vastu the kitchen should be in SOUTH EAST direction with the BURNER on the SE corner and the cook should face EAST while cooking. Master bedroom or the bedroom of the earning member should be in the SOUTH WEST direction. Positions of W.C. also matters . It should be facing NORTH. Beds positions of all the rooms should not be on the NORTH wall. These are the some points of vastu. If you want it in detail, you can ask me.

I have a similar issue, i have 3 feet wide & 10 feet long balcony attached to the dining area. It is more like a standing balcony, i plan on adding greenery, and decorate it with some terracotta stuff, pebbles & make it look like an attached conservatory to the dining. My problem is, it is way too narrow a balcony and i want to design it aesthetically. I also plan on adding glass sliding doors and cover the roof top & sides of the balcony with the glass, add some color to the walls to give it a conservatory look. Again, safety is an issue. I need to know if this is feasible and will look good. It is currently under construction. Any ideas & suggestions are welcome!