Thank you roj leather and Simon for your recommendations. I like the hanging chair and the almanda creeper on the wall. This will certainly liven up the patio.

I've had pleated blinds, metal horizontal blinds, vertical blinds, and wood blinds. Even though there are pretty pictures of blinds, blinds are not my favorite, especially vertical blinds. Blinds are impersonal, not cozy imho, and pleated blinds are very difficult to clean. They attract dust and pet hair, I think, by static, and vacuuming does not get it all. Horizontal blinds, if cracked open for some light, leave a striped pattern on the window which I don't like, are a pain to dust, and are pretty much "all or nothing", and you can't leave blinds open at night if you value privacy. Vertical blinds remind me of corporate conference rooms. Sorry, I hope I'm not offending anyone. Curtains on the other hand, can be soft and flowy, let light in without compromising privacy. You can wash them or dry clean them. You don't have to open and close every single day to adjust for light/privacy conditions. Curtains are easy to change out, and you don't need a custom size if your windows are not standard sized. I haven't had the pleasure of roman shades yet, that's my next new thing to try. More than you probably wanted,mikneleh... LOL! Have fun with your decision.

I am so happy to see you here! I will have to go back and see if i can retrieve my posts... thought I would make them into a little book for my daughter, with photos. Quick run-down on the bathroom (not travels, no time) - The kitchen has a rather elegant sliding door with beveled glass panels. Painted white, since this was the original colour. GD's new bathroom has the doors I had picked earlier; i thought of polishing them but decided sprayed automobile paint (on a resin primer) would wear better. Especially since it is such a small bathroom, and she is so splashy. I have this finish in my kitchen and it has lasted 15 years now. A tad chipped here and there, but only needs a wipe down once a week. Same finish for the balcony doors, also split like the bathroom. We have a new wardrobe, a study table with built-in shelves, and a small chest of drawers for her odds and ends. I want to re-tile the tiny balcony, more as a little statement. Currently we are looking at Portuguese tiles, though I did think a mosaic with a funky cat might be nice. Let me see the costing. The room will be painted a neutral adobe, with bright white woodwork and an off-white ceiling. This means she can go wild with cushions and covers. Other changes in the flat; We have changed the glass in the master bedroom and living room from small cramped panes to a single pane for each section with a 1" bevel all round. Doubles the cost of the glass, but looks so elegant! The air-conditioning is being re-located. The compressors were all mounted in the bedroom and living room balconies, which looked terrible and meant the balconies (very narrow, only 30" deep) couldn't be used for anything. Not even plants. So they are being moved so that the compressors can be mounted at the rear of the building. two down, one to go. Now we can put in some nice plants, fishtail palms etc. The kitchen counter on one side came out intact and will be reused elsewhere. I am planning overhead storage, cupboards, and a draining cupboard for plates and glasses. Right now there is no dish washer, though a place is earmarked, but for now I will put in a cupboard with steel racks for cups, glasses and plates, all hidden behind pressed glass doors. This is all in the planning stage.... Pictures in a little while, they are mostly on my ipad and don't transfer well to the mac. They come without numbers... so I have to rename the or something. Somebody tell me how to do this!

Mohammad. I understand your program. You may be lost in the details at the moment. Please do follow and trust the advice given here by all these people. You are about to embark on a reasonably expensive journey. Get professional help with someone who you can sit down at a table and brainstorm with them your ideas and intentions. There are Architects and there are professional building designers who are members of the American Institute of Building Design (AIBD) who are well versed in projects such as yours. I personally love a design challenge. After 38 years designing homes and special use buildings I enjoy this type of challenge the most. I am in Ohio and may not be close to where you are but I am sure with a little investigation you will find the best design professional for you.