The first thing that bothered me in this room is the distance between the seating area and the tv area and that both seem unrelated in everything. I think what you should do to pull everything together is the following: 1) Move that sectional away from the back wall and the curtains (placing couches against the wall is outdated now) and closer to the tv 2) Center the coffee table under the chandelier with the sectional placed 16 inches away from it 3) get a console table of a height equal to the sectional's back 4) place few decorative items, stacks of books, candles, lamp shades whatever you find suitable on the console 5) someone mentioned that the two accent chairs are not in scale with the room. I totally agree with that. You need wider chairs with a low back 6) A rug is a must and two are better than one, layered of course !! But make sure the biggest one is big enough to place all the seating on it. 7) pillows and a throw will add warmth and texture too...

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.

Usually when you get side panels you automatically have space on the sides. If you have a full depth cabinet on the top, you automatically have space at the top and in most cases you will have leave at least 1 inch of extra room for the back of the refrigerator, so there is always air circulation since everything is enclosed. In the 70's they use to make a small recessed space behind like Fred said, today you don't have to do that, most Ref have flat backs, recessed wiring, not to mention the supply for ice-maker also comes in a flush mounting kits for the wall... so pretty much everything is recessed and only space you need is for air circulation and 1" is more then enough. In addition, if you make recessed area now and you push ref to far you will never get your doors open so doing all that is a waste of time, in addition most manufacturers starting to make 30" side panels.

Hire an architect to help you or find a contractor who has a design build service and who is very experienced with your type of project..... It's not a good idea on a project this large to use a chain store .... Also, make sure that whoever you hire works with your budget.