In what country are you building this house? 9 foot or vaulted ceilings are taller than the US builder average of only 8 feet (this is the distance from the ground to the ceiling). If you have a small room, having a higher ceiling (even only 1 foot extra) will make the room feel more open and airy. In a small house of 1500 square feet, having high ceilings would go a long way in making it feel much larger than it really is. It is especially beneficial in a hot climate because heat rises so you will spend less on cooling costs. It is not so beneficial in a cold climate. It still looks nice, though!

I drew a very crude sketch, definitely not to scale, of how I see your room working. Essentially, you could treat it as two separate seating areas, which makes for easier and more intimate conversation when entertaining a lot of people. Trying to have everyone facing each other in a large room just won't work, and makes for very awkward conversation. I find that at parties and get-togethers, people go off in smaller groups of two to four, then mingle and move around the room to chat with different people. So, to that end, you could establish two conversation areas that will each seat six to eight people. You can also have some of your dining room chairs upholstered and comfortable enough to carry into the entertaining area to create extra seating here. In the far corner by the window, I placed a chair and ottoman, so that is seating for two, and before the get-together, you could place a couple of your dining room chairs over there to create a other small grouping for four. You should still have enough open area in this large space for some people to stand and move around, which a lot of people prefer to do at a party (I know I do!). The bright yellow sofa is a modern take on the old ?English sofa, which in think is the perfect foil to your ultra-modern sectional. The yellow is a bright, cheery - and unexpected - color, but works nicely with white and just says "fun" to me! The small blue tub chair(s) would be placed at an angle facing your white sectional, so you would establish a color,scheme of white, blue and yellow. To this, you could add black, Gray and darker blues through your accessories and artwork. The little blue ceramic drum stool adds a touch of the exotic (and more fun) and is easy to move around as a small side table to set drinks on.

HI RinaI do agree I love jewelbox rooms, but I consider them more cosy ... and with a grey marble floor it goes all Versace Italianate! I am trying to balance the colours by bringing in a pattern on the covers rather than plain. I feel this will bring colour without overpowering the room. In the pictures I showed above, the rooms are basically neutral but the colour is brought in via pattern - I think this might be the way to go...Ideally a green or blue on a subdued grey would be the best, but I dont know what the market is like for Sumit...Cushions can do a lot to tie in the other white/grey elements.Shelley - navy is a good suggestion, but as Sumits area is quite tall and thin, trying to keep the general area light Any more suggestions most welcome. These are just ideas after all and Sumit will choose what works for the room in the end ;-)

Thank you Groveraxle for the virtual ! you are too good a designer that is why I cannot help troubling you ;) you have your biggest fan in me ever since your first advice:)) As for an in-house designer I am certainly going to call somebody soon . Just that I get such a lot of options and great advice from highly accomplished and talented Houzz designers ..I would be better prepared after these conversations ..please forgive me for pestering you guys like this:)