One possibility would be to swap the living room and the dining room. Since the current living room is larger than the current dining room you could still keep some comfortable seating (couch and upholstered chairs?) against the front wall for a keeping room/dining concept. Then your new dining areas (kitchen and dining room) and living areas (living and drawing room) would have good flow between them, which would work well both for family and entertaining. You could also add some builtin bookshelves in the drawing room or new living room to create a library area to add another fun element to the living areas. These bookshelves could be against the long walls in the drawing room, around the window with a window seat in the living room (former dining room), or built to create some separation in the open area between the drawing room and living room/stair area. Your plan seems to show some sort of builtin there, but I'm not sure what it is.

You could also bring in some texture with bamboo sticks or decorative branches and help balance a bit the height of your room with small scale furniture. Spray paint them if you find the perfect size and shape but they aren't the color that you need. Ikea carries white decorative stalks for a very good price. the ones in the 1st picture hold well with small kids around and you don't need a vase for them. there are washi paper or crinkly paper floor lamps with a soft beautifully diffused glow For a budget friendly version check ikea or target http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80028552/

That was a hard nut to crack! I've tried many options and this one had the most space. Downside is the bed has to go along the wall. There can be plenty of cabinets in there, but not a large dresser. It would be ideal if your bed could be raised, so you can have drawers/low cabinets underneath it for storage.

I have returned to your website and my original message is no longer here. Sorry, I guess I failed to press "Submit"- the green means go, I guess. My response does not relate to your request, alas, as I am a site planner and see your problem in the visual and environmental context. It is not obvious in the photos how far down the balcony floor is. Does the opening shown begin at typical height of a balcony, say 3-4 feet, or 1 meter? My initial response was to suggest repeating the strong modern architectural lines with a planter or, better yet, a series of planters of the same size and shape across the entire opening, filled with plants of your liking to bring color and fragrance into your space, in place of the great colors of your neighbor's laundry. If you just want to maintain the simplicity, bamboo all across will give you a light evergreen screen that will accept your rainfall, bring rustling music in the wind, and grow perhaps a foot a day (up to its normal height) soon after planting. Decorative glazed pots arranged in rows or clusters down on the terrace floor will bring delight when viewed from within your home, but will occupy your limited space. Natasha Korn at www.triqita,com is the designer and manufacturer of wonderful fabric designs in silk - many bold patterns with bright colors, in sizes from neck scarves to large wall hangings. A thought would be to frame them on glass so the light comes through from behind and hang them on the wireworks outside. Or perhaps a large wall hanging mounted on a large footed frame or a folding 5-6' (2 meter) tall screen that could be placed inside as a room divider, but then when you need to better control your view, place it on your prison wall outside to bring some warmth and glamour to your view. You can reach her directly, I believe, at natasha@triqita.com, her email site. I hope this has offered further food for thought to help resolve your need. cascio.offsite@gmail.com