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. :)

Leather sofas can really dominate the room and can give an overall cold feeling. I would add some earthy elements, like a wood coffee table with glass or metal. Go to Restoration Hardware's website and look at their sofa room scenes. And I'm sorry I think the art is too harsh for the room. That's all your eye goes to in the room. too overpowering. I would look for something softer or maybe a cool mirror and I would add color to the room with pillows and some colorful lamps. I also think woven blinds would look great. They add warmth and give a finished look. The color of your window treatments should contrast your wall color a bit, not match it or else it starts to look generic and blah.. You have warm walls, warm floors and the woven blinds, like Hunter Douglas brand would pull it all together for you.

16' long is a lot of room. Can you post a pic of the rest of the room? Remove every door you can. Every doorway does not need one and doing this one simple thing will remove a ton of bulk and make your space feel more open - no need to remove the hardware if you think you might want the doors back sometime in the future. Are you up for painting the walls and possibly the trim? Is this a sectional? If so, you might have to split it in order to get it to fit. The curtain into the bedroom is a good thing. I have used that idea, I love it, and I am not from India! Change them out for a lighter color and add panels to the ones you have - make them at least 3x fuller than the doorway. Pull them all over to the hinge side of the frame after the door has been removed. Your pictures need to be rehung and you can address that once you have found a furniture arrangement that works.

To maximize the available space under the stairs, consider creating a functional storage area with built-in cabinets or shelves. There is also the possibility of creating a reading nook or small desk area with cushions, utilizing the natural light from the glass shade above. Consider adding a vented panel or mesh screen along the base of the staircase to improve ventilation. When seating is still desired, choose a foldable or modular piece that will not take up much space but will provide comfort when needed.