A houzz contributor, not too long ago, had made a wine rack out of 4'x4' wooden pallets, that are used in the US to move a load of goods with a fork-lift truck. Perhaps they have them in your country. He cut them in half so they were only two feet deep and stacked them up to high counter height. The wood would be a nice contrast with your concrete, might add a little warmth to the space. cascio.offsite@gmail.com

There is contrast between the traditional furniture and the focal point of the floor which pops, draws attention. I would recover the sofas in cream colored soft fabric - suede. I would leave the curtains grey, and put down a large neutral area rug. The edges of the room would show the pattern of the floor. I would color the wall and add texture to it, but not too dark as the room will appear smaller. Add a picture and put a nice plant holder, large vase in the left corner of the room - an oriental-style vase. Or, a cream-stripe fabric on the sofas. You could go soft or bold in this room - depending on your taste.

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.

@Studio Chippan, Thank you, for your response and the reference pictures. It offered me helpful insights. I agree with you regarding the 3rd-photo. This illustrates that 3 paint colours in my living-room will not work (even if 2 of them are white!). This also means that I can no longer go with 8300/Confetti as my choice of white for walls (as much as I like it, it will dull/dim my rooms if I paint that on my ceilings as well, especially my north-facing rooms). So now, I need to find 1 single-white that can go/complement with my 2 adjacent accent walls in 8307/Quicksilver, and that can be used on my ceilings as well (and the walls and ceilings of all the other rooms). Any suggestions? So far I have sampled the following Asian/royal white(ish) shades (I’ve added my take on them beside it, but it is only my own perception of these shades): 1) Base White (the one without any tint): boring, clinical, too bright a white for walls 2) 8300 /Confetti: not too cold, not too warm, my favorite white among the ones sampled, but too dull for the ceiling 3) L104/Cotton Wool: seems to have a slight-pink-undertone(?) on my walls, too bright a white for walls 4) L109/Icy Peak: boring, slight-green-undertone(?), but might work for my walls+ceilings requirement 5) 8332/Snowflake: this is a very nice grey, but I am looking for a white (for walls+ceilings) 6) 8308/Whispering Smoke: this is a very nice grey, but I am looking for a white (for walls+ceilings) 7) 9483/Clear Sky Night: this is a nice grey, but I am looking for a white (for walls+ceilings) 8) 8299/Ice Age: this is a nice grey, but I am looking for a white (for walls+ceilings) 9) 8292/White Gold: this is too warm a white (strong pink/peach undertones!), ruled-out. Why 8307/Quicksilver, and why 2 accent walls (if I may call it that) instead of 1? This particular vertical-line of the fan-colour-deck is the best match with a wallpaper that will be applied on an exposed beam (~L:15’+15’*H:1.5’*D:4”) running along the ceiling on 2 of my living room walls. Shades along this deck-line are: 8308/Whispering-Smoke (one of the whites you suggested above, but too light a grey for accent), 8307/Quicksilver (seems like the right density for me), 0615/Silver Grey (gets too dark for me from here), 0643/Steel Grey, etc… *Disclaimer: I do not claim to be a minimalist; I am merely trying to be one. However, I did not succeed with my living room design; and now I only hope it doesn’t get out of hand and OTT.