I think they mean 5 rooms, not 5 bedrooms.....one master bedroom and 2 bedrooms for children with twin beds or bunk beds in each. I lived in a 1,300 sq ft house for 2 yrs with my husband and 2 sons. My suggestion would be to have an open floor plan for the kitchen, dining area and family room in one large room. Add a bar in the kitchen for casual dining. Be sure to include storage in family room for toys, games, etc. Add a built in desk in eiher the kitchen or family room areas . The master bedroom and bath should be large enough to accomodate a queen size bed and if possible a sitting area (maybe a bay window large enough for for a small loveseat or a couple of comfortable chairs). I would recommend a large walkin shower but no tub for the master bath. Instead have a nice size tub/ shower combo in the hall bath. Too make your house feel larger, use neutral camel, beige, gold or grey paint and carpet through out the kitchen, dining area, family, hallways and hallbath. If you want to add color, limit it to 3 bedrooms. Hanging all your window treatments at ceiling height will make your rooms feel larger and taller.

I am so happy to see you here! I will have to go back and see if i can retrieve my posts... thought I would make them into a little book for my daughter, with photos. Quick run-down on the bathroom (not travels, no time) - The kitchen has a rather elegant sliding door with beveled glass panels. Painted white, since this was the original colour. GD's new bathroom has the doors I had picked earlier; i thought of polishing them but decided sprayed automobile paint (on a resin primer) would wear better. Especially since it is such a small bathroom, and she is so splashy. I have this finish in my kitchen and it has lasted 15 years now. A tad chipped here and there, but only needs a wipe down once a week. Same finish for the balcony doors, also split like the bathroom. We have a new wardrobe, a study table with built-in shelves, and a small chest of drawers for her odds and ends. I want to re-tile the tiny balcony, more as a little statement. Currently we are looking at Portuguese tiles, though I did think a mosaic with a funky cat might be nice. Let me see the costing. The room will be painted a neutral adobe, with bright white woodwork and an off-white ceiling. This means she can go wild with cushions and covers. Other changes in the flat; We have changed the glass in the master bedroom and living room from small cramped panes to a single pane for each section with a 1" bevel all round. Doubles the cost of the glass, but looks so elegant! The air-conditioning is being re-located. The compressors were all mounted in the bedroom and living room balconies, which looked terrible and meant the balconies (very narrow, only 30" deep) couldn't be used for anything. Not even plants. So they are being moved so that the compressors can be mounted at the rear of the building. two down, one to go. Now we can put in some nice plants, fishtail palms etc. The kitchen counter on one side came out intact and will be reused elsewhere. I am planning overhead storage, cupboards, and a draining cupboard for plates and glasses. Right now there is no dish washer, though a place is earmarked, but for now I will put in a cupboard with steel racks for cups, glasses and plates, all hidden behind pressed glass doors. This is all in the planning stage.... Pictures in a little while, they are mostly on my ipad and don't transfer well to the mac. They come without numbers... so I have to rename the or something. Somebody tell me how to do this!

I don't have a pic unfortunately. My parents spent a long time in UK and naturally brought home some influences. I still remember the Little Woods book that my mother would go through and take ideas for some of the furniture. And the most important influence of course would be of using wallpaper. All our rooms were wallpapered end to end as well as the ceiling of the living area. And of course her focus on keeping things neatly and beautifully.

standard bathtubs take up space, look outdated and in today's busy life, rarely do we get time to use them. Better go for a high end steam shower with a bench seating if its within your budget. However, a free bathtub in a large bathroom however can be staggering. From my experience and the skill set available in our country better not attempt self made, it is quite demanding.