For the living room, the focus should be the balcony area. So flipping the couch to face the wall and not the dining table will help. Kind of like this pic. Even if you already have the sectional that is in the diagram, you should be able to flip it. In fact a sectional would probably work better than the couch in this pic. I also really don't like the style of this pic, but it showed what I meant, For the girls' room: No matter which bedroom you choose, you should maximize floor space so that they have the biggest play space possible in their room (as they get older you can add desks for school work and such). To get this space, I would give them bunk beds. This configuration gives them an open feel and more storage, essential for girls. You posted two different kitchen designs. This makes it hard to give you advice. I agree with other posts that your sink should be away from the wall. This allows you to have stuff to the left of you (drying dishes in my house), while you wash vegetables on the right of the sink. You need the same space on both sides of the stove, also. At least 24 inches on both sides is good. 36 is better, though. The first design has a nice little countertop space that adds a place for your daughters a space to sit a watch/ talk to you while you're in the kitchen. When they added this to the first design, you lost cabinets on the other wall. This is bad, as the space is already storage limited. Try making the rounded countertop bump out into the living space more. If you play with the shape, you could make it work without losing the cabinets on the other side. It doesn't have to be rectangular or a perfect circle. You can see how this one isn't confined to the floor plan of the kitchen. I think this is what you would need to do to make it the most functional.

We are designing our apartment in the tropics that has a contemporary "safari" look with dark brown teak furniture and a beautiful open balcony loaded with tropical plants.. We have a cream marble floor provided by the landlord... And have selected a beige "stone finish" ceramic tile for the bedrooms... And an Oak dark wood floor for the master bedroom. What would be the best selection of wall paints you can recommend? We were contemplating a shade of grey as egg white and ivory are rather common here. Any thoughts...? Thanks!

Shraddha, Decide whether you want to take an easier route of hiring a interior planner or the fun way of doing it all by yourself. Second one is better if you are really good with choices and measurements. 1- Draw a budget for home, break it down to each room and each furniture piece. 2- Note exact measurements of the walls and spaces and note it in your diary. It helps to note the sizes in mm as readymade furniture are often mentioned in mm. 3- Visit the stores in your vicinity check the measurements against your requirements. Select a look that suit your taste. Usual furniture measurements are standard and often mentioned in mm which is quite confusing to new users. 4- Be very cautious with online furniture refunds or returns policies in case the size doesn't fit. Please feel free to ask further. Thanks, Nitin CORNERSTONE DESIGNS Bangalore.

Hello, can anyone help me select the wooden flooring for master bedroom in these 2 options. I am liking the lighter one actually and the bedroom size alone (apart from closet and bathroom) is 11.5*12.5... please help