@soberg: on the toilet entry we thought we could have a 2 way access to the corner most toilet - one from the closet side and another from bedroom 3. @ eagledzines. Thank you for the sketches! On the high ceiling do you think we could juggle the entire layout of 1st floor a bit to accomodate a small family room (hall) where the staircase opens along with 2 other bedrooms. We are ok to compromise on the room sizes a bit and toilet / closet positions can be changed too as long as pillars are not affected.. The kitchen changes sound good. I was also wondering if it would be ok to have the sink right below the window. Thereby freeing up more cooking or prep space.

OK... but the wire wont be lower as it is fixed now. The wire in the pics below is the wall facing each other. They were leveled on equal height but the beam on one wall makes it seem a little above. But i think you guys are absolutely right that up and down lights wont look good there. I think you are right about down lights lessismoore. Would it look good if i go with two different lights on opposite walls??? it would look odd right.

coming to the dining area..yes id say you remove the seating entirely and concentrate on a foyer area since you already have space for a drawing room on the floor.. id suggest erecting a glass and marble wall in line with the wall that runs between the pooja room and the bedroom..say a bit of marble-glass-marble-glass-marble.in this case you have a small foyer area demarcated by this wall feature.you can deck it up by placing a nice console table in front of the central marble wall with a nice mirror to reflect the space and make it look larger or a sculpture with beautiful bracket lights on either side to accentuate the same.and on the backside of this wall you could have a crockery unit with a huge painting or a cluster of family snaps above it. if you could brief me a little on the look you're adapting for your house i could suggest some more treatments for the walls.if you want to avoid using too much marble you could also opt for a marble wood and glass look where you could take out some concealed storage for shoes etc. regarding the drawing room - what about a huge 4 seater in the center instead of 2 - two seaters with a table in the middle as in the plan..if you remove the central coffee table maybe you could replace the single seater with a chaise for 2 and also replace the 2 center tables with a nice long table in the center with an area rug running below it..if you could help me with the room dimensions maybe we could add 2 pouffes in front of the 4 seater so it creates more seating and doesnt obstruct the view if you plan to put a TV on the wall. what look do you have in mind for your terrace garden ? something zen or a little rustic toeing on the lines of the contemporary ? sorry for the late reply as i was travelling.. hope this helps! :)

Referring to the sketch above as option 1 you can have two option, option 1, as obvious cutout at the middle of the u shape staircase, in addition to this you can also have a double height entrance foyer with a chandelier in between hanging from the top. on first floor you can shift the balcony door side ways as mentioned with a circle. referring to the image above option 2 option 2 would be a complete change of staircase orientation , bringing the staircase in front foyer, extending the upper cutout as marked in dotted line, the new found area can help you extend your both bathrooms areas or can help you put some ground floor furniture or a informal study area.(see if your FSI permits to all these changes). and on the top your new area can accommodate your big gym equipment's like treadmill , and some additional gym storage. here you can also get to know from top who has arrived to your front door peeking downwards. further the walls of this area can be decorated while doing interiors and make the foyer look grand & luxurious. option three, If you are thinking of giving a cutout in center of the hall, please avoid, your areas above wont be usable in an appropriate way. cheers