Formal living rooms are rarely used from my experience. I can't tell you how many times I have "re-done" them for clients because after living in a home for a while the home owner realizes that they are wasted space. My advice to you about a formal living area is to leave it undone for 3-4 months and utilize the rest of your new home. See what is missing. Do you need an office, a den? A library? Quiet reading area? An exercise room? A craft room? Or maybe you really do need a formal entertaining area for your multitude of guests that come around every weekend where you entertain very high-brow style. But figure that out first otherwise your investment will be wasted. Part of why you and your husband are drawn to different furnishings is for these reasons: 1) The function of the room is not well established. So he envisions sitting on a big bulky comfy couch watching TV, and you envision sipping tea on a gorgeous ethnically inspired piece of furniture and chatting with your friends. This can only be vetted out with time and understanding how you as a couple will use all of your house. 2) You have different ideas about home design. Your husband is interested in comfort and you are interested in style. You will need to find a happy medium. Instead of saying well his style isn't going to fit with my style, think about how he can have a comfortable piece of furniture in the room that is perhaps tailored enough to go along with some beautifully wood carved, ethnic pieces. And this may actually enhance the look and make it look less "themed". And at the end of the day you may want to consider hiring a designer to help you through the process - often times that can help you weed through the process of balancing out form and function and his wants and your wants in the space. Best of luck!

HI RinaI do agree I love jewelbox rooms, but I consider them more cosy ... and with a grey marble floor it goes all Versace Italianate! I am trying to balance the colours by bringing in a pattern on the covers rather than plain. I feel this will bring colour without overpowering the room. In the pictures I showed above, the rooms are basically neutral but the colour is brought in via pattern - I think this might be the way to go...Ideally a green or blue on a subdued grey would be the best, but I dont know what the market is like for Sumit...Cushions can do a lot to tie in the other white/grey elements.Shelley - navy is a good suggestion, but as Sumits area is quite tall and thin, trying to keep the general area light Any more suggestions most welcome. These are just ideas after all and Sumit will choose what works for the room in the end ;-)

Hi Reena, It is better to have the chalkboard wall away from the bed or study table for health and convenience. Even the chalkboard wall can again occupy the whole wall or contained within a pattern like below: For painting, a great way of using up space will be to purchase small square canvases that she can paint on and as she finished them, have a wall dedicated to this. This wall can be the wall with smaller width of space available where 3 or 4 canvases( atleast ) make a row. These are the ones I am talking about: She can paint on them and eventually fill up a small wall: Try to stick to sheets that can keep up with this type of decor. Do share your thoughts and other concerns. For a detailed interior decoration work you can reach out to us for a free consult with one of our experts! Atom Interiors, Bangalore

that is what i have added if you can see the pic above.. want some suggestions on partition that i can use between dining and sitting