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.

I have 3 feet wide & 10 feet long balcony attached to the dining area. It is more like a standing balcony, i plan on adding greenery, and decorate it with some terracotta stuff, pebbles & make it look like an attached conservatory to the dining. My problem is, it is way too narrow a balcony and i want to design it aesthetically. I also plan on adding glass sliding doors and cover the roof top & sides of the balcony with the glass, add some color to the walls to give it a conservatory look. Again, safety & privacy is an issue. Asking for too much? I need to know if this is feasible and will look good. It is currently under construction. Any ideas & suggestions are welcome!

Hi Princey, Windows bring in ample light and provide ventilation to a room and at the same time bring the outsides visually in. Hence, it is necessary to determine their not only their size but also their location in a room. Deciding the lintel and sill level of the windows may depend on the overall look of the building or a home as they alter the elevation to a great extent. A standard 3' sill and 7' lintel gives you a 4' height to work with. You may then increase or decrease its width to your requirement. Anything between 4'-6' is a good window width. If possible you may decrease the sill level to 2' to increase the window size where you want. Avoid doing this where the bed would be as its headboard will cover a large part of the window. Alternatively you may go for french windows/doors for living rooms. As far as the design of the window is concerned, it largely depends on the functionality. Accordingly, the windows may be side hung, sliding, louvered, top hung, fixed etc. These days mostly we go for sliding or side hung ones. How they look will depend a lot on their mechanism. However, their style may be changed as per the aesthetics of the room and overall building elevation. Here are some examples - These go well with classic, colonial and Indian styles. These go well with minimalist, modern and contemporary styles. Bay windows create an interesting corner in you living and bedroom and bring in ample light for the same size of opening due to their angular windows. The wall behind the bed may have a window like this, its fixed glass that filters in light and accommodates the bed as well. French doors and windows are a great option for both bedroom and living areas if you have the privilege of a balcony. The living room may have small or large windows depending on the area at our disposal as well as the floor where we reside. Ground floor with ample greenery around calls for large picture windows. But if there is no particularly pleasant view we may go for regular or even slit windows to solve our purpose. All these are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to discussing windows. It is highly recommended to consult with your architect while deciding on the requirement, size, placement, design, material and aesthetics of the windows in your home. All the best! Regards, RnD Atelier Nagpur

Hello there, Since your requirement is of a living room , you would often want unobstructed views. Invisible grills or MS grills with simple horizontal designs would suffice. If you do want an elegant and classy look, go for black MS grills with patterns. As for doors , put a security grill in SS jaali with a double wooden door for safety and beauty as well. Regards, Aurum Ideas and Spaces Bhubaneswar