Keya, glad you decided to take the one reader's idea about moving the armoires in front of windows that you don't need and giving the bed a wall of its own! And, yes, you can have Roman shades on one wall and layered drapes on the other. When I had drapes made for my tall sitting room windows/doors, I had them use the same fabric for the Roman shades for the smaller windows on the other wall. For me personally, in these older Indian homes with all the odd nooks and niches in the walls, perhaps it would be more soothing to have a light/med tone paint on the walls that blends with the drapes/blinds for an 'uninterrupted' look, and I would use the same color on ceiling and beams. (but that is just my thought) I would start the process with a large carpet with your favorite colors, then choose your Bedcover & cushions, then your wall paint and fabric for drapes/blinds ..Not certain what style you like, but if you really like a particular Ethnic bedcover fabric, you can always have them stitched into curtains or Roman shades too. Can't wait to see the "After" pics!

Going with professional has its own advantages. Afterall he is pro, so he has studied more and has more experience. However is this person from the kitchen shoppee, which is giving you quotation of kitchen installation? In such cases, I have experienced that they just make boxy kitchens where they add lotsa fittings, that increases your budget. Open shelves does not need such fittings, so such are omitted...Normal door wali cabinets are less and number of drawers increased. Going on own is not a bad idea, provided you need to study it well. Note down the requirements, classify work areas and so on... In this approach , you have to go bit slower and carefully. Allow some flexibility in design, so that in future , you can alter as per the need. Sometimes we come to know the problems after few months/ years and we cant change it later. Ultimately compare between [your time+ efforts+ study+ error chances] Vs Hiring professional and go ahead accordingly.

The living room window itself does not appear to be designed to let much light through. Please show a photo of that window, also of what lies outside the window. In the meantime, I suggest that you replace the builder-installed window with one of your own choosing. Use toughened glass rather than this heavy grill. Minimise the frame, if possible, particularly if there will not be much air coming through. If there is the potential of air but not much view, then have a sliding or bifold window that maximises the opening. On the blank wall outside, if that's your view, put up a green wall, creeper, something to improve the outlook. For nighttime viewing, add mild uplights in a natural white shade, focused on the greenery. Or else, you may be able to put up a reflective surface on the facing wall, to bounce in more of whatever light there is. Such as a coloured glass mural if not a plain mirror. Once you have maximised your window, move on to the wall to the right of your living room photo. That is, the wall that your living room shares with the west bedroom. Use a very large mirror on that wall to expand your living room visually and to bounce more light around. To cut down on expense/effort you can make it out of several standard-size sheets rather than one giant sheet. However, if that wall is to be covered with storage, make sure the front surface of the cabinetry is fairly light-coloured and reflective. Last, if not yet satisfied, consult a lighting expert for this room. That would be useful. These are fairly expensive solutions, all in all, but they should help.

Thanks. Somehow I did not have luck finding good carpenters, Here is how I wanted the drawers to look. Here is how carpenter from my locality (not too cheap a neighborhood, called Lokhandwala) tried to make, A you can see, he tried to chisel the wood to get this design. Obviously had no clue. Finally he gave up, Brought the unfinished desk in with an excuse to show me how it is coming along, left it with me and never showed his face again. So I tried an expensive carpenter, who did some work at an apartment on NapeanSea Road, a very expensive locality and paid him what he wanted. He too did not know how to make this. All he did was out a moulding in the center to make it look .as though it were similar to what I wanted. At least his work was clean, except that he represented that the top was teakwood while I lter found out that it is mango wood, but he too did not know how to get this done. I hope one of you can suggest a carpenter with some skill.