I would go with what the architect suggested. That was my immediate thought and also means that you will get light into your living area all day since the kitchen would be at the front and the living room at the back. It will be a nicer space to live in. If you really can't face bedrooms at the front though could you do something like this? It clearly isn't to scale!! You probably sacrifice a bit of space in that smallest bedroom but gain much more liveable floor space at the front of the house. It also gives your husband the open pan area he likes. It does sacrifice a separate entrance way though. I'd also shift the bathroom wall out and steal some space from the utility room so that you have a larger bathroom.

No, ask away :-) I'm not a pro though, just kind of passionate about design and interiors and all that :-) Great cabinet. I'm really not opposed to mixing metals. You'll get a more eclectic mix. It is the result of going with what you love and not with what you think goes with something else. And that will give your interior your own personal style. Matter of taste. Some people really don't like it. Others do :-) Go for a fairly large coffee table. I would think at least 100 cm wide. Tape (news) paper together to the size of the coffee table you like and lay that on the floor. It will give you an idea about the scale in your room. You need it to be easily reachable from the sofas, since you have these high armrests. And your room can take a large table. If you can't find a large one you like, you can also think about putting together 4 smaller square ones for example. The one with the metal base (I took two from the Soul Lifestyle site) is on the smallish side. The black one is larger. Round fits nicely with the shape of your sofas. Not sure if I mocked up the sizes correctly, but I think the lovely side table is too small. The lamp is about 70 cm tall (again, I guestimated the size), but it does look small on that low table. Maybe it's taller in real life than in the mock up? Mixed metals in a room

Snan, The bottom oval one in Eskandari's photos would also work in your room (or something like that). The oval shape visually gives height to the room which would work for you as well. I know that shopping around can sometimes be exhausting, but if you were up for the search that would be another option if you're not sure about the round one you have already. I would also look for something that combines the elements of your wallpaper as well as your fireplace (if you are not planning on changing it) in order to bring those together, i.e. try to bring in the color tones of the two.

That's a working fireplace isn't it? I agree that the fire surround is probably not in keeping with your tastes and would probably look perfectly at home in a rustic country cottage, but just not for you. There are several options open to you, and if your a bit handy with the DIY, none of them need to cost much, it's just a little hard work. Remove the fire surround and see what dimensions you have with the actual fireplace, it might be that you can also remove the iron plate around it, thus leaving you with a much smaller actual fire. However, be aware that it will affect, the plaster, the skirting and the hearth, as everything is currently built to home the fire surround. You could go............at that point for making good the walls and keep it simple by having a floating shelf only, or another fire surround that's simpler. Loads on Ebay! Just make sure they're suitable for a working fire!