I've seen a cheap IKEA hack using I think an ektorp bookshelf - they lay it on its side and make a (blue?) cushioned top for it - voila! A bench seat with storage cubbies underneath. Practically speaking, with the toys where they are, it seems like your kiddies would be blocking the walkway when they play! So it may as well be the arm chair, I think! I agree with previous comments about removing the empty bookshelf, and buying a dark blue / navy ottoman its a timeless colour, practical for footrest and children and will tie in with the adjacent room. Bring in some more blues in cushions, art, ornaments (maybe the window seat cover) to create a cohesive colour scheme. I think do the drapes last. With all of the other pieces in place you will be able to decide on whether to go for a patterned or simple curtain design. :) Elise

Living in Kelowna BC I suspect you have some grades to take into account for this project as well. The landscape Plan needs to take into account the architecture, windows and access points and service areas. You should hire a Landscape Architect/ Designer for your project. The professional fees would be nominal in comparison to the cost of construction and would be well worth the investment, increasing the property value.

Hi, Alexis. I like seeing your Chinese lamp on your Asian bar--Looks great. Maybe you can find a white shade about the same size as you have on that lamp. The coffee table hack oneofeleven suggested looks fantastic! While you're at Ikea, see if you can find a good-sized tray in one of your colors from the lamp--lime or red/orange to put on the coffee table or an accent basket in those colors to put little stuff down and add color and shape to the table while keep things uncluttered. Wall system. Is that an Ikea cabinet you're using for your music cabinet? If so, find a couple more like it and put your TV on one. Or just do an Expedit or Billy same height as your bar and music cabinet. The aim is to have one smooth wall system--same height, same color--to look at. You can arrange your art gallery over that. Keep all those frames the same, too, for harmony. Scroll through this house tour on Apartment Therapy to the image (which I can’t seem to download) showing a tall lamp like yours and a TV on an Expedit cubby shelf along with LPs. If you got a couple of those to run across the long wall, I think you’d find it would work better than your current TV stand. http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/drew-annies-house-tour-house-tour-198100#gallery/45915/18 I really like always designings Interior Photography shot with the long wall system like the kind I'm talking about with a good-sized piece of artwork leaning against the wall. Then you could do another gallery over your couch like in the Bohemian Eclectic photo she showed you. Follow her advice on putting smaller pictures tightly together. Measure all your spaces before you go to Ikea--walls, floor, especially the space in front of the couch if you go rug shopping. Measure your artwork, and get some good sized frames with wide mats for them. Measure how much coverage you need for a room screen if you decide to get one at Ikea. A simple, vaguely Asian one, the Risor from Ikea, ties in with the world market vibe you have. This one though it might be too big, so measure the space in front of the elliptical trainer. If you put a lamp behind the screen, you’ll get a nice glow in the evening. Walmart and KMart have similar ones. Since you have a lot going on in the room, keep the divider very simple. Good luck!

It actually faces south, slightly southwest. The sun beats down on the right side most of the day, and definitely full on sun in front almost all day long. Which reminds me, another reason I'd like a nice shady dogwood or two, preferably on the front right corner. (We have a couple pines on the corner that don't provide any shade for the house, but having had to get rid of so many that jeopardized falling on the house or climbing into the power lines in the past, I'd be ok never having another pine again!).