for reference, here is the layout of the property. it is on two lots on a corner across from a park.the red square is where the potential kitchen patio would go if i installed sliding doors in the dining room. there is a detached two car garage with a 300sq ft efficiency built into it. I'm not sure what to do with the garage. this neighborhood is an old one, adjacent to the town's university. it's populated with professors, young families and students, and most of the nicer houses have built the garages into additional space for the home. anything done to the garage would be later on down the road, however having a plan in the works would be nice. there is enough space there for an additional 1000 square foot rental unit if i don't include the old aquarium. 1100 sq ft 2 bedroom rentals in the neighborhood run around 1200+ utilities, and are never wanting for tenants. so, add to house's square footage or invest in a rental unit? I'm not sure what the best course of action would be, but i have no use for a detached garage, i prefer to park on the street as the doorway isn't tall enough for my truck. My grandfather had an exotic fish farm in the old aquarium, it used to have the greenhouse paneling for a roof, but it has since deteriorated. My little brother and I both live in this house now, he's going to school for a plant biology degree and i was thinking about converting this structure into a greenhouse for him.

I’d try to match the opening to the living room on the dining room side, then make a U-shaped kitchen. Put a small table or two comfy chairs in the bay window space. Definitely no to that first island layout.

I have to say, unless you absolutely cannot find a lot outside of this development, please don‘t count out a residential architect without speaking to one. Ours has worked on some award winning and magazine featured designs, and also residential remodels and new builds in the $200-300k range. She asks about your needs, your budget, and gives a realistic picture of whether those two can align and the tradeoffs that may be considered to obtain what you need. Seriously, a good residential architect will charge a fee, but it’s not necessarily some obscene expense. Ours can do a full service design-build or by the hour charges for site review and plans. And though we love the firm, she isnt the only architect even in our mid sized suburban town to work this way. It just isn’t that unusual. Builders try to make full custom builds sound like an obscenely expensive prospect. And a good custom build will cost more per square foot than a tract home. But square footage and the price tag are not the only considerations. Paying 10% more for a house that lives signfiicantly better, or cutting down the luxury of the finish materials or some square footage but having every single inch be what you want? In the end, I do believe those are the houses that make you happier as a consumer.

I think you've done about the best you can do. When a room is really busy with odd angles, you have to go a bit simpler with the decor and eliminate clutter. I think your mock up looks a lot better than reality because the clutter is gone. For starters, the front door opens the wrong way into the room, IMO. Can you reverse that so you're opening up to a welcoming place to sit and not the TV screen? If you need more seating for entertaining, consider a round hassock for your coffee table so it can double as seating. Use a tray on it and keep it about the size of your table now. The room can't handle a larger one. Place a chair left of the fireplace. Add a large colorful piece of art 5" above the mantel. It can be as wide as the firebox opening. To tackle the wall over the sofa, I would use the pieces you have already to make a gallery that actually just incorporates the window that's there with the stained glass. Center the sofa on that entire wall and then plan your gallery to work above it just like the window does (at the same height and with a similar volume.) Eliminate the shelves. Maybe use them right of the window in the adjoining room, or the kitchen.