Keys are on hooks by the front door, whack 'em on as I walk in, chuck down the sunnies or hat on the hall table, shoes under it, and then straight in the house. I have never lost any of those items and I always need them. Unlike my male friend who shares the house with me, the constant, "Do you know where my car keys are? or My glasses? or My wallet?" drives me nuts! Soooooo much time wasted searching for things.GAAAAH! To those who say you shouldn't leave keys at the front well, any burglar that gets in isn't likely to be using the keys to get out. I don't have deadlocks. If I did I would still keep them by the front door, in case of a fire. Easy to get out then.

bigreader I'm okie..thanks for caring ..just need time to readjust kind of walked out on my job..so looking for stuff to fill in my time ..I hate being bored and sitting sround fiddling my thumb been looking for courses to do and taking my camera out.. these I took yesterday in Warrandyte..

Hi I Lesslie, What a lovely place to make your own (and bring up your kids, work, garden…). The best way forward for you and your family is to jot down what you love and what you don’t love about your existing home and land (site). This can vary between individuals. Your list should include aspects like the leaky bathroom, as well as particular rooms being ‘too dark’. Don’t forget the wonderful features such as a particular view to the garden (or hills beyond), enough lawn to kick a footy, and so on. Now transform these into two ordered lists: the first list being the things you love about your home and your site (list in priority order); the other list is for the items that need changing for functional or aesthetic reasons (also in priority order). Next, write down what your short term and long term needs are for your home: do you intend to live there until the day you die, or just while the kids are at school?; are you intending to continue to work from home?. Now, to think about how you imagine you’d like to live, work and exist as a family. Forget for the moment your current home scenario. Write down the types of rooms/space you need (as distinct from ‘want’). List the aspects of living you enjoy, such as family gatherings, friends visiting overnight, and son on. What about your work from home requirements: do you need a space separate from the living (kids zone) to make telephone calls, concentrate? And how big should this space be (occasional staff)? After much soul searching, you will have what we call a “Functional Brief”, bringing together the pro’s and con’s of your project, your long term plan and your wish list. This should now become your ‘go to’ document that sets the agenda for your renovation project. If an idea is not on your list, don’t go there! There is another benefit of creating your Functional Brief. Whilst creating and editing these documents you will become more attuned with the worth (benefits) of each component. For every project there needs to be a budget – and your budget will assist in prioritising what is most important to you (the tighter the budget, the greater the need to prioritise). Your next step is to take your Functional Brief and your budget to a suitably qualified architect. An experienced architect should be able to transform your Functional Brief and your budget into a project – a renovation project that is specific to you, your family, your site, your budget and your future. Best of luck, Cathi

Once we get more texture (rugs, wall scones, pops of colour, shelves) and accent furniture in the room… it will seem a lot less bare. We were really going for a more masculine industrial feel here. The rest of our house is all over the map lol. Balinese front living room. Rustic modern farmhouse kitchen/dining room. Hamptons bedrooms… but each space is thoughtfully decorated and neat/modern. I don’t like to have the whole house seem the same…. So we have ‘areas’