Either material can be made to look and feel beautiful, but the photos show the worst of both. I love baltic birch plywood with exposed edges, but it must be sanded smooth and clear-coated with a satin finish lacquer or urethane. Concrete (my passion and my business) can be tinted to give it a warmer shade, and either cast against a super-smooth surface or polished to make it smooth. Bedroom walls need to look and be touchable. The ones in the photos give me the shivers.

Nice of you to put such specific consideration into their needs! I would think that timber blinds or white timber blinds (venetians, which are much cheaper than shutters, but can look just as good. Because they are easy to clean, but mostly because teens tend to hide out in their room, sometimes this turns into a cave and they don't really care about opening the blinds each morning, also, they are particularly concerned about their privacy and sense of space, having blinds means they won't ever look messy and the most you have to do is open them up, and if they are tilted a Articular way, they still provide them a private blockout while letting the directional light in. I would also do a timber floor for a both, as they are likely to traipse in wearing shoes that of course are full of stuff from their adventures. They play sports, may spend time outdoors and timber floors scan be easily cleaned, carpets are ruined. As for a girl, if she has different interests, or spends time in her room often, a carpet rug on a timber floor. Rugs can personalize a space, so they have some saying the decor, and easily replaced, maintaining your timber floors beneath, while providing warmth and comfort. Even if covered mostly by furniture, the edge of a rug underfoot will feel more comfortable than not.

Wow winner to me is the colour changing LED lighting, sets the mood for whatever you are doing: games, studying etc

Hi maryprior892 Thanks for posting the extra information it all helps in gaining some understanding, I think it is possible to improve this existing house in a cost effective manner. Just a minor item that I picked up in regards of equipment - I think you mentioned that the existing STORAGE is actually a covered internal courtyard - I also notice that you have a hot water unit in this space - you should check that the hot-water service (if it is a gas unit) that it has sufficient ventilation and is not an external units that has been closed in - any plumber will give you this information - enclosing gas units that are designed for external use is not a good idea. I think that if you are going to make changes it not only should suit you, but also have a good resale opportunity - considering your upstairs areas it might be better to add a decent En-suite and walk in robes and getting two or three bedrooms downstairs - in this way you would have parents areas separated from children - this might have better resale and use that a tiny ES. The third bedroom downstairs could be gained by enclosing the RUMPUS room and providing access to bathroom areas by a corridor to existing bathrooms. This would also aid in getting containment areas for heating - at the moment the plan shows one open space including the upstairs - lots of heating in winter in Tasmania for all that area - some compartmentalization would probably help in combating yearly heating costs. The existing living area are certainly ample, so the loss of the rumpus to a bedroom does not detract greatly to the overall house, and in the meantime you could use the new downstairs bedroom/rumpus room as you have already mentioned as a library. I think this is achievable, but before doing a physical change, I would have a fully developed plan which includes all existing and proposed furniture to scale, with a few 3D views to enhance the concept. (It easier to change drawings than walls - a lot less dust and much cheaper) I would then obtain the opinion of a Real-estate agent (the Real-estate agent you bought it from is not a bad place to start) and maybe two others. This might help in making long term decisions in regards to investment for the future. Staging your proposed renovations is also another approach that you might investigate. Above all I would retain and obtain as many ocean views that you can possibly get, I assume that the ocean views are at the front of the house (" revealed an open fireplace in the front lounge which also has ocean views so that is fabulous.") If possible you might consider developing an external eating/sitting/entertaining area with ocean views - I certainly would be a buyer, and I would assume that it might be supported by the real-estate agent. I hope this is of some help, I would be happy to comment further on this design as more information becomes available. Michael Manias Manias Associates Building Associates mm407p@gmail.com