The mezzanine and storage spaces. Next to the mezzanine the builder installed a little door for us to give us access into the roof space. As the kids are using the mezzanine as a chill out area to watch TV play video games the storage now holds their board games, art and craft etc. The girls painted the walls to brighten it up. As the ducted system didn't work too well at the front of apartment we had to install a split system AC to cool down the study and the two front bedrooms.

A CELEBRATION OF THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN DUNNY In 1984 bought more than half an acre on a corner of a main arterial in a small country town. The house was on the top of the hill and the dunny-laundry half way down the paddock. No plumbing. It snowed the month after I moved in. Grandma's commode, given to me by my wise elderly Aunt,became very handy indeed. Visitors from the USA came to see what I'd done as cousing all born with silver spoons in their mouths thought it rather. Lady wanted to go "to the bathroom". I sent her to the bathroom. She returned looking perplexed whilst the rest of the company waited with baired breath..."but....???" OHH..you meant the Dunny! Sorry about that!. Gave her a jacket and a beanie and a pair of boots and pointed her to the small building in the middle of the paddock called "The Viewing Room". By then it was more than "bits of wood and woolsack with odours on the breeze" but not exactly what she was expeting. The "Night Man" had been the previous night....not a "long drop" bit a tin can that got emptie about 3a.m....so a little less of a shock. Tghe lid was wooden with a crack just where one did not need a crack...poor woman. I'd purchased some toiklet seat liners that one carries to utilise in public toilets, had to explain what they were! Mission accomplished, She returned to wash her hands in my poorest of the poor bathrooms and said....but I thought IT would have been in the bathroom! Lengthy explantion ensued.......how would the Night Man get in to empty it etc,,,etc...None of this pioneering made sense. Finally the sewerage came to town and the dunny was moved to inside. The day was a town celebration. A competition was launched to give a prize to the best inside dunny. Here's mine.

I do not know whether you could paint roller shutters, but, in my opinion, once you have painted your front fence in woodland grey, that would make a a big difference to street scape. There appears to be colour, similar to woodland grey in the shutters. If you then planted greenery in garden beds, this will soften the hardness of your stone garden. The roller shutters are not a 80/90 disaster, they are still very useful for insulation, noise reduction, sun reduction. That is why they were probably installed in the first place. Stand back once you have painted your fence, then re-evaluate. Good to read you are not painting or rendering your bricks. Just soften with planting.

Hi Anna, with your lovely bushland setting my preference is stained finishes that allow the character of the substrate to show through, not paint which will obscure the substrate material. Stained finishes on outdoor timber will be easier to maintain over time too, as you can wash down and re-coat rather than having to sand back. In terms of prep, use an oxalic acid based wood cleaner (following the safety guidelines of course) and give it a good scrub. Don't use sand paper or a pressure cleaner. After the cleaner has restored the wood surface you can apply a penetrating oil finish - at least 2 coats - to enhance the natural colours. If adding a tint, I would look for something that will reflect the bushland tones, probably greys. A strong orange look will not complement the bush tones. For your slab area, I would just give it a good pressure clean then apply a clear sealer, maybe add some grey oxide if the concrete is too light. The aim is to retain some patina and avoid solid blocks of colour like pavement paint would achieve. Sealer will age more gracefully than paint too. All this is subjective of course, but to me working with the colours and textures of the bush is the way to go. Looking forward to seeing your "after" photos when it is done!