Looking at the shadows, I am wondering whether the wall with the plaques on it faces north. If so, can the height of this be reduced? If it is north facing, the room beyond the courtyard would be extremely dark in winter - miserable and cold. If this wall could be dropped so that it is 1.5 metres tall, possibly with a line of fastigiate deciduous trees on the far side to then provide DECIDUOUS height, winter would be lighter and the solid mass of the wall would be reduced. It really is a rather difficult spot. And the paved base of the courtyard only allows for pots unless you want to dig up the pavers and put in tree ferns etc. But then it looks as though the area would get the full blast of hot midday sun. I live in coastal SW Victoria where our climate is similar to yours. But we still get hot days during summer which can scorch plants that haven't acclimatised to this heat.

Hi Lindsey, I also agree with the comments regarding adding indoor plants to fill the gaps on either side of the TV. Some great, low-maintenance indoor plants are the Fiddle Leaf Fig, Monstera (also known as Swiss Cheese Plant) and Snake Plant (Mother-In-Law's Tongue). They're all beautiful plants and very ease to take care of. Another option would be to have some open shelving on either side, similar to the one we have used in this Living Room styling below. This could work really well, especially if you have limited storage for some bits and pieces you would like on display. A bonus is that including taller items like this will create a sense of balance in the room, and accentuate the height of your wall which will create an illusion of taller ceilings. Hope this helps! - Elena

It's always exciting to think about potential plans for a newly purchased home. However unless you have experience and knowledge in regards to construction, costs and understand how particular design decisions impacts these things, you'd be best to (a) take some time to develop a clear picture or "vision" of the type of home you are aiming for and then (b) invest in some professional advice to help guide you towards your goals. When you say you can't afford to spend thousands on drawings, I'd argue that anyone considering a significant renovation project should allocate a certain component of their budget to professional design as a no-brainer investment to maximise the project potential and mitigate potential issues such as cost blow-outs or worse spending money in ways that misses opportunity and doesn't add value. Investment in planning and design is arguable THE most critical and $$ worth spending in order to get the best outcomes. As you have brought up, there are a whole lot of aspects to work through and negotiate, such as levels and structure. In order to get any sort of advice (either independently or on forum) measurements are critical and the first thing to establish, as well as other relevant contextual information such as levels and boundaries. Any design decisions directly impact costs, and unless you know what you're doing you can potentially head down a path of relatively expensive and extensive internal reconfiguration. Sure some of this may be required, but as we find regularly with these types of projects, mitigating renovation scope and exploring opportunity for some complimentary logical "clean"/simple extension aspect can be often the better option on a number of levels: better value, increased living space & better investment return longterm Best of luck working through it - and even if you do minimal work, it's clearly a good property investment Cheers PD :)

Hi Ebony, This is a very interesting challenge! Slender Weavers Bamboo is good, however usually to get height in a screening plant, it will also need to spread. To get the height you need to block the view of the townhouse, I think it will be growing too wide within the laneway. Also, planting in the laneway could prove problematic. I'm assuming this is Council land and therefore they could come along at any time and remove what you have planted (although it doesn't look like much maintenance is performed by Council). You could also face the wrath of your neighbours, or other local residents who might use the lane and feel that you shouldn't be planting there. You would be best to find a solution within your boundary. You could try and extend the rear fence with wires or lattice and plant a climber or I really like the previous suggestion of planting climbers to the verandah posts and block the distant views from on the verandah. Good luck with this challenge!