Lovely area! You have done a great job! Just a thought i would have put decking to one side and only had one side with stone and plants as putting the decking in the middle looks like a runway. Just my opinion. Black stone would look great instead of white. And painting the back bricks would have been better with a darker colour to make timber "pop" like the colour of your fence or black like the posts. Loving your ideas and transformation is fantastic!

So many good ideas on lights. I have someone on the hunt for nice fittings here. Locals love chandeliers (cheap ones, not necessarily nice) and over-wrought creations that just aren't me nor would they suit the house. I love some of the suggestions here. In a win I actually found someone who has some imported carpets. A very small range of mostly plain colours but hopefully I can find something big enough to fit under the couches and keep our feet warm. We were also thrilled to find a single furniture shop with some reasonably modern furniture. They have this round table and chairs in a 6-seater combo, in stock. With the chairs pulled out, like in the picture we would have clearance of about 50cm behind each chair. Our dining room is 3.75m x 3.9m an there's a photo of the dining space in the very first post. Thoughts on this shape versus the traditional shape we currently have? Alternatively they also have this lovely traditional long table which we also liked, which made me think we could just get the existing picnic table re-finished and then perhaps buy these chairs to go with it. So that's our Christmas break blown, as we will be driving all over town (nothing closes here) looking for house stuff!

HI All - for some reason my lengthy reply a few minutes ago was deleted :-(. I put so much thought into it! So here it goes again. Basically a big thank you to you Houzzers. MB your subfloor ventilation sounds great and Im glad it's fixing the problem so simply. The reason why Im trying for a whirligig solution is that I favour a passive system, however if it doesn't work I'll look into what you suggest Siriuskey - yes to some kind of kit. I've already contacted a guy on Gumtree selling grannykit frames - he says for something to my specifications would be about $4000 for the steel frame alone. Would need to check engineering details - and the liveable sheds you've linked me to seem to have that all checked. Although getting a local Chippie to frame it all up on site - as Twos Co suggests - is probably the most economical option Two's Co - thanks for the feedback and the excellent checklist of processes. I've covered most of the concerns though - I've got the DA based on my own flimsy plans. Because it's relatively small, I was going to work with the builder directly and over-engineer it. I've since engaged an architect to do some handsketches and draft specs, which will be signed off by a structural engineer. It's basically a portal frame independent structure, with a 3 degree pitch skillion roof. The house was rewired and the wires you can see are non-live looms waiting for the extension! The sewer is not connected and that part was never plumbed in. There's good rear lane access, but for the purposes of getting concrete in, I'll most likely get a concrete pump from the front of the house - for $180 per hour they will save time and make the concreting much easier. The existing trench I got dug in because I had an excavator on site installing those lovely large concrete blocks you can see, for the retaining wall (500kg each). But that was 7 weeks ago, and the excavation has got too large, and I worked out for a very similar cost I can make the extension 1m wider, so why not. The existing trench I can fill in with the demolition rubble, compact, and filled with any fill waste. Two's Company, I'm on the fence about removing the existing Bedroom 3. If I thought it wouldn't add to the costs too much, I'd do it. One advantage is that I could then make the whole 9m long extension (Option 2) around 150 - 300mm higher, (ie a step up from the existing house) and thus avoid too much excavation and a potential pond. To answer your question about damp and moisture, the whole house is facing a hill with 7 degree slope, and fixing this has been the main aim of the retaining wall, however the runoff is only likely to increase in coming years. anyway here are a few photos. The site is still so messy because the demolition only happened 2 days ago - Im still tidying up....

Hi Anna, By now you have likely conquered your space and are happily on to other aspects of your fantastic home. I only came across your post last night and started thinking what would I do if this were my apartment? I would lean into the what is. If it's a dark corner, use the darkness. You know 'use the force Luke'. The contrast with the light-coloured neutral sofa a medium to dark colour for the wall from the entrance will make the space sharper. The sofa will make it look 'light' even though it's not. I wouldn't go with matching pillows to the wall, but I love the cactus at the beginning of the runner which when you are seated on the couch would be a visual break from the entry and bathroom door but no width to touch you as you walk past. I would remove one of the mirrors along that wall and hang the other horizontally about 20 cm above the back of the couch starting from the corner. This way, when seated in the armchair, you are not looking at yourself. I would hang the second mirror on the back of the front door so you can check yourself one last time before leaving, or when coming out of the bathroom. In this example, they have not used a rug to define the living space, but a runner to define the 'corridor' past it, which in your room would be past the bedroom. I would have the armchair just off the runner deeper than the kitchen bench. I would also not put anything in the 'corner nearest the sink as that would be the doorway to the living area and also when you are seated give you a clear sight line to the balcony. For the wall with the aircon, I would put a dramatic piece of art that has the same total volume as the mirror but is square or a fatter rectangle hung vertically so that it sits in the middle of the space between your knees when seated on the couch and your knees if seated on the armchair. That is in the 'coffee table' area whether you have any tables. I started the search with my favourite colour for the wall and then searched graphics for the artwork. But really you should have the art to best match the colour on the wall to one of the lesser dark shades in the art. You can get art made from any print relatively cheaply at Officeworks and use an IKEA frame. Or choose from art printing sites that print to stretched canvas, like this one with postage would be around $300. Hang the art so that the middle of the picture is 150cm above the floor. If you did want a rug to define the space, instead of the corridor past it like in my example, I would choose a single colour that was noticeably darker than the sofa in a shade from the floor and possibly even slightly darker than the floor. Darker than the floors would make the floor look lighter (if that is preferable). You can have any rug cut and edged to any size, including having a rug made from a new length of carpet at all carpet shops. And if this was my place and that was my desk, I would set up in the kitchen facing the balcony to the right of the sliding door. After years of working from home that sense of being on top of the world appeals to me. Thank you for the opportunity to fantasise about living in your space. I hope you are super happy there.