Hi Jimmy South facing can be challenging, not only in getting natural light into interiors, but also because any additions you add will put your garden in more shade. Some work can be done to ensure that the interior is well lit naturally - as has been suggested. Be aware that the garden space will need to be designed also to deal with being shady and cool. I'm not sure where abouts in Australia you are, and if cold and damp winters are an issue. For example, this home faces south, and I designed an extension that popped up over the existing house with a clerestory window to bring northern light into a double height void within the new space. We got great light internally, but the garden was always in shade - so grass and plant selection was made accordingly. I know you're not planning something this significant, but think about strategies you can use to bring northern light - or even eastern light - down into your new extension. Perhaps you can extend lengthwise into the garden and pull it back from your eastern boundary, to get some morning light onto an internal concrete floor and provide some natural warmth in winter through thermal mass. I also recommend if you're planning lots of glazing (even skylights), that you look for ways you'll prevent heat loss in winter, and heat gain in summer. Skylights such as Velux sky windows are great for top lighting (you could again look at arranging your roof so that you can face the skylights east), and you can get them double glazed, with blinds in them for shade when required. Best wishes for planning your extension. These brick homes can be modernised so well, it's a lot of fun to see their transformation. You can see a late 1960s home that was my own renovation project here - we had a lot of fun and the transformation can be quite dramatic when finished. Regards Amelia Lee Undercover Architect www.undercoverarchitect.com.au amelia@undercoverarchitect.com.au

Hmmmm...sorry to say I agree with jmm, there are no air fresheners that freshen the air, they just mask the smell. Looks like the security screen option may be the long term solution. Not sure if you are renting or own the unit? I installed Crimsafe sliding screens in my unit and they are great, doors to my balcony always open now with screens locked, fresh safe n sound :)

Thank you for this article: very interesting and just substantiating what I have always been aware of. How important the garden is to any living space. I see a problem with our green fields being carved into such time sites and the houses being built so unnecessarily large that it leaves no more space than for a pot plant. I think we need to look at getting the balance of site to house size right, leaving enough MIND space on the site. Also maybe an added sliding scale of costing to homes as they are planned larger. How needs 30 sq? Same applies to infill sites: taking all the site for the 'unit' is just silly: defeating the purpose of infills. House plants are good, and a park across the road is ok but having grass between the toes in your own private space is so much better especially for children. The quarter acre block was settled on as the ideal size for a family to produce their own vegetables but we have messed that up big time! Time to rethink our sizes and proportions... Cheers Margot

We too live in a cold winter climate with our bathrooms all on the southern side and faced similar issues as you do. One smaller bathroom does not have a window so we put in a Velux skylight which provides amazing natural light through the day. This may not be to your liking, especially if you have a period home. We also use heated towel rails and under tile heating (just enough to take the chill off and stop mould) in winter. Although we have a light in the shower recess, a bonus is the large fixed shower head with inbuilt LED, which at night gives the feeling of showering under moonlight. We chose light colours and mirrored recessed cabinets to reflect as much natural light as possible.