Thank you for ideas @Sian: yes, that could be a choice, since we sure need the space. I'm just afraid of loosing the space that sometimes is valuable when family/guests comes over and you want to socialise while cooking. @wuff: Oh, you mean a built in nook? I also thought of it, but since we just renovated the bathroom and laundry, I'm trying to pause any (costy) projects and rather focus on plain furnitures.

We installed a skylight over shower (velux fixed) in a tiny ensuite and I would highly recommend. It looked absolutely amazing and was heavenly to shower under the sky. We only had the house for a year and sold it (about to install another skylight over shower in our new house), so I can't comment on the long term, but no mould problems or condensation drips. I think if anything the sunlight was actually helpful to dry up moisture. We live in Tasmania so I'd doubt condensation dripping would be a problem elsewhere. We had a fan installed not in the cavity with the skylight but just on the ceiling next to it. In the second bathroom we put in a skylight over bath and put an extractor in the skylight cavity as the ceiling was higher. Could not feel a draught- so I think the question of where to put fan really depends on ceiling height. Do the skylight over shower!! You will not regret it. It really takes your bathroom to another level and there are really no maintenance problems if installed properly with custom flashings. I found velux quite repellent of dirt etc, we did not need to clean after a year (one flat roof skylight, one very large sloped) and I have seen velux skylights looking great with no cleaning for 7 years plus.

kitchen to south any day of the week....I'd also go further to suggest that possibly the building could have been designed to have the kitchen hard to the south boundary that would have opened up more north light opportunity and better use of the (unusable) side space behind the kitchen. You'd still need a light court for the bedrooms etc...& possibly by doing this the future pool could have been flipped and oriented more to the north/west corner and the net effect would be having more options/flexibility for the outside space, & also possibly alfresco area located on the north which is always better than to the west, so alternatively an extension that is more streamlined in design, following the line of the existing building rather than kicking out, I can see immediately that this type of design strategy would bring some arguably clear benefits on a number of levels .....not sure how far down the track you are (looks like still in concept/sketch design stage) may I add that it's always cheaper to consider re-design on paper rather than regretting less than ideal outcomes after they're built...... anyway food for thought........always consider the options and maintain an open mind...it's always ALL in the design Best of luck Cheer PD :)

I'd go further , and be more brutal ! Right now , you have white walls , off white leather coaches , off white floor tiles ( in a lounge area -- cold , cold , cold IMO ) and a grey jute type rug . Do you dislike colour haha . DON'T go for blands -- go bright and big , again just my opinion . Hard to tell the wall sizes between windows , or what the rest of the room looks like , but how about this -- -- A couple of leafy plants around a metre tall , each in a suitable gloss glazed pot , matching colours in red or maroon or yellow or orange . -- A solid wood coffee table -- I'd buy a well used $10 one on an auction site , with chunks and knocks and worn corners . Varnish the top , paint the legs and cross bars in a mix of 50/50 paint and turps , to almost make it a stain . Go with a similar red/orange/ yellow as pots , BUT not a match . And when you are done painting , but before it is dry , add more paint so it is then 66-75% paint , and dab and rub some on using a sponge . -- Get a BIG picture -- 2metre by 1.5 . Similar but different colours to the above . Can't find one you are rapt with ? Go with close , get any left over coffee table 'stain' , and dab it on , streak it on , rub it in circles . Say you use orange , get some test pots in apricot and mid yellow and 3 shades of red . Repeat with them too , and/or thin them and suck them into syringes , and have fun squirting them across the picture . In other words , make or at least modify your own work of art original ! Theres nothing stopping you there either -- how about painting some small random offcuts of ply and gluing them on ? One or two bits of aluminium or stainless ? A rusty bit of tin ? A knife and fork ? Make it into a 3D multimedia piece ! ALL the above -- $1000 tops and a couple of days of fun !