Hi marisalyons6. You certainly do have a (fabulous) blank canvas to work with. If I may - starting with that pink wall, someone had already suggested painting it a dark colour. I agree. Great and easy place to start. A deep grey or a Prussian or Oxford blue. Prussian would be my go. On this wall I would hang 2 or 3 "living wall pockets" or some "plants ape vertical" to add a wonderful touch of nature. The garage door has to go, sorry. Either replace with some folding wooden doors to match the stairs and inner doors, or if this is out of your price range simply paint it the same colour as the back wall. If the garage is not in use, it becomes your perfect storage and work area. Maybe even use it as a guest room if you make it over. I'd also be inclined to pull up that fake grass. Sorry, but yuk! Again, depending on your budget add either a shallow floating deck or better still (cause I love stone) is to have a beautiful river stone floor laid. The "drop" from the top to bbq area concerns me, especially if you're having friends over for drinks. Add a tapered stair for both safety and to conserve some space on the bottom there. The angle of closure doesn't really matter, and in fact you may find the greater this angle (from a narrow bottom step to the top step being as wide as the upper area) using a lovely chrome and wire hand rail, will really bring the spaces together and won't really take too much space away from the bottom bbq area. Again, to bring the lot together either floating wooden decking/floor or the stones. Just some thoughts I hope you enjoy reading, and more so enjoy the project. I'd love to get my mitts on it, but I'm a bit far north. Best of luck, and please post updates. Would love to see what you end up with.

Thanks so much for your input everyone. Those who had a look at my idea books, unfortunately they are super outdated and a couple of years old. SInce then we have moved and our style has slightly changed. I do think the majority are right in that a coffee table would be too crowded- Vy the tv unit supports the tv as it is not wall mounted. We mounted it but it looked so out of place that we reverted back to the tv unit. I think i will search for a nice side table to place in between the two recliners and leave the space in the middle. The trunk doesnt look great in the middle as its quite a bit higher than the chairs unfortunately! Thanks again for all your input!

Hi Ginny, What a great room! Artwork always adds personality, ambience and interest to a room. Please see attached some images of your room with some original artwork by Australian artist all of which are available on hatch-d. Artwork depends on your personality and the size and lighting in your room. I'd be very happy to help you find the right pieces for your room at a great price. Just email me through the website and we can start an obligation free conversation. Best, Jacqui

answering your questions: change the sliding door to a bench height sliding window and use the salvaged sliding door in the western end of the dining room where the best entry position is for the deck, you MUST have a proper legal drains do not consider anything else...the drain pipe for the garage laundry can be on top of the concrete floor, behind the washing machine and through the sink cabinet and/or under built in storage and only needs a few cms not a whole floor and no stepped up area that you would see or trip over.. the laundry can't be in a separate room as there's not enough space for a separate laundry without compromising the size of the garage...a laundry cupboard 80 cm deep is enough for the washing machine (allowing for the drainage pipe) you could use the old line cupboard to store anything you want but it's not cost effective to change, the entry foyer is already as big as in many modern homes and there's generous flatpac biw space in the small study.... the family bathroom is 2380 x 2370 (ie the old study minus 1m for hall way and wall thickness and, arranged exactly as shown to allow for the wide window there should be space for a bath up to 1800 x 750, vanity about 1200 x 500 and shower space 1200 x 800 and leftover space makes the small linen cupboard with the door deliberately opening towards the shower to use the back of the door for hanging racks for towels and clothes....btw i understood your priority was maximizing separate sleeping rooms and minimising costs...my last plan has five separate sleeping rooms plus the lounge with sofa bed totalling sleeping places for at least 10 people plus the potential for bunks in the garage so you need to decide what is most important and where you're prepared to compromise