I'm amazed that this discussion has carried forward for nearly two years! In that time I have moved to another coastal area (cooler climate and better proximity to children) and this time found most of the discussion still rings true. Finding another home here was an incredibly frustrating journey made all the worse by a mad investor rush in the area just when we arrived to start our home search. That search took the best part of six months and in the end there would only be three or four houses to choose from in any week. Result? A rushed purchase, a desperately inadequate building inspection and failure on my part to notice poor bathroom tiling, shortage of closet and storage pace, just how small the lounge room really was, and etc. I disappointed myself because I had let the pressures beat me and now we are trying to resolve all of these issues in a home designed and built by one of this states most respected project home builders 25 years ago. Having now studied the floor plan with more care I realise it was put together (designed) in modular fashion - most bedrooms have similar dimensions and the living areas are all approximately the same size as if the designer simply juggled three boxes of one size and four of another size and then worked out traffic flow. Then he must have thrown them all in the air to see how they would land and that was design number two! And etc and so on. This house aside, we looked at a great many during the six months because we had to broaden our search above and below budget trying to find something. There were massive termite problems, leaky roofs, asbestos galore, gazzumping at every turn, almost all but the most expensive properties suffered at least one substantial fail for the most basic of needs and to top it off the best home in our price range just happened to be built on flood prone land - approved by council who put the flood signs up less than five years earlier. We live and learn. Then there were the real estate agents, but that would take another two years and I doubt the internet has enough free page space available!!! OK, I hear you, they're not ALL bad...

Love the choice of kitchen - shaker style! I have that style myself and I love it. An interior designer definitely will be able to help you with design and configuration, colour scheme etc. Just letting you know, we had to put 5 structural beams in our ceiling for support and the cost blew us away, it is a very expensive exercise. You'll need an engineer to draw these up. Your draftsman will know of an engineer. Also, as a rule you have to allow for budget blowout. Everyone who has ever done a renovation will tell you. Once you start on the journey, you're emotionally involved and you want it all to be right, and you always add on more changes as you go along. It might be worth pricing things from your kitchen to floorboards to fixtures and fittings, ovens, fridges, lighting choices etc and then draw up your own costings. Builders generally don't do costings, they allow a budget for certain things, like $5 a handle, but then if you choose a $7 handle, then you get hit with a bill at the end of the job with all the extra costs. Make sure you know what the builder has allowed for when it comes to the kitchen, fixtures and fittings etc. I also agree with the others, the oven is too tight in that spot. I would swap that with the sink and put the sink in the island. Hope this is helpful. Good luck with it all, it's very exciting!

strip part of the brick and mantle back to orignial if the exposed colour lines up with the room, strip the whole thing. Looks so well crafted not to pay respect to the past

Here is a photo of our distinctly unstyled fireplace. I move the plant and flowers off the mantel when we light the fire. It’s a different style to yours but all painted white. When I redo it, now the kids have stopped drawing on it, I’ll take the mantel back to wood. It did lighten the mood of the room but in the same white paint it lacks something. It you can afford it, do it. I’d recommend a closed wood box of you can get one to fit. Ours came with the house. It’s about 15 years old. No troubles at all (except the weekend a magpie fell down and gave child heart attack when it tap tap tapped to ask to get out) We have the chimney swept once a year. . It is amazing in winter. Or on a cold Mother’s Day.