Do you have the list now from the builder of ALL the things they want to approve at the meeting? If not, get it - take a week off work, delay your meeting and research like mad! You need to see everything in real life, not a picture, if possible - so go to the company's stockists - and see what other options are available. (Your builder won't accept too many ideas from stockists that aren't his own. I held out for a bath with an armrests and a headrest - but pick your own battles!) Look at every room on Houzz - laundries, lounges, mudrooms (especially since you're in the country), kitchens, bedrooms, study/home office - and check it against your list. You will be asked to decide on things you never knew existed - bullnose (rounded) or flat edges on your kitchen benches, for example? Cornices, architraves, doorstops for goodness stake (for some reason, our builder went with silver doorstops - we went with gold). My experience is that just about every default option a builder puts in for you is wrong . . . go armed with your own pictures, brand names and numbers. (Yes, I want the IZ450, not IJ320.) If the builder has some display homes, make sure you look at all of them (top of the range to bottom of the range) for ideas. For a country house, maybe consider half-panelling on the walls in the kitchen and maybe dining and lounge rooms, or some ceiling roses (yes, you can still get them) to give an old-style feel to the room (and you'll need rounded cornices if you go for the ceiling rose). Honestly, this is the most exhausting, draining and stressful part (well, apart from signing the cheques). But the effort you put in now will be well rewarded. And I think Hamptons and French Provincial style are mostly white or white-ish? So Barbara's colour recommendations are spot on. PS Have you asked for hidden drawers behind the kickbacks in the kitchen?

Hi, go to "photos" at top of this page , select exterior and traditional seperately from the filters, and save photos to a new ideabook on your homepage. This will help you to know what you like.

Hi guys.... Thanks for all comments! The colonial windows are timber so difficult to change without huge expense. There is also lace work on the verandah and balcony, And decorative octagonal window difficult to see in the photo. The front doors are traditional with etched glass inserts. We have formal and informal areas in the house - the front rooms have antiques etc. so more traditional formal areas but rear family and kitchens, and outdoors is more contemporary. We kind of like the gracious look of the house so don't want to screw it up with a bad "try hard" render - plenty of these around. What we are trying to achieve is staying true to the original feel but with some freshening up, and making the most of its street presence. The house is really solid - it was the builders own home when built in 1978.

For armchairs I’d use wicker or rattan for the look you’re after and because the gaps in their design make them seem less solid (important in a smaller space and where there is a walkway). You have the plushness with the sofa. BUT do take into account usability. If people are going to sit on the armchairs frequency and for a period of time a more comfortable chair might be a better idea. For layout - it’s a bit hard without measurements of the room and the furniture but I’d try the sofa on the wall with the mirror and the two armchairs on an L shape with their backs to the walkway. The console may need to be moved to another room due to space limitations. It looks ok where it is but I’m not sure you’ll have space when the sofa goes in.