People are either not getting the correct advice or not listening to good advice when using consultants. And pool consultants should be included here. The garden beds that are being left between pools, decking etc are far too narrow. Home owners are then looking for the magical plant that only grows .5 metre wide. This is impossible! To get the appropriate height with the required width of .5 metre is just not going to work. Ongoing pruning will be required and people can't be bothered.And please understand, bamboo is NOT the panacea for width problems as so many think. If you want healthy plants, then you need to allow for garden beds to be a MINIMUM of 1.5 metres wide to allow for a plant to grow 3 or more metres tall. 2 metres wide is better, but most won't allow this. If the yard is too small to accommodate a pool or large expanses of decking then my suggestion is to rethink how you manage the site.

Hi Gioenne. Not really. We purchased "advanced" Lilly Pillies for along the back of the fence. They're about the same height as the fence (1.8m). We've also been keeping the interior blinds partially lowered / closed. At the moment, we don't have any outdoor furniture so privacy while relaxing or entertaining outside hasn't been a big problem. Once we have purchased some outdoor furniture we'll re-evaluate the situation depending upon how much the Lilly Pillies have grown. With all of the other "new home" expenses, we'll probably just entertain in full view of our neighbours!

We are going to have cesarstone for kitchen island bench Agree with opening from WIR behind bed. We rotate vanities to be in line with robes in WIR - we can change the robe to makeup table & drawers with chair going underneath of its bench. Please see attached sketch. By rotating vanity it looks more spacious and practical ! What is your thoughts siriuskey? Cheers

Not sure how it would go in Brisbane but what about trying a conifer? They grow fast and very tall. You can shape them or leave them natural. They are plain and certainly not tropical. Maybe speak to a local nursery and find out if they would grow in the sub-tropical climate of Brisbane first, as they are usually in colder climates (Sydney and south). Leightons Green Conifer – Leyland Cypress http://www.evergreengrowers.com.au/shop/hedging-screening/leightons-green-conifer-leyland-cypress/ Your quite limited if there's not enough sun and you dont use bamboo or tropical plants. Many other screening plants or hedges wont get tall enough for that space and climate. I hope you find something.