Great looking fireplace you have there! I agree it looks Art Deco and placed in the corner of the room, it makes me think your house is older than 50yrs. I'd guess it was built more like in the 1930 -40's. The gas heater and tiles looks like they were installed around the 60's. And the original tiles were ripped up and replaced with the ones you see. The rubble-y area on the side was I believe the original hearth. The new tiles didn't quite line up with the old. And no doubt, modern new wall to wall carpet was installed over it the same time so they didn't worry about it. If it was mine, I'd get a plumber in to disconnect the gas and pull out the heater. I'd then see if the chimney was in working order. Do you have chimneys on the roof you can see? Then replace the tiles and paint the surround. There's a good chance there is a void behind the gas heater. I'd look into making it back to a working fireplace. If not, I'd pop some nicely cut decorative looking logs into the space. You could remove it but it's lovely and the room looks large enough to put a wardrobe over the opposite wall to the bed. Lastly could be a bit of work to remove the wall as I'd expect it is masonry and need to check that it can be taken out without structural damage to the rest of the building. Often these fireplaces were paired up with one in the room behind. Do you have a corner fireplace in the next room?

Too cute. Hey, she's preggo. I love them.

You never mentioned your budget that you're willing to spend. You could add a thicker fill backed insulation blanket - 50mm, 75mm or 100mm are the common thicknesses. Steep roof pitch so would need scaffolding, harnesses, etc.. which adds up quickly. Probably still not enough insulation though but probably cheapest option. Insulation under existing timber linings then reline over the top of that as some have suggested. Working at height though so would need scaffold set up again and working overhead is not fun nor easy. You could replace the roof with a sandwich panel roof. Try Versiclad or Kingspan or comparable. They have a polystyrene type of insulation between an outer metal roof sheet and a metal inner sheet. These are heat laminated together. Again different thickness available from 50mm up to 180mm is common. The 180mm has a R rating of 4.7 which is quite good. Again steep pitch, etc., probably need new ridge capping, etc.. Probably most expensive option...... Keep us all posted on your decision though!

The term used is universal housing design. that might help you find some resources. https://universaldesignaustralia.net.au/category/housing-design-guidelines/ A lot of agencies release pdfs and guides with info like what standard measurements etc for halls and kitchen benches etc. I wouldn't install anything specific like because it will be easier to source those as required. but the things like space and layout certainly need to be done now! Access in an out. When I used a wheelchair we really struggled to find houses to rent I could access. the best we could do was a house with 4 steps in and out, and my husband had to carry me up the stairs. generally speaking wider passageways and traffic zones. You need space around furniture placement for mobility aids and wheelchairs. A shower that is open and is continuous with the bathroom floor. non-slip tiling. A bench or sitting area in the bathroom for changing and showering. As someone with mobility issues sometimes things that don't seem an issue are, like when your mobility is affected even slight level changes are an issue. my most frustrating level change is just the 5cm rise on the kitchen tiling and around the fireplace hearth. It's hard to explain but the small level changes are harder than stairs! So a flat floor that stays flat with no lips or trimming or metal capping on the carpets is important. Overall, keeping things low maintenance because any illness or mobility challenge brings fatigue and things can get too hard if the house is fussy. simple no fuss surfaces and hard-wearing materials. I really like cork floors as they are easy to clean and if you fall its not as painful. Good connection to outdoors and a nice view. The worst thing is it becomes harder to get out and about and sometimes you aren't well enough to, so for those days staring at a blank wall is the worst, an interesting view with good bright light and fresh air helps a lot. . don't use taps and door handles that twist and turn on, use sliders and knobs and handles that you push down with your whole hand to open. Good easy access to the home for emergency services. A wide front door that could allow ambulance access. One home I visited with universal design positioned bedroom and bathroom on opposite sides of a wide tiled entrance area that also had the laundry in a cupboard. It meant for good access to the bathroom and easy laundry use, and good emergency access to bed and bathroom in case of a fall. they also had a help button in the bathroom. but I would suggest phone access across the house or a handy (Dry) mobile phone nook works just as well. a bathroom close to the bedroom, but not so close that a partner is kept up at night. Think about the overall traffic flow, if you have to move too far and cross back and forth a lot it's going to be really exhausting. Disability modifications actually kinda suck and aren't always useful. The wheelie walker i was supposed to use as I learned to walk again actually was so heavy it would exhaust me, I find grasping dado rails and chairs and doors is often easier, so an oversized timber dado rail that could be grabbed hold of would be useful, and making sure its not far to sit down and rest. a chair in the bathroom, a chair in the bedroom, a chair near the front door for sitting and sorting shoes etc. they can be pretty corner chairs and not disability chairs iykwim. often just good efficient design and layout are key. Flexibility so that things can be adapted to suit specific requirements.