Nice of you to put such specific consideration into their needs! I would think that timber blinds or white timber blinds (venetians, which are much cheaper than shutters, but can look just as good. Because they are easy to clean, but mostly because teens tend to hide out in their room, sometimes this turns into a cave and they don't really care about opening the blinds each morning, also, they are particularly concerned about their privacy and sense of space, having blinds means they won't ever look messy and the most you have to do is open them up, and if they are tilted a Articular way, they still provide them a private blockout while letting the directional light in. I would also do a timber floor for a both, as they are likely to traipse in wearing shoes that of course are full of stuff from their adventures. They play sports, may spend time outdoors and timber floors scan be easily cleaned, carpets are ruined. As for a girl, if she has different interests, or spends time in her room often, a carpet rug on a timber floor. Rugs can personalize a space, so they have some saying the decor, and easily replaced, maintaining your timber floors beneath, while providing warmth and comfort. Even if covered mostly by furniture, the edge of a rug underfoot will feel more comfortable than not.

Hey! I would recommend when you've got a blank bedroom to decorate that you start by choosing a nice light shade and sheets for the bed. A well-lit room with appealing sheets will make you feel at home and comfy. As for other decor, bedside tables are essential they don't have to be expensive, something practical in a decent colour works wonders for the function of the room, and to bring some aesthetic choose a nice lamp for the bedside table, and make it homey with your favourite books and some tissues etc... A rug and some decorative pillows can also work wonders, perhaps in this space a nice shaggy rug to add some texture and a fluffy pillow to complement that texture would be awesome. The painting you've got is great and it would look super good hung over the bed. Other things to consider having in your room are a laundry basket and some pretty curtains or blinds if there more your thing.

We're building 4x3.5 Two with ensuite and the others with a jack and Jill. Life has changed unfortunately and now everyone in the household works, kids stay at home longer and ageing parents sometimes move in for care. At the moment we have a 3 x 1 and really the only thing we really want for is a second toilet, which growing up we had because we had the one out the back with the red backs.

I wouldn't. If having a master suite were important to me I would buy a modern home that has one. The thing about historic homes is that they typically had three equal sized bedrooms. It's part of the character of the home. If you combine two squareish bedrooms you will end up with a strangely shaped rectangular room that's not really all that useful. Particularly as you mention they both have french doors that go to a verandah. Those doors pretty much limits what you can do with the rooms. You will be trying to either preserve the symmetry of the doors or build a wardrobe wall up close to one and have the whole look of the room thrown off. A heritage home is what it is. It's never going to be a modern home and it's limitations are what people expect when they buy one. The limitation is a traditional floorplan that doesn't necessarily reflect modern lifestyle choices. One conversion that is often done on federations is part of the verandah is built in, and turned into a WIR or ensuite. Many of these homes already have built-in verandah sections so doing so won't necessarily ruin the character. Particularly if you infill them with a nice casement windows and appropriate trims on the outside.