@urj123, Cricky!!! I knew you were going to ask that, after I looked at the sample I had that was full strength ha-ha.....AND I re-read you post and you wrote quite clearly 1/4 strength!!! I will return to the store, AGAIN, ha-ha and ask for 1/4 strength. All jokes aside, I think 1/4 will probably be real nice, as I didn't dislike the full strength but too creamy for the ceiling. My daughter actually painted all her ceilings the same colour as her walls with Hog Bristle but all the experts seem to say that a ceiling should be white or at least traditionally its always been white and I like the look of that too. I won't be back in town until next week but I'll keep in touch when I have the sample in my hand. Hubby and I are hay contractors and are at our most busy time being in tractors for many long hours but we are nearing the end and then I can take a breath and turn my focus back onto the home. Actually have 80mtrs of edging or capping tiles around the veranda to do and then the same amount of concreting to do on the 1.8m wide veranda and then we can get the colourbond roof on the house and during the cooler months, we can start to lay the limestone bricks, so there's plenty to do on the home!!! I have photo's attached in an earlier post. Best get to bed, more hay baling to do tomorrow. Cheers, Barbara

@fianou, Thank you for your kind words, I agree it's coming along, although not everyone knows that we've been building this home for 8 years now, using only our own money as humble farmers!!! We live in a tiny but comfortable7 square, (roughly) relocatable home and I personally can't wait to get into my new home with all the room and room to put everything in it's place!!! Right now all my posessions are boxed or wraped and in storage in various locations here on the property like our woolshed and an old caravan, as well as things stored in my mother's home a few kms away and with the home having just been sold, means I will have to move this furniture here and add to the mountain of things already in storage!! I'm sorry to say and hope I don't offend, that I don't have an affinity with hanging pots and plants and hubby would literally "cringe" at the thought of growing a vine up our new posts ha-ha I have got a pair of large pots either side of the front door , visible in the photo, housing Wisteria's that I hope to be able to keep tamed and they shoud look lovely when in flower. I originally planned to have about 20 standard roses along the front of the home but they are too much work I've decided and more often than not look quite shabby at certain times, especially when they are dormant, so instead, I have decided to plant several standard grevilleas in a nice stone mulch with a brick border as is the rest of my garden for easy mowing. I actually have quite a large garden but mulch is definitely the way to go and I have used a few different types of stone mulch, as well as tree mulch and woodchips and this reduces my weeding workload, the bain of all gardeners. I'm almost 60 and want to enjoy my home and garden but do not want it to become a burden but should I ever consider a hanging basket, perhaps indoors, I will be reminded of you!!! ha-ha Cheers, Barbara

Hi Complete Kitchens....Yes, I realise that 20k could get a good standard kitchen (our own one recently done was about 26k including scullery), I'm more talking about the ones that talk about doing kitchen, bathroom, painting and even moving some walls on 20k. What my point was, is its great when people like you actually give an idea of a cost of a project - it's easy to get fired up with inspiration and then get thoroughly dissapointed when reality hits! Things are expensive these days and I think for some who may not have done any renovations to their house for years, they don't really have a lot of idea of the costs involved.

lisa2chang No apologies needed, happy to answer and thank you for your compliment. We imported all our appliances, sink ware and tapware and sourced bathroom fittings also. The costs below include all trades (plumbing, electricians, plasters, tilers, chippies, wooden flooring) that we used and 2pac cabinetry, vanities, all stone (bathrooms, kitchen, laundry, pantry). In total our renos cost (for laundry, kitchen, powder room, butlers pantry changing a family bathroom into a new bathroom and ensuite) $145, 359.47. The kitchen and pantry portion of this was $62, 919.41- (excluding appliances sinks and tapware). We did make structural changes to the room next to the kitchen, to make the butlers pantry and to a large, unused family bathroom. We saved costs by doing all the demo and painting ourselves,some labouring and importing appliances. Hope that helps :)