Or if budget allows, why not have both an overhead shower rose from the ceiling and a wall mounted handheld shower head. Hubby prefers overhead shower (and I think most guys do as they don't really care if their hair gets wet) but I don't wash my hair everyday and wanted a wall mounted handheld one, so as we couldn't agree we settled for both with a diverter mixer tap. P.S. the ceiling shower rose we got can be slightly tilted and I think most of them do so you can have it at a bit of an angle. P.P.S. if you can't get both then I would go with a wall mounted handheld shower head as it will be much easier to clean the shower area, can't imagine the practicality of cleaning with an overhead... good luck! :)

we're building in Childers Qld (Zone 2) on top of a hill 120m above sea level with no chance of being built-in as we are on a 69 acre block. Quite windy all the time predominately from the SE. All outside doors will be security. Roof has vents in the gables on all four sides so I can leave open to purge heat during summer and close off in winter. Bed 2&3 doors used to be adjacent bathroom door for cross breezes but a layout change in the bathroom meant having its door on the east now. Not ideal but necessary. Dark colour unfortunately is dictated by our very red soil that will stain any light colour so had to go dark, would of preferred light. So I should make my eaves 1200mm all around?

Thank you for your comments - I did a bit of a mock up with various colours and am erring towards a darker colour as it would blend in more. When I zoomed in on the photo I noticed the house down the front of the view has a monument colour roof so that gave me a bit of insight into how a dark colour would sit amongst the trees - if I wanted to tint it a bit more towards the water colour (although this changes on a daily basis!) I could use ironstone which is like monument with a touch of blue. The heat adsorption by the darker colour doesn't worry me as much as our roofer says it doesn't make that much difference as we will have insulation - it outweighs the reflection issue that a light colour would have. As far as making it a trafficable space - there is no shortage of viewing platforms in the rest of the house - I did do the sums on a rooftop garden and am tempted but at this point it would add about 8k for extra support, 8k for waterproofing and then about 20k for all the rest - although I suspect I could do this last part cheaper than that quote. The block is not short on garden space!

Hi Tanya. I only just came across your post. Another option is to have an electric hot water heat exchange unit (installed outside) and induction cooktop. Do you currently have solar panels on your roof? If you did, then you could utilise the solar power generated to heat your water, during daylight hours of course, for showers, dishwasher and washing machine. I'm uncertain how much electricity it takes to run induction cooktop though. Probably for short periods it wouldn't be too bad. A great feature about induction is that it boils water and heats pans very quickly. If you don't already have solar panels and you aren't considering it, then possibly the solar hot water unit suits your needs better. I would caution you to find out in advance how much it will cost to hire a crane and crane operator and whether it's by the hour, half day or full day. Usually they also charge a transport fee. I think if you were to repost your query in Design Dilemna you would get a whole lot more people offering advice. I hope this helps.