Biggest Thank you to everyone who has commented and given me such good practical advice for updating my little front patio/porch area. Before I depart again and forget to update? This is how it looks, I am probably at a later stage going to work out how to add a wider sill as suggested, however it does look so much better than before. Such timely advice has given me the motivation to get it done. I have left the roller shades on one side just to allow a bit of privacy from the neighbours and wind/sun. And one day will swap the large couch for something more suited.

@wayne For hydronics talk to Gary Flood at the Enter Shop. They are in Melbourne but he has installers everywhere. http://www.enter-shop.com.au/ Alternatively Alex at AJs Plumbing http://www.ajsplumbing.com.au/ We generally do in-slab hydronics but have also done it inside a rammed earth wall (at our office so feel free to come and look) and underneath a timber floor (several times including in our office). Insulation is critical. In a slab make sure you insulate the slab edge as well as the underside. When we talk of hydronics we generally use heat pumps to create the hot water (it's free to run if powered by PV). You mentioned wetback stoves (wood powered heating). In my view timber is only a viable option in rural settings. In (sub)urban settings the particulate pollution is a serious health issue and there is a fair chance that at some stage woodstoves will not be permitted by urban Councils. You finished by talking of ducted air conditioning. Regardless of the technology used to generate the heat/coolth, ducted systems are inherently inefficient and, in my view, should be avoided at all costs. The heat pumps can be great but the principle of pushing heated air around requires pump energy (you have to move large volumes of air). Almost all residential installations have flexiduct (not rigid as in commercial offices), the ductwork (aside from a study showing 80% of them did not meet the Australian Standard insulation code) due to its flexi-nature has lots and lots of curves and bends all of which increase the need for pump energy. This is why is it not possible to get a rated systems as you can with a split system; it is totally dependant on installation quality. You also need to be mindful of condensation issues in ductwork as heated air passes through relatively cold roof spaces, again quality of ductwork can be a big factor here.

I'm personally not a fan of tile - very hard on the feet, I find - so I'd probably restrict tile to the wet areas and go for hardwood everywhere else. Our last home had wood in every room except the bathroom, and after 10 years it still looked fine. Even the kitchen looked good. That said, we didn't have kids running around in the house. Did (and still do) have a dog, though. Our current house has carpeting in the bedrooms, engineered wood in the living areas, and tile in the bathrooms and laundry. All three floor coverings have a similar greigish tone, so to my mind they look fine together, and meet the practicality and comfort criteria as well.

Hi there Nick, looking at your photos you look like a modern hamptons family which is lovely, do you live in a warm climate. I did like the photo you posted of the open plan living and think that you are on the right track with interior colours I have marked out how I would like the first floor, I have moved the kitchen to the end wall to line up with BBQ outdoor kitchen, plumbing for this would have easy access via the garage below. The white tiles look lovely and hard wearing for the entrance foyer and Rumpus room, the stairs in timber due to the amount of traffic even continuing in up stairs foyer kitchen dining living, Carpet in bedrooms and downstairs theater. Kitchen in white but possibly Shaker style white doors these are very popular. Using existing sliding exterior doors if possible from kitchen.Dining to verandah, I think this ceiling would be best kept white to help reflect light back indoors, the tiles appear to be in good order but you might consider changing these along with new upstairs flooring Some where for a laundry shute would be handy, actually a Dumb Waiter so you could move the laundry with ease both up and down! The roof painted a soft colour, grey/white or off white, the verandah railing could be the same colour or you could do glass. The builder had a very different style of house to what I think you are wanting. Your photo