Thanks Jayme, I get what you mean, it's just not really practical for our house & will make the renovation a lot more difficult & expensive if we start moving walls like the to gain an extra couple of feet. It's possibly a load bearing wall too. But that area which is currently our kitchen where we are thinking of putting the fire place isn't the main living area, it's basically the centre of our living area which is a long room from one end of the house to the other, so we were thinking having the fire there will warm the house better being that it will have the kitchen & dining table one side of it & the lounge the other side. I think we could it a couple of cozy arm chairs & a small coffee table or we could just put a love seat up against the section of wall opposite the fire?

@ gladaboutown I am a city kid originally then spent my mid teenage years in Europe..(did not like that). Before that I lived on Nauru Island with my parents just after the end of WWII ( that's telling isn'r it!).. Your friend's 1800 farm house sounds lovely. My paternal Grandparents had a lovely old home at Beechworth in Victoria and before that at Woodend and I loved being at them both...guess I'm a country kid at heart but wqually happy in the Pacific. Yes we are luck to have such choices given what we see on the news. Hope we continue to have our country freedom.....bit of a scary thought that we may not always be safe in the cities....but there's always places like Charleville and White Cliffs and underground dwellings in Queensland...pretty remote. The fresh produce is the BEST! Good that the farmers travel to the city aras to sell their wares...we'll be needing them more and more. I live in a fruit and veg growing area with wineries, piggeries, Emu farms, sheep etc etc and all sorts of othe wonderful "down to earth" industries. Close to home I have the Strawberry Fields where one can pick their own...YUM, and a Bertry Farm that makes their own jams and sauces...and a Jam Factory. I wondered why I came her ages ago when it was not as interesting and there were lots of yobbos...but it is rathetr villagey now and we have visitors galore. I am lucky. Missing the beach, but hey, can't have it all! One lady wrote that she has barracudas in the canal at the end of their canal developement...and sharks...No thanks.

Appreciate the feedback guys! Decided to complete the render on the brick walls and ended up getting rid of the brick rangehood (seen on the left hand side of the previous photo). This allowed more light into the dark kitchen. Painting the cupboard doors has also lightened up the space. The kitchen feels light and breezy now... though it's not completely finished, as we still have more painting and rendering to do, including the additional cabinetry and a rangehood to install. Because of the festive season, we decided to put the project on hold; putting the doors back on for Christmas lunch. Future plans include installing cabinetry (below) - where the plant is -which will house the stovetop, and also cabinetry above where the brick can be seen (top LHS). We'll install a rangehood above the stove top and cut a whole in the cabinetry (on the RHS) for the fridge. Where the fridge was previously, we'll put up a wall which will hold wooden shelves for tea, coffee, mugs etc.

Usually the crank, winder, and chain for window winders are sold as a single item. I have never seen the crank handle sold separately as a component. You would be best to visit demolition and salvage yards to see if you can find matching hardware, such as Hughes, if you are in Melbourne. As it such a small component they are unlikely to list it separately on their website. https://www.renovatorsparadise.com.au/product/window-winders-classic/ However after 50 years of wear and tear, and exposure to the elements, I would be sourcing new window winders and replacing the whole assembly rather than trying to fix up old and worn. Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls