I would definitely try to move the handrail to the outside of the stairs, the wider the stairs appear, the more welcoming and functional they will be. I don't think I'd go with steel though, I would keep to the era which was timber, it could be painted or stained. I also like most of the ideas and in addition think that painting the rafters a light colour toning with your overall theme will make the whole area feel more expansive. Add a feature to the entrance by way of colour on the door, as suggested or some very sleek ornament on the wall as suggested or my preference would be to feature the risers as mentioned.

I would imagine it would depend on what type of home you have. If it isn't a 'family' home, I can't imagine the damage to resale being too bad?? A large lux shower and double basin vanity would equalize it anyway. Have a look at some shower-over-bath's. We've put one in our main bathroom, with some beautiful plumbing fittings, custom frameless screen, stone top on steel bath. Not a single person who has seen it has screwed up their nose at the fact it's still a shower-over-bath. It's a seriously decent bath too, 1.8m. Our space-reality was, it was that, or no bath at all. Ours is a family home. Needed a bath somewhere! I'm still to find some nice grab rails to install. It is slippery to get in-out of.

I personally don't think the gardens and letterbox are too bad , and I'd concentrate on other areas . The 2 biggest sins IMO is the mushroomy trim in a few small spots , and the garage door . The gutters and barge boards I'd do in an apricotty orange as in will work with the bricks , upstairs and the roof colour . The rest that was mushroomy ( the small wallboard bits and the poles along the front ) I'd do in a crisp white . The garage door may look overdone and mixed periods if you change to a timber one ( cedar or similar ) , so as a first step I'd try and paint it the same muddy khaki brown tone as your bricks -- I don't think that would look too overdone -- it would all blend in hopefully . The gate over the left I'd do in charcoal , then I'd stand back and smile ! In time , you can update the plants , maybe even change and widen the driveway ( I personally have never liked that stamped concrete ) , but keep it all clean and fresh , with a little bit of orange to add personality !

Hello, we'll be moving into our almost completed new-build home at Jervis Bay (NSW South Coast) in about two weeks. Our intention is that this will be the 'forever' house, so we researched the Livable Housing Design Guidelines pretty carefully, aiming to design, as much as possible, for aging in place. Our end result is at the photos below. There's wide access, with no lip and shower space itself is huge at 1235mm x almost 2500mm. The tiled 'seat' is 465mm tall and 435mm deep, and the 'wedge' in the corner is 300mm above FFL. The heavy-duty grab rails are definitely strong enough and sufficiently solidly mounted that an adult leaning weight on to them won't be a problem. We made sure that the shower mixer is accessible from outside the wet area, to allow a future carer to control shower without getting wet, if needed. The 50mm set-down visible in two of the photos will be filled with 20mm river stones, and will feature a few tall-ish potted plants that should thrive with the humidity of the shower, and the light through the tall glazed door. The double-glazed tilt/turn door includes integrated Venetian blinds, which can be adjusted to restrict the view inwards from the adjacent first fairway of the golf course behind! While we're not in the house yet, we're pretty happy! Good luck with your design.