I'll be home snacking on the goodies I made....... then a bit before midnight...... everyone will say..... we should have gone to see fireworks. Then we jump in the car to rush around and try to find a glimpse of fireworks somewhere. LOL :) Very organized, I know. ;) To all who view this I hope you have a wonderful new year..... and beyond! ;)

Oh C'mon V Richards...every epoch has its treasures. B4 you make a mad run for it stop a while and consider the period and the reasons for the style...it can be extremely enlightening....unless its not the period you want to escape from but from some of the opinions. I spent many years of my youth outside of Australia living surrounded by old ruins in Europe. I forgot what it was like here. When finally I returned to Australia and found myself living in some of the 60s and 70s places..I found much to admire and wonder about. I may not have fallen in love with much of it but there was a certain mistique and a feel that I can still conjure when talking about certain places. Not saying that it was all romantic and pleasant but it conveyed something of the era and the kind of Aussie from those days.

Rebecca - try oiling the timber and see if this brings it up. Rub it in with some steel wool and it can do wonders to bring life into the timber again and it is quite quick to do. The worry with painting is once that is done, you can't go back. I'm assuming you live in an area of similar homes so for selling purposes, I would check out all homes currently on the market in your immediate area, go to open house days, see how they have been renovated and gauge potential buyer's response to them, ask questions as to just what they are looking for in a home. Agents will help you with this too. I spent a year doing this before I sold my home and learned a lot from it. There are just as many people out there who want to put their own stamp on a home as there are those with no vision who just want everything pretty. Your front door, while it doesn't allow much light, could well be a significant heritage piece for the home so a solar tube or 2 could be the answer to bringing light into the space. Colourful artwork on the walls will then help detract from all the panelling too. Good luck with it all.

I've wondered about the practicality of that style too. Our first house had 70's plastic taps with gentle curves that were troublesome enough, progressed to the four pronged style which was easy to turn.... and turn and turn, now have levers, and the only improvement on those I can imagine is motion or voice activated. Perhaps those circle taps have a non-slip surface treatment which helps with grip? Though if that's the case does the surface also hold dirt and soap scum. It looks like an illogical design for the purpose but I'm interested to hear from people with personal experience with them too.