although i always prefer curtains a 6m wide opening will need either a very light fabric or about 1 m either side to fully pull back to each side where blinds would be able to be raised completely above the window (assuming there's somewhere to attach them) discuss options with a window covering specialist as there are some new options that may suit you better..i also suggest to clarify flyscreening, security and ventilation options for your very wide opening as we found a more flexible and cost effective result with a door height panel of stacked awning windows next to a wide section of stacking doors so that we can open the window for ventilation without opening the doors

Ours never leaked. We'd installed it, then lived in the house 7yr. The previous skylight was leaking badly when we bought the house, it was one of those plastic dome ones- revolting. It was pretty easy to work out why the flashing had corroded in the old skylight- it was chock full of leaf compost. After that- every year the husband would get up and clean the roof gutters and the gutter of the skylight. Like anything regular maintenance will prevent leaks. I'm not sure what the rules are with cyclone-zones. Velux are made from toughened glass. I'm sure their website would give you this detail. Yeah- they get dirty, then it rains and they are clean again! At one stage we got a little bit of lichen growing, but then in Summer it died and just went away! The dirt/dust never bothered us....it's not like you walk around staring up all the time. It doesn't lessen the impact of the extra light and height.

I would suggest keeping the brick fire place with a clean up to keep the character. Agree paint the ceiling panels white however keep the beams as the are (if in good condition) to keep the character of the home. Paint the remaining walls white or light grey. The 1/2 brick white wall and timber paneling on the right side does need to come out to help you create the open plan space you are craving. The kitchen area - I'm not sure of size judging by the photo - I would suggest storage/cabinets the full length of the back wall to the windows where the dinning table is and cabinets/draws under the window also. Giving you plenty of storage for the home. I would suggest an island bench with a lower section to use as a dinning table. All your storage is in one place and allowing you to remove the storage you have across the bottom window in the lounge room. giving you more space and more light in the room. Or paint them white also. If you can remove the window coverings and replace with lighter roller blinds that disappear in the white walls or even white block out curtains. Good luck with the project from the Team at North.

I'm not expert, & no very little about the rating systems. But have heard they're pretty opaque, & as mentioned may not really mirror real world outcomes. I'm surprised that overglazing the northside will result in too much heat loss. If anything, with the right sized eaves, I'd expect it means too much heat gain in winter (& shaded in summer) in the day. But as mentioned by Paul, it's important that you have thermal mass within the home, to absorb this heat. Which can then be released over time as the home is cooling down in the evenings. Thermal mass are heavy materials, like masonry, concrete, & even water. By absorbing heat, & releasing it slowly, thermal mass knocks off the peaks of daytime highs, & nighttime lows, keeping the internal temperature more stable. Without it a lightweight home can become too hot in the day (even in winter on occasions) & too cold at night. Thermal mass is especially important inland, where the difference between daytime highs & nighttime lows (called the diurnal temperature) is greater. So if you are away from the coast of definitely investigate whether you have enough thermal mass in your home. A north facing concrete of tiled floor will do it. It will greatly increase the comfort & energy efficiency of your home. Instead of aiming for the bare minimum when it comes to energy efficiency, resulting in less comfort, & much higher bills. More about thermal mass can be found on this wonderful government website, http://yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/thermal-mass