As always your ideas are lovely.....I will probably need to take some better pics..its a bit of a squeeze in that bathroom..maybe just focussed on things like the timber wall, the pressed metal, the new rose shower over the bath...its not a shower recess...no room! I'll try. The bathroom has a tall silky oak and frosted glass door leading out onto a northern slatted, roofed verandah...full of hanging baskets and flowering vines creeping in through the slats from the gardens outside. Where you see that old chair is actually the doorway...to the garden verandah..I dry off out there. I can see out but nobody can see in. I can loll in the plunge bath with the door open and see the garden and the plants so its already like bathing outside. If my mastiff is inside I have to close the door or he'll get in the bath with me! I used to bathe him with me when he was a 15 week old puppy the size of a 1yr old baby. His reward was ..the plug..replaced so many plugs..then we'd both dry off on the verandah. He misses his baths with me but he is now 76K. PRESSED METAL ....Maybe pressed metal higher up the wall behind the bath is the answer...and paint the remainder of the wall peppermint...mmmm? That was sort of a colour in the kitchen when I bought it..only it was smoke dirty. The shade of mint I like is too cold for the bathroom and somehow I "feel" it to be a bit insubstantial as a colour..not enough body...just how I feel about it. Good for a loo though. What do you think of a pale Olive rather than Mint green and a washable matt rather than shiny? . When I think of Olive I can feel my hand running over it as if it were a suede. You've led me to recall a range of paint I came across ages ago...RESENE...it has some beautiful metallics...maybe worth considering. A pale Olive would go with the Shell pink colour already in the bathroom which I really do love and, WHEN I get the pressed metal all of that will be Shell.( Hermit Crab's bathroom?) Don't like mini orb for the bathroom. .,So, pressed,metal it is although$$$....all comes to those who wait and know what they want! Maybe I'll go to town and do the ceiling in pressed metal too...and maybe continue the Olive into the ceiling...it won't feel so high and so cold....mmmm need to do a sample of that weird colour scheme I think....You've go me thinking! Funny that - I did paint the boards white initially but ended up stripping it all off, it just didn't look right and felt fake...silly isn't it? FLOOR - currently its the poor man's version...(thick vinol) of large Shell, marble tiles. with light grey grout. Like it. Its soft underfoot and safe....(not so steady on my feet now). I'd love a random stone paved floor but maybe a bit impractical...but...if I did a random stone up the wall behind the bath rather than the pressed metal, I would do the floor and would choose natural ribbonstone as it is a bit sandy-feeling and not slippery. Many years ago a friend and I put up a ribbon stone wall behind the fireplace....it has a pinky hue...of course. PIC here. if that came to pass I'd grout it in grey. How am I doing bouncing off your suggestions in all directions? FOUND SOMETHING online....textured, waterproof, paintable wallpaper! Tempting! Cheaper than pressed metal! I'd love the old ladder idea but sadly there's nowhere to put it. Fluffy towels...OH YES! And candles...that's not too hard...and want one of those heatlamp/lights. Clean towels and some bath essentials have a shelf at the back of the bath. Towels in use each have their own antique brass or copper. mini rail...( long plain handles from an old chest of drawers). Brass clothes hooks for robe and clothes.....and, with the house came an antique pine slatted chair with a seat curved at the fron under the knees and a high curved back. It is designed for inside the bath for someone who needs to sit under the shower rather than stand. The bottoms of the legs where they stand in the bath have been curved to fit the curve of the inside of the tub! Some dill painted it white. I am going to strip it back to the pine and oil and seal it...Strangely, it can also be used outside the bath and stands on the floor without juggling. SO.. mydesign 1401 you've given me an overall atmospheric idea of my bathroom and I'll hang out for the pressed metal...might need to re-do the old stuff around the bath and the strip around the wall above the bath because cannot find a match...its very plain. Just squares separated with rounded edges and a circle in each corner of all the squares. Its not even very pretty... but it isthe poor man's pressed galvanised iron metal. *****Tell me what you think of the colour OLIVE...for the boards above the metal and maybe continuing into the ceiling...maybe too much?

My son used to help me cook in the kitchen - he is 190 cm, I am 175cm. I have an old-fashioned breakfast bar which is raised above the level of the kitchen benchtop. My son would stand at the raised section, I would stand at the lower section, it worked really well. An alternative might be to have a pull out step in the kick board spaces for your wife to stand on - I don't know if it would be high enough, but it might make things more comfortable. Speaking from the point of view of a tall woman, I will have my next kitchen cupboards and laundry raised at least 10 cm to make my life more comfortable - bending forward for any length of time is seriously UN comfortable!

Hi Lauren! Megan from Bluethumb online art gallery here. It's true that green is a trending colour this year, especially as it is complementary to Pantone's colour of the year. I agree with Julie that some art could be a great way to balance the room out, and I have a few suggestions from some of our local artists. This piece is by Sally Browne, one of our extremely popular Sydney-based artists. It's a print, which makes it affordable, although she does have originals for sale. https://bluethumb.com.au/sally-browne/Artwork/yellow-tailed-grey-cockatoo-frangipani-and-ferns-167209 I've gone and mocked it up for you Some other suggestions I have are from a selection of our other popular artists https://bluethumb.com.au/rachael-higby/Artwork/rock-wall https://bluethumb.com.au/haruyomorita/Artwork/Soul-Portrait-2015-1 https://bluethumb.com.au/martinesart/Artwork/ocean-at-midnight https://bluethumb.com.au/rozanna-johnson/Artwork/sitting-still-rozanna-johnson https://bluethumb.com.au/irina-white/Artwork/the-rock-irina-white Art can really set the mood in a space, so a warm toned piece will help with creating a cosy feel, however something more neutral or cream will keep the space feeling relaxing. I've included pieces that cover both colour schemes. As your couch is quite a statement piece, you want to make sure your art is also quite large so that it doesn't get drowned out. For something with a little more edge, contemporary photography is a great option. https://bluethumb.com.au/photography/stuart-chape/artwork/jump-stuart-chape https://bluethumb.com.au/photography/megangeorgephoto/artwork/nature-meets-industry https://bluethumb.com.au/photography/alex-frayne/artwork/rainbow-on-barngala https://bluethumb.com.au/photography/alex-frayne/artwork/nightvision https://bluethumb.com.au/photography/pennyp/artwork/thalassophile-3 https://bluethumb.com.au/photography/martine-perret/artwork/sel-rose-6-martine-perret With styling, I'd suggest lots of textures - think cream blankets with heavy knits, faux fur or a different type of knit cushions mixed with accent colour cushions (draw from your art piece for the accent colour) and some plants to breathe life into the space. Let me know if I can mock any of these other suggestions up for you. Hope this helps! Megan

my suggestions includes cleaning all the brick walls and paving and repair any damaged pointing and grout, extending the roof sideways over a new garage without the Dutch gable, clean and paint the roof tiles in a mid colour or consider replacing tiles with Colorbond Steel for a more long lasting fix and opportunity to upgrade roof insulation, replace gutters in a dark colour and downpipes to match the brick colour, replace the steel fence with simple horizontal rails (and/or raise a solid brick fence to maximum height and render in the darkest fence colour) add Plantation shutters or venetians to allow light inside while retaining privacy and use Kate's idea of the pergola across the rear, add generous outdoor furniture to make an outdoor entertaining area, paint the garden retaining walls and fences in a darker version of the new gutter colour and fill the garden beds with shrubs to block out fences and neighbouring houses, keep the big palms and add some big shrubs and more palms to the front yard and paint the front door in the darkest version of the new gutter colour and what are the flat panels on the outside rear wall??