What a great big room. The ideas are endless. Not sure if you live in Melb but I would get professional help. Honestly it doesn't cost a lot and you have peace of mind. For the painting go to any paint store, even Bunnings. They have the ph nos for a paint colour consultant. (I went with Dulux) but most Paint companies now have colour consultants to come out for a fee. The consultant comes out for a fee approx.($150) but that was for a few rooms. Then if you buy their paint, the price of the consultation is deducted off the paint you purchase. So really the consultation is free, if you choose their paint. Freedom decorator consultant works the same way. Can't remember how much (no more than $200) and she gave me great ideas. If you buy anything from them, again it's deducted off your purchase. There is no commitment with either paint company of Freedom to purchase from them. The advantage is, you can have the amount spent deducted from purchase. Honestly it cost saving and you get professional advise. Win Win situation. We've built 3 times and painted the house myself, and I have been so glad I did the above, with both paint and furnishings.. Plus I do up my own furniture, (most bought at garage sales) so I only purchased what I really wanted from Freedom, the rest 99%, I got from op shops and did up myself. But the ideas are helpful. Honestly, you need to know what decore you want in your room? So they will work around that. If your unsure, they will look at the rest of the house and work with your ideas. I like French provin. So I worked around that, Just to give you ideas you don't have to spend a fortune. My bedroom is also huge. Haven't took photos all-round. I redid all the furniture in both rooms. The above cabinet was brown stain which I painted white. GOODLUCK

That is a hard one with those tiles. I would have to think if you did a white, it would kind of work with the colour of your tiles. At the end of the day, they do need to be replaces, but as you said, due to budgeting reasons, you cannot, I can pass on this photo of a nice bathroom with those tiles for you though for inspiration... : )

Hi Louise :) Apart from the kitchen location, we've actually kept fairly close to the original idea! The only change is that the back will now be big glass stacker doors (as mentioned above) the same as at the front. We can open the whole room up to the outside, front and back. The whole first floor will all be pretty much open plan so we've decided not to worry where the door to the laundry & bathroom is. The dining table will be up against a wide window with a built-in bench seat, to save room and allow a wider pathway to the kitchen. The kitchen looks straight into the dining area, it's all open. So when I'm standing in my new kitchen I'll be able to see out to the back garden, all the way through the house, and see the spa area too. I can't wait :)

I agree about the idea of putting roller blinds on your door , matching the colours of the others must mention about Annie Sloan paint : it is a chalk paint and you can apply it on any wood surface with at having to use primer, what " seals" the pain is the Annie Sloan wax you apply afterwards. You can Buy Annie Sloan on line , i use Annie Sloan a lot.it is expensive if you want the legs painted black to be smooth, just paint and wax , but one coat of Annie Sloan does not give a good coverage. It you want it " distressed" slightly, then just sand a few it on the edges afterwards, before the waxing With a slight " distressed" leg look, but you would need to give the top of the table a light sanding to " rough it up" on the edges if you want a good solid, coverage, Annie Sloan is not the right choice have a look on eBay, I have just bought some cages light to fit near my table outside ( I was just playing around with them yesterday before the electrician comes toda), they were only like $46 each