@ Hilda Tinkle...LOVE your room...mostly love the rugs and, in my view, those artworks are as if they were purpose commissioned ! "The whole" I am sure reflects your personality! Its been very interesting watching it all grow. As for replacing the lamp stand, personally, I really like that stand both for the room proportions and... for that friendly, substantial chunky lamp. I feel...and that's "feel"....that I'd want to put some sort of novel,decorative, low, longer, narrow, open construct couchside table/magazine/book 'depository'/drink putter-on (phew) at the side of the couch ...a proportionate space away from the side of the couch...something that has room for the lamp at the end to sit exactly where it does now under the yellow painting....Or, keep the lamp stand where it is and add a little bit of decorative yet functional whimsy at the couchside. It would need to be the perfect thing...I see a little nest of small decorative tables in my mind's eye...just feel you need to relieve the substantial solid feel with something that looks light and.... airy?....hard to describe, just a mind image. How about one larger cushion among the array of small ones? I've not seen your room for a while. I love what you've done..dignified, furnished in quality items and more to the point..themed ! Imagining myself relaxing in that room along with a friend or two....find myself wanting something tall that draws focus, maybe that accentuates the purpose of the room or calls attention to the theme...just a thought. I spent my early childhood in the Pacific and was surrounded by artifacts and furnishings that had the same "feel" as your room. I am really impressed by your attention to detail and how you've managed to assemble it all so it appears purpose made to go together, Congrats on ...substance ! Where did it all start...I've forgotten....with the rugs?

Hi Cazzie Putting a staircase into a room is effectively changing the room into a hallway, and is obviously destroying the functionality of the room. It's clearly a poor solution to access made obvious by the conflict with the window. No matter if you dress it up as suggested, it will always look and be a compromise. I'd be first thinking about whether you want this back as a room or have the space/rooms to go without it. Without knowing the layout of the rest of the house, I would be looking to relocate/rework it. Whilst that is a more expensive option, the reality is that it will turn a negative on the home value into a positive and add value. This is an example of what you see on lots of TV shows where people rectify problems or poor design to make an improvement. Can you post a little more about the layout or other pics? Cheers

Hi all, I can't seem to reply individually to your comments so here's a general one :) Thanks all for the suggestions and experience-I'm really intrigued by these suggestions of pavilion extensions, those links you attached Kate are super striking! Unfortunately for us we are on a fairly small block of land and one side of the house is a narrow driveway-we looked into building a garage/study on the ground but as we have to be 900mm from the neighbouring fence it was going to be very skinny and just not worth it. I appreciate the thoughts shared on keeping our feet on the ground but as we've two young kids and two dogs (and would love to have chickens again) I'm less and less inclined to give up more of the garden which is what we'd have to do if we extend out. Our verandah roof was done back in the 60's and slopes down and leaks in the rain so hence it needs to be lifted up if we were to build out. Kate, I LOVE your idea of the shed! We actually converted a massive steel shed into a gorgeous shed home when we lived in QLD on a massive rural block of land, loved how easy it was to 'knock' down a wall! :) Sadly we have learned the hard way that trying to save money by hiring a draftsperson that didn't ask us what our budget was has cost us time and money, but I guess in a way I'm grateful as this extra time has given me time to consider building up now instead of out. I'm getting a sense that it will be a lot more expensive to do so so might have to wait another 2-3 years to get re-finance happening. In the meantime we are making some changes to the current set up, slowly adding value and making it more enjoyable to live in :)

Thanks oklouise. Agree..downstairs will eventually be for guests.. 2 bedrooms and extra living flowing out to garden . We intend to add 2 story extension..garage underneath, master suite, maybe another bedroom and bathroom/powder room , thinking entry and stairs could be incorporated there also.main views are from east elevation and nice garden views else where. Plenty of room ant the back of the block for extension and garden east elevation is front of the house and west elevation is at the back of the house..but where guests and family arrive. I. The very immediate future we want a great upstairs living/dining and kitchen..downstairs a master bedroom, maybe 2 guest rooms and bathrooms.