bigreader I'm okie..thanks for caring ..just need time to readjust kind of walked out on my job..so looking for stuff to fill in my time ..I hate being bored and sitting sround fiddling my thumb been looking for courses to do and taking my camera out.. these I took yesterday in Warrandyte..

my suggestions include reducing the "ins and outs" to make construction simpler and adds a little extra space including a porch off the laundry, the downstairs living area and dining room size feels comfortable with your scale sized furniture and the small lounge is a good size for watching TV, the door from the garage has been rearranged to separate the entry hall from a narrower central hallway, reduced the length and widened the pantry to make a separate storage room (or this area could be used for a childrens' computer nook)..the short door under the stairs from the lounge will be impossible to use without moving furniture..upstairs has all minor bedrooms a similar size without any western windows as every window should include emergency exits and extra brightness can be added with solar skylights that don't overheat, the new bathroom is more spacious and has more storage in the generous vanities as well as tall storage in the bathroom and hallway, the retreat is bigger and ens and wiw more spacious but all the windows need rethinking as upstairs east and south facing windows can also overheat and why have a sliding door off the guest room at the front of the house and the shallow balcony could be substituted with French balconies off the master bedroom and retreat.. and the X shown in the master ens and laundry is the only suitable location for a laundry shute my rough plans add up to a total floor area of 372sqm without any allowance made for the extra thickness of external walls

Nice use of colour 549 ( if that's not too informal haha ) , and I love the copper clock ! Personally I would have tried to get the flue cover also done in copper , but like you , it all works , and works in . I'm not looking for the cheapest , and I don't want it to look like a teenage boys bedroom , but I do want some colour and I guess some level of class . Interestingly , I did say above that I considered a copper backdrop , but the experts seem to think it won't look good for long . I currently have a 'set' of candy apple red jug , toaster , cake mixer and cappucino machine from different manufacturers , which will brighten this area ( although I'm not even sure of the etiquette of a butlers pantry -- are you supposed to keep everything hidden around the corner ? ) , although I have just bought a glass and copper jug , so the colour combo may change -- I know I can get a white and copper toaster , and although not cheap , I've seen Italian made copper cappucino machines too .

would much rather buy an old home in original condition than one that has been renovated to "add value" for future sale...apart from making sure that we keep a home in safe, clean and good working order we renovate for our own comfort and convenience as new owners and tenants will inevitable want/need something different