Hi Guys , you have probably already done this room already.. But I would have tv and Fireplace sharing the same wall and move the tv if possible to take advantage of the fire on those cold days, would be nice to see tv and wood heater from the the couch area. I understand that it looks like it was an open fire and you have had to box in the flue from the wood heater, so it looks a little nicer - unless there is an option to see part of the flue (like you see on escape to the country tv show' to give character. Otherwise , I would consider bricking up the gap and keep the mantle as its quite nice and render over the fireplace area, then choose if you want to keep the walls either side of fireplace with exposed brick walls but put in 'if you can afford or like - timber open backed booked cases into the space either side of the fireplace. then if you do not like the floor tiles and cannot replace immedately, go for a big cheap dark grey rug to match couch - will update the inside of the house while you decide on flooring alternative and look much more cosy. Just my thoughts, room has good structure - shame that you cannot see the fire from the tv- guess you need to decide if you want to feature the fireplace or cover it up and make focal point of the room where the tv is instead- this will guide you in either plasstering over whole walls - or keeping some walls as they are. cheers.

Well after a very (very very very) long time my Living Room is all but complete. There is some work to do behind the new steps and some trim to be put on the bookshelves. A light is to be put between the couches (that the electrical cable hanging down) and the wall lights are going to be removed. So just a quick rundown on what has been achieved; Two sky windows - Velux - roofing guy Sheeted under the beams - plasterer New carpet – Bunnings – carpet layer Closed off the old bar and put in a door – builder and plasterer Installed ceiling fans – Hunter, remote control, reversible – electrician Installed downlights - electrician Painted the endwalls – Solver Paint but Dulux Chine White colour - me Painted the ceiling – 2 x coats Solver Ceiling White over 2 x coats plaster board sealer - me New blinds (venetians) and curtains - from Spotlight - me Installed a gas bayonet heater (until I can afford a gas ‘wood’ fire for the fireplace – cripes they are expensive) – secondhand from Garage Sale - me Installed bookshelves – 2 x 202mm high + 2 x 106mm high Billy Bookshelf and 2 x Brimnes Cabinet - me Built and installed new steps and bench top on bookshelf – laminated Beech bench top, cut to size and routed, stained and oiled - me Sofas – Ikea Ektorp - me So some things I would have done differently. The downlights would be warm white not welding mask white. In fact I would re-think the whole light thing and possibly use lights with reflectors that were dark so that light was only reflected down. They would ‘lower’ the ceiling and make the room cosier I think. I kinda like the ceiling fans but had seen some which were awesome but really expensive. Then I saw ones very similar to the awesome ones but much cheaper but by then it was too late. I should have put bi-fold doors where the old bar was instead of a swinging door. I suspect that it will be unlikely now that I can use the room for its intended purpose. In fact with hindsight I coulda shoulda done the job myself rather than getting a builder in. It’s not as good as it should be and that has disappointed me. The bookshelves have come a up a treat – need to finish them off though with some trim. All from ‘Ikea’ except for the timber bench top. The bench top was a light bulb moment and breaks up the all-white appearance of the shelves. Also the white of the shelves and the white of the cabinet were slightly different and the bench has helped disguise that. The bench top and the steps were laminated beech panels from ‘Bunnings’ that I had cut to size. I stained them, put a router over the edge to round it off and then coated with Tung Oil. The bookshelves look bigger in real life than they do in the photos too. So now to sit and enjoy my handy work.

Hi Sien, frequently tiles are built up covering either original stone hearth and/or concrete bases required to keep the fire away from timber so you need to figure out: a) Do you want to keep some sort of a fireplace b) Will it be functional and what kind of fuel do you want to use c) Are you prepared to put the work in on maintaining a traditional fireplace with wood fuel (lots of work - dirty, unpleasant work and chimney sweeping) or the cleaner gas/electric options. I don't think you need an interior designer - you can do it yourself - do your homework and talk to local fireplace retail specialists in your area so that you're making informed choices - this will help you decide what to pull out, what to keep, what to install. Then you can call in a fireplace maintenance expert (sweep and flue services) either to clean out your fireplace prior to pulling it out (stops more dirt/dust/soot from flying around your home then absolutely necessary) or doing the maintenance on it.

Lovely colours ect. But my question is why is we read article after article on kitchen designs with advice from designers stating never to put a dishwasher in a corner as it is not practical. Articles always state that it should never block access to another cupboard and if possible access from both sides. First thing I noticed in the picture was the dishwasher. As an owner I would not be happy with this design by a professional. But this is just my opinion