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..

Jessica Craig, I thought you might like to know this. When my daughter was a baby and I took her for swimming lessons, I met another wonderful Mum Wendy and her daughter, Sophie. Sophie's father had recently passed away and so Wendy was trying to adjust to the hand that fate had dealt her. They had not long purchased their house too. We have remained very close all these years and I can report that both Soph and Wendy are a force to be reckoned with. Sophie (now 15) is a talented singer, is doing well at school and has oodles of personality. Wendy is studying online and working towards fulfilling her dream of one day writing a children's book. The house has been renovated and is a very warm and welcoming home. It has not always been an easy road as single mum for Wendy, but it continues to get richer as the years move by. I hope that in some of your harder moments, this may bring some small level of comfort to you.

I'm going to take a wild guess this was built in the 80's , and originally had carpet ( probably the same cream as the stairs ) in the lounge and probably the dining area . It seems like 2 or 3 people have had goes at doing 'stuff' , and it's now just a mix and clash of designs . The wall colours are 'old' ; the tiles are okay but colder than carpet ; the wood look whatever on the floor is just weird ; the carpet worked on the stairs so presumably was just left there ; the low wall IMO is a great feature , but that blue is dated . The wood on top is nice and warm . There are creams , there are beiges , there are yellows ; there are grey vertical blinds ; there are wooden horizontal blinds ; there are black round railings ; there are wooden railings ; there are thinner curved rails on the front door screen ; the fire is brown ; wooden railings a different brown ; sideboard different again ; coffee table a different brown ; the front door is a darker grey , the windows beside it lighter grey . SO . Paint every wall in one colour . NOT grey . It isn't a grey area haha . Maybe a warm English Cream . MAYBE white walls but only if you promise to add 2 or 3 large really colourful abstract pictures . The floor -- I'd opt for wood slats . Faux if you want , as long as they don't look plastic and shiny . Leave the stairs in the cream carpet , rip up the floor and foyer and dining tiles , do all the floors in the wood . Or re-carpet them again . But don't do polished concrete or engineered concrete or faux concrete or concrete effects . And tiles should only be in kitchens , wash-house and bathroom IMO . Stain everything wood a really rich brown brown . About the same shade as the wooden venetians . Possibly keep the venetians , change the grey blinds to wood , or at least dark brown cloth . I think the door surround is aluminium ? I'd actually be tempted to change it to actual stained brown wood , but possibly 'just' get it re-powdercoated a deeper brown . Paint or powder-coat the 'arch' front screen a rich dark brown too . Add the large abstract art , the TV wall mounted -- a lot warmer , a lot richer . Which leaves the front door -- replace with a nice solid wooden natural timber one ? Paint the existing one ? Charcoal paint , or bright red , bright yellow , bright orange , apricot may suit , purple probably not . Save it for last , see what you think as far as colour goes .

Actually, your style isn't really very scandi in my opinion. It's industrial and rustic. I'd match recycled and chunky timbers with the concrete, a timber with rich reds. There is a company near me that makes plywood panels with recycled wood veneer attached. They're too far for you but might give you some ideas for a feature wall. I'd start with a few tins of paint and some colour actually. you'd be surprised what that can do! I'm fixing, well technically my second home but with our first we figured fairly quick it wasn't a forever home and didn't do anything personal with it. So this is our first "home" if not our first house. i getya! I know everyone seems to love white walls, but after years of bland rentals the first thing I wanted to do was paint colours all over the walls! Anything but white! Paint is cheap and a safe place to start testing your design flair. Go and paint a bunch of sample tins onto the walls and don't stress too much about the perfect look. start with what you like and find what suits that. A colour that makes you smile when you see it. I've paid about $10 a sample tin. like others said, don't do anything with the carpets yet, you can throw a rug over it if its too boring and it will look fine. There are so many things that I first thought I needed to completely change, then as I painted and freshened and tidied up I realised were not needed a huge reno. Our house was a bit of a wreck though, not a nice new apartment so things just literally needed cleaning and fixing. Put up some pictures, art, photos you like too. Honestly, I know everyone's being funny about getting a girlfriend and getting her to decorate, but actually I think it's great you've got your own taste and want to decorate. I think anyone you bring home would love seeing more of your personality around the place. Check out some garage sales and buyswap sell and auctions for rustic timber pieces for your home. Maybe a nice pipe and timber bookshelf in the lounge instead of an entertainment unit? https://www.northernriverstimber.com.au/