Hi Lauren, without knowing the budget I will only give you ideas, you will have to do the leg work finding cost and available tradesmen in your area. People are correct in saying that it is best to renovate that area as that is not a nice colour design. I also dont know if you have the water heater in there (if so, go solar! or install one outside) and if there is a toilet the lay out of what i suggest will have to be rethought; Im going with that there is no heater or toilet in that area. *First off i would remove every tile, shelf, bathtub etc. Sell that vanity off and give the mirror to someone so they can do a mirror project. *Secondly i would look to see if the tubs brick work is sufficiently high and wide (increase its size will add a bit extra to the build) so you can make it into a roman style bath/shower. I my preference would be up to 50cm high. *For the next step i would look into getting either a sand stone or light grey floor tile (R10 tiles) and in a big size too (e.g 400mm x 300mm). White is fine too. Now the choice of colour for the tiling of the roman bath you can go the same colour or to add visually different style e.g. grey tiles for the floor + gloss white tiles for the roman bath + sandstone style tiles on the walls. Depending on your budget tile the walls up to the ceiling or if to costly try up to the 2m line (about the same height as the door). *I take it that the shower head and bath tap are on the window side. But something nice; meaning spend a bit of cash on these fittings. A shower head design that will go over your head and fall straight down. You can pick one up for about $300 or so. Also add a frameless glass plane that starts on the window side and comes out about 600 - 800mm (your prefence and budget on that one). It will create a clean image and you can still get in and out of the bath without moving sliding/swinging doors. The panel doesnt have to be to the ceiling but still high enough; maybe 1800mm high should be good. *Since you have removed the vanity and mirror you have brought in more natural light. On the side of the current steel sink, dryer and washing machine; put in cupboards. I will link in some pictures of inbuilt laundry ideas. Essentially hiding your stuff while giving you more storage space. Also think about putting mirrors on the outside of your cupboard doors to make the place feel bigger and give you your need for a mirror. You can either install both a laundry sink and a personal sink for brushing teeth at either end or a big porcelain (or make a DIY cement sink by viewing youtube or pinterest) sink to do the duty of both. Personally i would get both. *If you have issues with your enter door using up space; think about getting a accordian style door (they clasp in on themselves. Bunnings has some examples). Maybe go with a white top style (below) for the personal sink and laundry sink. Note the mirror doors, enclosed machines and lighting. This is the white top and bench space that would nice on that side. Also the visual effect of having the machines enclosed but still showcased. Another style. If this is all too modern for you or for the federation house then go for a similar design like sandstone coloured tiles, light grey wall tiles with a 4 legged bath tub and accompaniment brass over head shower and other brass fittings. Still have an enclosed laundry area but made more victorian like. Then next picture has only some of the points im trying to make but you can combine the 2 styles at your leisure.

If it's a concrete slab construction the plan/specification should allow for your different flooring types. For example if you're having real wooden floor boards on battens over concrete throughout then the finished height will need to align with finished height of tiles (for example) in the bathroom and laundry. The slab would be poured higher or lower in the tiled areas to achieve a level finished surface throughout. What this really means is that it's best to know & specify your flooring for each area & discuss it with your builder before construction commences. If it's all one level then it can be overcome by screeding to raise the level of tiled areas to match the height of the wooden flooring. However if your wooden flooring is direct stick, therefore finishing lower than tile you may end up with a small tile edge. In this case a metal strip is used along & under the edge of the tile at the junction to protect the edge of the tile. It is possible to have polished concrete & wood floors finishing level however you need to make decisions before commencement ie. floorboards on battens, engineered flooring, or laminated flooring, as they would all have different finishing heights.

I like it turned that way & yes I can see you like colour too! Nice! I'm confused about about the old dining room space, is it behind the shelves still? Is this using your 8 seater which I thought you wanted to be separate? This way though is a very practical use of space especially if you have room to move it to the right when required. You may want to consider whether the microwave is better in the kitchen triangle either under the island bench (bending down to use) or beside fridge above bench. Another way is to build up one end of the island to house it there just for the safe handling of hot dishes near to a serving bench.

Hi , I did a major repaint of my kitchen when I moved in last year (this is the second time I've done this in a home). From salmon pink doors and tiles with plastic pink handles, it has transformed into quite a lovely kitchen with crisp white benchtops and doors, retro aqua blue splashback tiles and chrome hardware. I didn't paint the floor tiles because it is not a good idea, it won't last. And I think in your case, the kitchen floor will not look as bad when you take care of the cabinetry and countertops (and appliances - don't forget the sink, this made a huge difference to my kitchen which had a horrible stained "white" fibreglass sink and plain tap). The only regret I have is that I was convinced instore by a staff member to use water-based enamel on the countertops and this was not a good idea as it marks and stains at a feather's touch and I am always scrubbing it with magic erasers to bring it back to white. Just use oil-based enamel, preferably gloss, and it will clean up beautifully. It will just yellow in about 5 years' time, which isn't an issue if you're not using crisp white like me. Step 1: remove all handles etc. and sand back the melamine/formica surfaces and vacuum up all dust. Wipe down all surfaces with methylated spirits to remove any other dirt and - especially - oils. Step 2: Undercoat all surfaces with White Knight Grip Lock Primer (keep this stuff on hand, it is magic and can be used for a million things). Give it two coats preferably. Step 3: Paint doors and cabinetry with a good quality high gloss acryclic. You can use oil-based enamel too, but it's easier to work with acrylic. It doesn't really scratch unless the cat tries to jump up above the cabinets and claw its way back down when it misses - in other words, don't run knives or screwdrivers down the doors and they'll be good. If it scratches, get a small artists brush and touch up with your leftover paint in the tins. It takes two seconds and is as easy as to do. Step 4: paint the countertops with an oil-based enamel. Clean up with turps. Do two coats and use a good quality brush. Give it a good few days to dry, a week is good if you have the time as it hardens in this time and becomes very strong - so put your camping gear and laundry sink to good use during this time! Step 5: put on new handles and hardware, install new sink and appliances and enjoy the makeover. For the tile splashback, follow the same steps, making sure you give them a good sand. You can use gloss acrylic here too. It will scratch if you knock it with a sharp object, but again, keep the touch up paints and a small artists brush handy. In your case, because the splashback doesn't go all the way up, I'd also consider chiselling the tiles out out and using a panelled splashback from somewhere like Ikea or Bunnings or a store that orders Laminex panels. They can be pretty cheap, and although not perfectly beautiful are a lot more attractive than those tiles. If you can save the tiles (the tile glue is probably old and brittle) and sell them, someone will love them on ebay! And even re-tiling with some cheap/chuck out tiles isn't difficult or expensive in that space if you are at all handy. Splashbacks in burnt orange or red would blend with the cream and floors. Other alternatives for the countertop (particularly if you don't want to patch up the gaps from the older, larger stovetops and sink) is to put in an Ikea or Bunnings (or similar) cheaper benchtop. I have also tiled a benchtop before and this worked really well with the added benefit of being able to put hot pots straight onto the benchtop. Don't use low end wall tiles. Use a stronger tile so they don't crack. Again, with your oh so brown floors, if you stick to lighter colours for the cabinetry (eg. antique white or cream) and a more sandstone-ish colour for the benchtops (or match the cabinet colour to the benchtop so you don't have to paint it and set off with the coloured splashback), the floors won't look as bad. Also, you can put a floor runner along the length of the kitchen hallway (in front of the oven/fridge area) if everyone in the house is generally steady on their feet and don't tend to trip over everything and this will break up the brown beautifully and you will barely notice the tiles. All in all, it cost me about $200 for the paint and equipment plus handles, sink and big shower tap, but it has meant that I am delaying my kitchen reno for a number of years, as I really like the kitchen now and everyone comments on how great it looks. None of this is hard to do. As a female, I have no problems doing all this myself as long as I have the time from work. But my father was a painter for 40 years, so that's why I can get the scoop on the best paints etc. to use on these projects. Good luck! PS: Don't let anyone tell you to whack some fancy paint on the doors and it will be done in a jiffy - it will peel off. Sand and grip lock prime - this is essential if you want it to look good longer than a couple of months.