The next time I decorate by a colour of the year will be the first time. Don't hold your breath. I have nothing against this particular colour but it doesn't work with all the things I've collected over the years, and I am not about to discard carpets bought after hard bargaining with dubious merchants in Istanbul or Islamabad because they don't "go" with a paint colour that someone voted "colour of the year." In its place, I think the colour would be quite nice (better than this years choices, certainly). It's just that my place isn't the right place for it.

Jenny Yun, you need to check back on your original plans/marketing brochure. If they show a separate shower to a bath that is what you thought you were buying. A builder can't change from having a shower and a bath to having a shower over a bath without contacting the buyers. Get your solicitors advice if the builder has made this change without going through the proper channels. A Certificate of Occupancy certifies that a home can be lived in. It is a requirement of most local government councils that an occupancy certificate be issued prior to the purchaser of a home taking occupation. If I were you I would be getting my solicitors to confirm about the Certificate of Occupancy before moving in and asking some questions about drainage and mould growth under the bath. Your solicitor should represent your interests, and knows what the law says, so they should be helping you. It is such a pity you have already settled - I hope it is not too late. If there are a lot of apartments with the same problem you may need to consider a class action if you can't get proper rectification from the builder. Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls.

Moving the niche is not an option at this point. But I do have a question about the niche. My tile installer wants me to consider using the gray tile (same as the floor) on the inside edges of the niche. This is because the wall tile is glass and imperfections in the glass (from cutting it) will show if the glass tile is on the inside edge. How do you guys think that would look? I tried to find photos of a niche where the wall and back of the niche were one color, with the sides being a second color and I couldn't find any examples. Has anyone seen that?

I feel the bedroom would be claustrophobic however. By my calculations, there would be only around 900mm between the foot of the bed and the wall - which is fine if it's a secondary space - but this is to be the parents retreat and it needs to feel luxurious and open. Di Njsd also indicated originally that the window was to become a door to allow egress to the patio outside. A bed up against that wall nullifies that objective.