Miranda You appear to be making all the right choices in life. I will be a little bit presumptuous by offering some advice on helping you to raise your child in touch with nature in this age full of all the electronic lures that keep the kids indoors. or, when outdoors, glued to a small screen, rather than the glory that surrounds them. I am writing a book about landscape architecture and have a section regarding the importance of embracing nature in the preschool years. - which I would like to forward that section to you. However, my computer skills are limited to email and US Mail. I don't even know how to attach a picture to the text. If you would like to receive this draft from my future book, send me your email or postal address, and I'll get it right off to you. My email is cascio.offsite@gmail.com Good luck with your new challenges and opportunities. Joe Cascio

The weatherboard look suits so stay with that but maybe a recladd in an FC Weatherboard. Have a look at Scyon Linea. Which is a high performance version of Fibro Cement. Also use some architraves around windows and doors. A repaint will make a big change. I'm not a fan of blue blue I'm more a grey so look at 'Windspray' or 'Timeless Grey'. Paint the new architraves in white or 'Shale Grey'. One other change I would make is landscaping. Have a professional do a design for you this where you'll really make the property your own.

Hi Mel, yes we have successfully used other products to give a formply look, whilst achieving increased durability and sustainability with the solution provided. Any material used for interior joinery needs to suit the purpose. Plywoods come in different grades and not all are suitable for interior joinery and furniture; that is why some people complain they have used ply and it has bellied or bowed. If the plywood fits the purpose, the outcome can be gorgeous and durable.

oh wow thats really interesting! we looked at the austral bricks display walls and the chiffon seemed SO dark and the silver birch not what we expected. But then when I have searched online for some pics, the colours vary so much so I'm so confused as to what each colour looks like and if the display walls a good indication of colour or if the colour will look different again on a bigger scale (we're building double story so quite significantly different then a small display wall) hence I thought if someone knows they've definitely built with either and can show me their pics maybe I'll get more of an idea. We've driven around and got some pics of the colour we like but without knocking on peoples doors asking what colour their brick is we're none the wiser haha! So interesting about the mortar though, we have our colour consultation in a couple of weeks so will be interesting to see what they say. Just wanted to go as prepared as possible!