Hi all Just thought I'd give an update. Even though hubby and I discussed with each other that we will wait til we move in to get a dining table. Hubby went back to the store where we bought the sofa set to buy something, then he went ahead and bought the matching dining set because he got a good deal for it. Oh well. Thanks again to all those who helped me with this :)

I have loved our deep leather lounge for the same reasons that many have stated above. You literally "lounge" and when I had a shoulder operation it was the perfect bed for recuperation, giving my shoulder support while, at the same time, giving me a comfortable and easy sleep. However, as I have aged, and also due to my small stature, I am finding that my back begins to ache because the back of the lounge does not support my back firmly enough and my feet don't touch the ground. I am now looking at a smaller, upright and supportive type of lounge. I do have a couple of chairs that fit this but it means that I am not sitting cuddled up to my husband.

I have used Saatchi Art (saatchiart.com) to both browse and purchase art for our home. Original art work can be purchased and most artists have prints at a more affordable price. It's a good place to determine what styles and mediums you love as you can filter your search. For Australian art I love Blue Thumb (bluethumb.com.au). All Aussie and all original. Very few options for cost effective prints unfortunately. I'd be cautious about filling the space for an instant look. As everyone before me has said "art is personal" and as such, I think it should grow with you and your space. Start with one piece that you really love, big or small and work around that. I have found that putting unusual unexpected items on the wall makes for interesting 'art'. My husband's baby shoes (circa 1953) and now our children's first shoes are objects that always create conversation when guests come over. I have a Mexican art cross (we're not religious, the colours and the metal work drew me to it), a vintage wooden Indian spindle, African birds in a tree hand-beaten and cut from a steel drum, a clay mask my daughter made in art class, a woven Maori kit bag, some art that our kids have done at school (put into Ikea frames so they are always the right size. We change them as something else we love comes home), a hand-made ceramic tile, a growing collection of geckos found in antique stores, vintage travel posters in frames, (I'll stop listing what we have!)...all these items and more, have been collected over the last 20 years and put up around our collection of art or in clusters to create stories. I've collected the initials of our family (yes the child with the "K" is not thrilled it's so small and the child with the "G" feels he's by far the favourite! Needless to say both will be replaced in the future when a more appropriate size comes to light) from vintage stores both here and overseas. Our walls are a growing collection of art and objects and at any time I can move things around and change the composition as a new item is discovered. Best advice I can give you is to have fun with it, enjoy creating your own gallery, it's for you to love you're not required to impress anyone else.

Go with your gut Tracy..... it is a big investment but I have found that if it makes you smile every time you walk into your kitchen you'll never regret it!!!! I've recently moved into a smaller downsized home with my 3rd black kitchen, with drawers, no cupboards, except for the pantry which we use as the crockery and wine glasses stash. Mine is matt but no handles = no hip bangers! I chose to use snow white stone bench tops, the walls are painted natural white while the floors are pale oak hybrid vinyl.