Hi Sasha. What a great space with lots of scope to move your furniture around, and all that natural light! The first thing I noticed was the dark curtains drawing my eye to the dark window frames. Although you clearly can't do anything about the latter, I would definitely change the former. My go-to place for quick affordable pieces is Ikea and my advice would be to measure up the windows and head for their roller blinds and curtains. If you put 3 or 4 block-out blinds up under that pelmet you can control how much light and/or privacy you'd like and by replacing those dark curtains with a lighter linen variety, you'll add a contemporary feel to the room and bring the attention away from the [I assume] aluminium frames. You could get enough to span the entire width or just a couple for the ends. Splash out on a generous tall houseplant like a [dragon tree[(https://www.houzz.com.au/photos/midcentury-bedroom-midcentury-bedroom-philadelphia-phvw-vp~1905898) for any area's that you might like to add height - I think we tend to fall into the trap of having two visual levels in a room, one being the furniture which tends to end at about hip-height, and the other being art or such for eye level. Both of these are horizontal lines but a tall voluminous plant adds a vertical element like a standard lamp. I'd move yours away from the corner though and place it against a larger expanse of wall. If it has to stay in a corner, put something tall behind/beside it like a narrow book case, or an artwork that's centered with the lampshade. Then it looks like it has purpose. Also, I would move the sofa away from the wall and add a console table as a place to display treasures. Can you swap the long chaise part of the sofa to the other end? Doing this would define that area more and open up the view of your outdoor area. In fact, I'd be tempted to rotate the sofa 90deg to face the windows and put a sofa table/book case behind it for extra storage. I assume that's your TV along the wall to the right - you could shuffle it down towards the window corner and angle it towards the sofa [that would reduce glare on the screen from the window too]. If you do this, you'll create an area for the dining table if you want. I'm not sure from the picture if your table is currently against a wall or if there's more room off to the right that we can't see. If it's against the wall, I'd be moving it across to the left to about where that rug currently sits [a bit further this way though - if that makes sense!] Here's an example of what I'm thinking. That's where the rugs come in. I'd be using two large rugs to both define the areas and protect the carpet. One under the dining table and one under the sofa. These are both areas where the carpet can quickly get grubby! Large artworks are, as you say, a challenge but they don't have to be hung. If you have a large vertical canvas you can prop it against the wall or sit smaller works up on a narrow table [another use for that console table!]. Try to find [or even make] some large canvasses that have a lot of white in them and retire that red pic in the black frame for a while. If you go for the light/white curtains then a complimentary artwork will help to freshen the whole area. Hope I've been able to help a bit!

If you wanted to try that safari theme, you could try a vintage looking trunk as a coffee table, as they can hold cushions, throws, magazines, Xbox controllers, etc., out of sight. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/like/170984006005?limghlpsr=true&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=107&ul_ref=http%253A%252F%252Frover.ebay.com%252Frover%252F1%252F705-139619-5960-0%252F2%253Fipn%253Dicep%2526icep_id%253D62%2526mtid%253D1797%2526kwid%253D1%2526crlp%253D40593704497_573061%2526icep_item_id%253D170984006005%2526itemid%253D170984006005%2526icep_meta_categ_id%253D11700%2526icep_etrs%253DY%2526icep_epid%253D-999%2526icep_ctlg%253D-999%2526icep_cond%253Dnew%2526targetid%253D91821563857%2526rpc%253D0.26%2526rpc_upld_id%253D69716%2526device%253Dt%2526icep_cbt%253Dn%2526icep_msku_flag%253Dn%2526adtype%253Dpla%2526googleloc%253D9060880%2526poi%253D%2526campaignid%253D184043497%2526adgroupid%253D8467825417%2526rlsatarget%253Dpla-91821563857%2526gclid%253DCM6Tj7ubxMwCFQslvQodg90LTQ%2526srcrot%253D705-139619-5960-0%2526rvr_id%253D1025806069455&limghlpsr=true&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=107&chn=ps&ul_ref=http%253A%252F%252Frover.ebay.com%252Frover%252F1%252F705-139619-5960-0%252F2%253Fipn%253Dicep%2526icep_id%253D62%2526mtid%253D1797%2526kwid%253D1%2526crlp%253D40593704497_573061%2526icep_item_id%253D170984006005%2526itemid%253D170984006005%2526icep_meta_categ_id%253D11700%2526icep_etrs%253DY%2526icep_epid%253D-999%2526icep_ctlg%253D-999%2526icep_cond%253Dnew%2526targetid%253D91821563857%2526rpc%253D0.26%2526rpc_upld_id%253D69716%2526device%253Dt%2526icep_cbt%253Dn%2526icep_msku_flag%253Dn%2526adtype%253Dpla%2526googleloc%253D9060880%2526poi%253D%2526campaignid%253D184043497%2526adgroupid%253D8467825417%2526rlsatarget%253Dpla-91821563857%2526gclid%253DCM6Tj7ubxMwCFQslvQodg90LTQ%2526srcrot%253D705-139619-5960-0%2526rvr_id%253D1025806069455&ul_noapp=true the plantation shutters would be great for a safari theme, but in that room definitely put plain cream sheers in front of them, in a natural cotton. White isn't great with brown. Earthy colours are coming in.

Hi Louise, hope you are settled in your house now, it looks lovely. Having lived in a house with a west facing living area I'm sorry to say your rooms will get very hot over summer and even if you install air conditioning you will still need to minimise the sun and heat coming into the house to save on electricity. Stopping the sun reaching your rooms is the ideal but outdoor blinds can look ugly so ultimately it comes down to looks -v- comfort. Thermal blinds or curtains will help keep the sun and heat out considerably but they do darken a room as well. Fans will help with air circulation but you do need cross ventilation to help the house cool itself especially if you get breezes off the water. I think your bedroom would be enhanced by a covered deck to add some character to the house too and this would certainly help with the sun in that room. Another tip is the colours you use in these rooms will help improve the look and feel of the room, I found soft blues or aquas made a huge difference with a lot of white for freshness. Neutral colours for some reason just did nothing and made the rooms look and feel hotter.

What a great pool for starters. I do see your dilemma though. For the fence: I would give it a paint, choose a colour that ties your house in. Add laser cut screens or put in a vertical wall garden as you don't have a lot of room to have a row of pots. In saying that a few large pots around are great to add some interest and colour. Strelitzia's are great plants to use. Tough, can handle sun, lovely bright orange flowers. Certain sun loving bromeliads, great colours. Clumping palms are always a winner. Just watch yuccas, as previously suggested, as they are often spikey, with kids running around I would stick with softer foliage. Somewhere to sit is always important but again you don't seem to have a lot of space and you don't want to overcrowd the area. Perhaps a long bench seat along the far fence, include outdoor cushions and built in storage under seat for pool toys. A large umbrella in the corner for some shade. All of these can add colour while being practical. However I do like the idea of extending the back pool fence out to create more space, Bali hut here we come! This may not be an option.... Good luck, I'm sure with a bit of planning you can turn this into a beautiful space for everyone to enjoy.