Hi guys , you are about to embark on a major renovation that will enhance your lifestyle which is great . I would highly recommend that you engage a professional landscape designer to maximise your investment . The long term benefits will definitely outweigh the relatively small investment of a couple of thousand dollars on a great design of the spaces and how they will bring the most fun and enjoyment to your family , and at the same time increase the value of your home . Step one is to seriously consider your budget , and then get a great design that maximises every dollar . Your budget will drive your overall design concepts and your construction priorities . This is even more reason to be working with a good design plan which will guide you through the whole process and keep you on track . The plan will manage your trades and keep the project true to the overall design objectives . From a design perspective , your suggested black and grey colour scheme would work if you are going to render and /or paint over your house brick , so that the actual home is modernised as part of the total project . If you are not going to do that , then maybe you would consider a lighter but still modern colour scheme for your outdoor structures . You can still trim with touches of black . The black pool fence is designed to make the structure visually disappear , so I am not sure if you should be choosing black as your dominant outdoor colour as dark structures also are hard to see in bright sunshine , plus they are harsh on the eyes up close . But black trim added to lighter thicker timber pergolas can add a sophisticated and elegant detail line . Have you had your pools pressure relief valve checked to make sure the concrete shell doesn't pop out of the ground whilst the pool is empty ? Your photos show that the view from inside your home out to the pool area takes your eyes beyond the pool area and into the distance . A good landscape design and placement of outdoor structures will help you bring your outdoor pool areas " back to the house " . Also choosing appropriate planting will be an important part of creating your own little paradise at home . Don't be scared to create some visual vertical barriers as they will give a beautiful private resort feel to your home , and they will actually make the outdoor pool area seem larger , but cosy . Carefully look at the orientation of everything that is designed for your outdoor spaces , as your pool area is exposed , so shade and weather protection are crucial as part of the design. Lastly , I hope you guys read my comments as constructive input and not negative , as I am just trying to help you consider the " big picture " with your home and investment . If you do it well , you will have great fun and maximise your dollars . Good luck Glenn

Hi eleanorgreen1 Love the house, as others have stated above "great little hat" on the house, Good slope on the roof and great veranda for breezes and sleeping outside. I would be delighted if someone asked me to design a house in NT and I came up with that design. There is a few things that I can suggest and I hope they are of some use. 1. If possible I would dig a trench next to the perimeter of the slab of about 600 wide and 300 deep and fill it with pebble and gravel stones. This is to remove any excess water that may come of the roof (connect it to your drainage system - or lowest point of your block) and also to reduce the possibility of termites and other small critters coming through into your house. Termites do not like ground that might move as they build a tunnel in front of themselves as they proceed forward and any "gravel" or water of any kind they tend to avoid. (Love the termite mounds by the way - fantastic landscape design - at no cost). The CSIRO has fantastic information on termites - I don't think the trench would keep snakes away - hate the little critters! - Taipans - those horrors follow you home. 2. Providing a topping to your slab externally might improve the look especially on the exposed veranda - but the topping should have some form of "non slip" surface - maybe with some carborundum in the mix so that it might not get very slippery when wet. However I think plain concrete if finished with 'hard topping" is an excellent solution. 3. Love the idea of "Screens" but they will have to be securely fixed as they become missile in high winds. 4. I can not see any water tanks or solar energy equipment on the photos - I just wonder if this could be an advantage in your situation. As you have some very large verandas I wonder if large garden pots, something to the size of 800 round and 800 in height, these could still be moved but may break up some of the straight strong line of the house. Even two or three would do he trick. I would paint these with a strong colour to give a focal point and arranged strategically around the veranda. 6. Defining the entry to the house might also provide interest. I think it can be done with the large pots and also with a maybe a little bit of tilework and some form of path leading to the entry. 7. Painting the elevation that contains the entry a different colour might also brighten the place up a bit. I would not paint the whole of the elevation if its the long longitudinal side - just the central part up to a defining area like the first two windows. 8. Some nice landscaping at some distance from the house to be enjoyed from the veranda view might also help (Keep the termite mounds - they look great) There is no plan and no north point so its a bit hard to comment further especially in relation to orientation and internal plan layout. I think you have a great house and some subtle design improvements will make it even better. I would be happy to comment further on this project. Best for the future Regards Michael Manias - mm407p@gmail.com - web: newhomedesign.com.au

Thanks for the replies. Sorry I didnt explain very clearly. Is all good now, husband raised the oven by making a false floor basically and using a spare drawer front to adapt the size so the required areas are now going to be covered. We got into a bit of confusion as the oven tower had to be put together,firstly with a standard height set of drawers which we had to cut down so the overall oven height didnt end up too high. We removed the height all around of the top drawer and sat the 720 high oven cabinet on top then will have a M/W box on top of that followed by a 360 high cupboard. The supplied top and bottom 60mm oven panels supplied with the kitchen were not covering satisfactorily thats what I was trying to get at initially. Not overly happy with the follow up or lack of instructions from the supplier and even phone queries are not answered very well. Quality supplied is fine but as we haven't done a kitchen ourselves before and told them we were doing ourselves not impressed.

If your concerned about the screens not looking quite right with the house or railings, or if you dont have the budget for an expensive screen, you could also consider a growing an easy maintenance, fast growing vine like Star Jasmine over a less expensive screen and training it a little way through the railing to tie them both in. Star Jasmine will grow happily in a pot and will cover everything, hiding all sins! It will also give you a lovely green outlook, complete privacy and the scent of the flowers on a summer night is intoxicating. I have star jasmine covering two totally different 2m high cheap screens (one lattice and one rio metal bar) in my courtyard which separates my yard from my neighbours and it provides a gorgeous leafy outlook with total privacy and covers the screens entirely from base to top so you cannot see the unattractive lattice or rio behind it and all it needs is the occasional trim.