The cane furniture will really look nice in your verandah. As for plants, jump online and browse for some hardy plants on the Aussie websites. They are a wealth of information and if you do have a large planter box or pot make sure you put it on wheels. That way you can take your plants in and out of the house. Also put a base under the pot/planter so it catches the water and does not ruin your nice floor. You can pick these from a garden store in your area. Good luck! :) btw hope you don't mind me your spelling error "taught" should be "taut", I really hope folks correct my spelling too! cheers.

The most kid and pet friendly couch material is leather. So far our blue leather couch has coped with 18 years of toddlers falling asleep and weeing on it, cat vomit, Easter eggs melting between the cushions, spilt milk, spilt orange juice, spilt red wine, spilt coffee, and muddy dog paws. It just wipes clean. Our white leather chair is just as durable and is now 24 years old and just starting to look grubby. So go with beige or cream if you want. It would be a lovely choice, just make sure it is leather. Black or mid or dark brown would also look lovely with that beautiful rug but I think lighter colours would look fresher. Don't be at all scared to use light coloured leather.

Hi there, I love the look of your 50's kitchen: takes me back to my childhood home but our kitchen was about 4 cupboards and 3 overheads!! By todays std it was like one of the pantries people are putting in!! I was impressed with the "see what you need to store first": that is the best place to start, then thought glass display cupboards were all the go but you have those! Unless you could copy them for the corners? Then I thought open shelving with micro on one: NEVER on the bench. Timber shelves could have bright multi coloured glass or china which was all the rage! Please tho do not go for the lounge curtains with red, orange and every other colour large squares: nothing subtle or quiet about them and nothing nice about them either!! Cheers Margot

Give raw timber a quick sand and wipe down. Prep coat, then two top coats of Aquaenamel or similar enamel paint. Given profile I would use a good brush to apply. A foam roller works well on flat boards. Don’t apply too thickly. Dry time between coats depends on temperature so read can. But relax, no one gets that close to skirting boards.