I'd embrace them, they're in good nick and terracotta has just become fashionable again. Think all the details like indoor plants in macrame plant holders - for a long time considered hideous but now completely boho chic. Better to work with rather than against your foundations. Look for images on pinterest rather than houzz as they'll be more likely to feature this kind of style.

Hey Larkspur, thanks for the great response! Actually, you are correct, according to the building inspection: "The original section of the dwelling is constructed upon a strip "edge beam" concrete footing system incorporating a suspended timber frame (bearer and joist flooring system) with the newer addition/s constructed upon a concrete slab footing system." That original edge beam has had a damp course put in along one side of the building, just FYI. I actually have trouble telling where the original section ends. The floorboards extend into the 'dining' area (hardly a dining area - you might fit a small table with 4 chairs in there). However, the rear of the bath area towards the courtyard is sided with that same weatherboard type material that's on the extension. I suspect they may have rebuilt the exterior of the bath and laundry area but that it was the original profile of the house. Regarding the fibre cement. My inspector noted there was a chance such material contained asbestos. But the building approvals attached to the Form 1 were given in the very late 80s / early 90s. As far as I am aware, they stopped making that material in the early 80s so I am hopeful we missed that. There is, however, a small amount of confirmed asbestos backing in the power meter box for example. As you saw. I am a huge bath fan and would definitely put one in. I have a soft spot for the cedar wood japanese baths but I suspect that's a pretty niche taste and wouldn't add as much value for future owners as much as me haha. The bathroom, even in it's current envelope, has heaps of spare room. The northern light actually enters the 'bottom' of the layout - e.g. the verandah / lounge / spare bed side. However, we get a fair bit of light in from all those windows in the breezeway. There is a very odd step down between the dining room and the are marked as living. As in, you jump off the floorboards onto tiling in the living area. As you get to the rear of the extenion, you actually step back up again. Not sure why they did that. The courtyard is level with the lower dining area. If I had a vision of a great kitchen, it'd be one with a bar running along that wall where the laundry meets the dining area. Maybe that bar would run along the windows to the courtyard too, forming an L shape. And a very functional, big cooking and prep area with a window to the courtyard. So, someone cooking could chat to their buddies and hand them a plate over the kitchen counter, or through a window potentially. The first house we really loved had a huge walk in pantry, triple insulated. That'd be awesome too but not sure if we would have room for it! Style is up in the air. We need to live in a bit longer to figure that one out. It already has a nice warm feel and I think we would try and keep that.

Like others , I absolutely love the colours , the rounded cabinet and mirrored wall unit , but the square tiles and subways meeting in that corner distracts from the beauty of the niche . You say the client fell in love with the square tiles -- I can understand that , but I'd suggest doing a row or two of them around those 2 walls ( maybe just below the height of the niche ) would have made it look like it was planned -- right now it basically looks like someone under-ordered tiles , so had to do the next wall in a different one . In fact , it's slightly worse than that , because one goes to the floor , the other stops 600mm above it and is white below , and us OCD people don't like that haha !

I love the green wall -- in fact , I'd love any feature wall . IMO you wouldn't want that exact shade as a feature wall in every room , but if you like green , how about 2 or 3 shades of green through the house , and 3 or 4 rooms with a feature wall of primarily green toned wallpaper -- some big green flowers , some chevrons , maybe a green and gold striped one ? You can do the same with say yellow to mustard ; blue to mauve ; 3 reds , etc , etc .