Thank-you all so much for your advice so far, i've already gained so many ideas simply from reading your suggestions. oskuee: The house is a single story, and we have spoken about solar tubes before but weren't too sure how to incorporate lighting fixtures within the hallway as well. How did you go about it? Did you just install the 2 solar tubes with/without lighting fixtures? scottevie: the windows in the lounge will be remaining the same, we will eventually change the colour of the curtains but not straight away, either way the styling and shape will remain the same. Surprisingly there isn't a whole lot of natural light than can enter from that point of the house. There is a very large verandah at the front of the house which this window backs on to, plus the amount of trees from the front of our property and next door's front yard makes it difficult for natural light to seap through. I just had a quick look at some Dulux White Duck examples, i definitely favour something around this colour tone. telperien: i really like the ideas of mirror(s), this would be a great idea to distribute that natural light. I think we are going to try our best to steer clear of knocking down any walls for now unless we really need to! Embrace interiors: Thank-you so much for the recommendations in paint colour and for re-assuring us that we can paint below the dado rail in a darker colour. We've had a closer look and Stone Lion is definitely the tone we are trying to achieve. If we were to paint the bottom half in Stone Lion, what would you recommend the colour of the picture frames for the artwork be on the top half? We definitely would consider painting the top half in a warmer white as you have recommended. Once again, thank-you all for your suggestions and recommendations!!

Thanks for your comments, for this project at Roseville, the frame for the decking was treated pine, and the top decking and the side screen was treated pine size 90mm x 22mm, we used decking oil (intergrain) Ultra Deck marine grade,( you can find it at Bunnings) with a (Merbau) Tint, this gives the timber a hardwood look. if you want to use a hardwood timber, I recommend using (Merbau) it comes in 90mm x 19mm and 135mm x 19mm. The decking is looking to the backyard Garden, nice view,

It's a hard decision when you have to balance the cost of a full renovation to the ceiling timbers. If you remove the rails and gyprock the ceiling, maybe you could add a paper frieze or stencil where the rail was. This would break the height a little so the room doesn't feel like an empty elevator shute! I've got 3m high ceilings, masonry walls, but no rails. We are adding picture rails in some areas and doing dado's in others. Good luck, I wish you well....it looks like a lovely home.

my MIL is one one those that won't fetch anything for herself ..she expects you to get up when she gets up 5-6am and fetch her breakfast..and it's no good offering would you like some toast as she'd be like oh no I'm fine.. you need to cook breakfast and plop it in front of her.. she wouldn't let me wash her clothes so showed her how to use the machine..she hand washes them and pop them on the line right on top of my rack of dried clothes..she took my clothes down so she had room to hang hers out..and of course her dripped on mine ..?? and if she dries the dishes she must do it intentionally to annoy me as it takes me ages to find bits and pieces to my rice cooker..?? amongst other things that happened .. my MIL is hated by all of his family..because she's the second wife..his biological mum is the best MIL you can have she's kind and loving not like this one..calculating ..stabs you behind your back and the list goes on.. my husband must takes after his mum..he's kind and caring.. thank goodness she's overseas now..only lose him to get twice a year for 10 days each..