I'm amazed that this discussion has carried forward for nearly two years! In that time I have moved to another coastal area (cooler climate and better proximity to children) and this time found most of the discussion still rings true. Finding another home here was an incredibly frustrating journey made all the worse by a mad investor rush in the area just when we arrived to start our home search. That search took the best part of six months and in the end there would only be three or four houses to choose from in any week. Result? A rushed purchase, a desperately inadequate building inspection and failure on my part to notice poor bathroom tiling, shortage of closet and storage pace, just how small the lounge room really was, and etc. I disappointed myself because I had let the pressures beat me and now we are trying to resolve all of these issues in a home designed and built by one of this states most respected project home builders 25 years ago. Having now studied the floor plan with more care I realise it was put together (designed) in modular fashion - most bedrooms have similar dimensions and the living areas are all approximately the same size as if the designer simply juggled three boxes of one size and four of another size and then worked out traffic flow. Then he must have thrown them all in the air to see how they would land and that was design number two! And etc and so on. This house aside, we looked at a great many during the six months because we had to broaden our search above and below budget trying to find something. There were massive termite problems, leaky roofs, asbestos galore, gazzumping at every turn, almost all but the most expensive properties suffered at least one substantial fail for the most basic of needs and to top it off the best home in our price range just happened to be built on flood prone land - approved by council who put the flood signs up less than five years earlier. We live and learn. Then there were the real estate agents, but that would take another two years and I doubt the internet has enough free page space available!!! OK, I hear you, they're not ALL bad...

Hi Pazz, I really like your idea of seagrass wallpaper behind the bed, it would add texture and warmth plus make more of a feature of the window on that wall (compared with the other windows). If the wallpaper is dark enough, the concrete pendants would look great (but the cord will definately have to be jigged because you'll ruin the clean black rectangle of your window if the cord cuts it). I'm personally a fan of the Tom Dixon Beat pendant shape, and curved or rounded pendant would also soften the room which has lots of angular edges, plus it will throw wider light if the mouth is large enough! It's a lovely room, would love to see pic when you make your final selection! :-)

I'm in New Zealand ( as a lot of you know ) and our rules are different , and will maybe act as a warning . Councils seem to be left-leaning , and therefore see anyone with property as a continual source of money . They make the rules with that in mind . Of course , what they don't seem to be able to comprehend is thaat every action has an equal and opposite reaction . Anyone subdividing an existing section or doing a subdivision has to pay a 'development contribution' . In most cities this is $50,000-100,000 . Per section/title . so they think they are hitting the greedy landowner , but of course , it is the person buying the smaller property that effectively pays this -- I don't think most councils can appreciate that . As a slight side issue , one large company has bought several hundred rural acres , and are trying to build their own town -- factories for themselves and support businesses , as well as shops and groceries and takeaways and gas stations and the lot . 1000's of houses to buy or rent or rent to own . And they want to pay for their own streets , and sewerage scheme , and power , and water , and parks , and upkeep . The council involved , predictably , has spent $10's of millions of ratepayers money fighting them every step of the way , changing the rules , all the usual tricks . So a tiny home here isn't classed as a caravan , it needs to have permanent water and sewerage and power , so , yes you guessed , needs to have someone pay a development contribution . It needs to comply with all the building regulations , so you can't have it for only 'summertime' use or similar . In Aus , you have a lot of areas that are effectively off-grid , because power and sewerage would be way too impractical , but here you cannot opt-out . And even caravans cannot be 'lived in' permanently , with the exception of some caravan parks , and I think even then technically the caravan has to be moved once every 3 months or similar . Park a caravan at your house , have the grandkids stay for 2 weeks , you probably get away with it . But have them and their Mum live there -- you then need to permanently connect it to your services , and , you guessed it , pay a development fee ! Same with mobile homes and the like . My mobile home I have had it deregistered , and re-registered it as a mobile office , in my businesses name . This is because Mobile Homes are not allowed to park overnight and be slept in , on the streets or carparks in most towns . Of course , if I got a ticket and disputed it , the relevant council may show local CCTV footage , or ask for an accomodation receipt from a nearby business , but at least it will tie them up in court for at least a couple of hours or more -- they probably have lawyers on the payroll , but if they are paying $300 an hour , plus 3 or 4 council employees time , plus the Judge and court people -- its cost them way more than the $200-500 fine . So long story short -- tiny homes are a legal nightmare in NZ , as is almost anything that doesn't look like a conventional house .

I think that top one from Amart will look lovely with the room and will definitely carry on with your timber throughout, it’s different, has a light wood that will pick up the white of the tables, I would love it myself. Are you able to get a larger photo of it and see how it looks near tables.