I will try to get some photos of the inside of the house tomorrow.

less than 8 feet or 2.4 m would not be legal height so i would have a building inspection to carefully check if anything else is substandard but hopefully the ceilings only feel low because you're used to much higher ceilings...double check but it looks like a gorgeous house and hopefully well worth trying all your ideas..best of luck btw an idea to consider would be to remove the ceiling lining in some rooms and expose the structural beams and then reline between the beams at the highest point...painted white this will raise the ceilings,

I was thinking I would do the floors dark brown and go for warm white walls and ceilings. However if striped wallpaper makes walls look higher I might do some striped wallpaper. I do like the idea of panelling if you think its permissible re making ceiling look higher

thanks ok louise its a 70s house so I don't know what ceiling heights were permissible in Australia at that time. I really like the house, I would be ecstatic if it had 10 foot ceilings but it is what it is

ps I asked a friend who was an architect about trying to do something to raise the ceilings but he poo poohed the idea, I don't know whether he just couldn't be bothered thinking about it

he hadn't seen the house just the real estate photos on the internet

I'd be keeping it all as light and bright as possible- nothing that brings the ceiling down lower such as pendant lights and fans (which are a nightmare on 2.4m ceilings if you happen to be tall anyway- ouch).

Your wallpaper sounds nice, but be mindful, it may elongate the room, but the it might also bring the walls in closer making rooms feel tiny.

Dark timber floors are a nightmare to keep dust free. Light oak hides everything!

I'm a big fan of paneling also, as long as you are keeping it all light and bright, it can add texture and interest. Too much of anything can be overkill though....formal areas/entry only perhaps?

i believe the minimum height ceilings were standard long before the 70's in all but the most basic DIY country shacks...look forward to confirmation of actual heights

Hey 2dogs

Anything running in a vertical line will make the room look taller, whether that be bookcases, or vertically lined wallpaper. Paneling is definitely on trend, and relatively easy to do even if your a little bit handy, wood mouldings are easily accessible from Bunnings and all you need is a paint colour.

Thankyou everyone for your thoughts,. I went back for a second inspection today and realised the house is extremely close to the local high school. The area is not great for public transport, only buses and Im sure many of the kids would be driven to school. The house is in the same street from the school maybe 50ms away. sao I imagine at pick off and drop off its going to be congested and hard to get in and out. I also imagine people would park across my driveway at times because that's the shit people do as they don't care whether you block you in

ceilings only 240cm high

House looks amazing. can you please posts some shots from inside.

Looks like the ceiling heights are legal:
Building Code Ceiling Heights
A room or space within a building must have sufficient height suitable for the intended function of that room or space. According to BCA Vol 2 part 3.8.2, for the requirement to be satisfied, the ceiling height must not be less than:
in a habitable room excluding a kitchen - 2.4 m andin a kitchen, laundry or the like - 2.1m andin a corridor or passageway or the like - 2.1m andin a bathroom, shower room, laundry, sanitary compartment, pantry, storeroom, garage, car parking area etc - 2.1m andin an attic, room with a sloping ceiling or projection below ceiling line or non-habitable room or similar - a height that does not unduly interfere with the proper functioning of the room or space. More than 50% of the ceiling space should be on average a minimum height.in a stairway - 2.0m measured vertically above the nosing line.

Otherwise, the room would be deemed to be a "utility room".

Technically the height is measured from the finished floor covering to the underside of ceiling or lowest protrusion of the ceiling. If you are trying to determine whether you can build in an area - ensure you take into consideration what you are going to put on the floor.

If there is any doubt about a ceiling height - you should speak to your local council:

Hi there, im pretty sure the ceiling heights are minimum standard. If you look at the space above the door jambs it would make them around 8 feet or 2.4. I moved from a house with higher ceilings too, but you get used to it pretty quickly. I love your photo idea with the panelling, would so suit that house and white ceilings always make the room feel airier. Btw I live in the same street as the house you're considering and we have just about finished extending and renovating from top to bottom! Lovely place to live, good luck

how do you find the traffic during school drop off and pick up rara67

Most houses built recently have the standard 240cm ceiling heights. You will get used to it. The main thing to look at is you won't be able to have pendant lights hanging down unless they are over a dining table.

I'd try to keep it as light and airy as possible with a super white ceiling, and if it has crown mouldings paint them the same colour as the walls. bring your window treatments up. Maybe a dark floor?
Add some tall plants and things like mirrors on the walls to bring the eye up. Avoid keeping furniture all at the same level.. Bring in some tall pieces and you'll be okay

Keep it light otherwise it makes the low ceilings feel even lower. I will share our story in the hope it may help you!

Picture 1. We moved from a house with high ceilings to one with low bedroom ceilings and it felt claustrophobic for a while (2 years we put up with it). Our bedroom, when we moved in, had burgundy walls, dark wooden doors into the ensuite and wardrobe, b&w zigzag curtains and pink carpet (yes someone thought pink carpets and burgundy walls would be a good idea!). The one redeeming feature was large glass sliding doors that led out onto a covered deck which provided a view and let in some light (which pretty much got swallowed by all the dark features). We faced our bed towards the doors when we moved in to have a view - as who wants to look into the bathroom like the previous owners did in the picture!
Transforming the space: We pulled up the carpet and laid medium coloured wood floors (dark floors were too much for this space and needed to work through entire house), we painted the whole room including the ensuite and bathroom slatted doors white - all of which transformed the space in a way that really surprised me. A tallish wooden bed head and antique dresser, along with tall (rather than wide) artwork help add height to the room as do the doors now that they are white.
To keep a feeling of warmth in the room (sorry minimalists out there) I used linen bedding in greys and used blue accessories in rugs and cushions which compliment the artwork which we picked up from a painter on the streets of Paris (framed on our return). We used a muted rug on the floor to bring elements together and for warmth for our feet as we live in a very cool climate during winter months. I simply wanted colour that wouldn't overpower the space.
Since pics were taken: We have since started revamping the outside deck and removed some of the lattice which has brought a beautiful flood of natural light flooding in and a view of the garden.
Our next step: will be to add some white linen or silk curtains at the highest height possible to maintain an illusion of height. We will extend the curtains to land either side of the doors when open, as while we now need to have them for some added privacy, we still want the light and the view most of the time including when the deck is lit up at night. We will keep the curtains light as colour would encroach on the room size which isn't very big. Our dream addition is to replace the sliding doors with white French doors.
Hope this is helpful.

Wow Joanne Fosdike what an amazing transformation! I love seeing responses like this which make the impossible seem possible. I love what you've done with your bedroom and cant believe you could have lived with that for 2 years!
When we bought ours it had pumpkin orange walls and maroon curtains (pictured before and after) and I could not fall sleep in there until we painted it and removed the curtains!

Joanne Fosdike.. SWOON.. your bathroom (and NOT the blue one lol). Great job. Your blue one was quite posh compared to the one we bought...

2dogssashatess sorry I didn't reply, it wouldn't work on my phone. Did you buy the house? I wanted to say that the traffic didn't bother me, busy one way for 30 mins in the morning and 30 mins in the afternoon, other than those time is it really peaceful. We are back around the bend, so don't have to deal with the parking which would be certainly something to deal with at those times with that house.

HI rara67 I didn't go ahead with the house out of concern re parking. The agent lives in the street and once I said I wasn't bidding she said she sometimes people parked across her driveway in the peak drop off /pick up times!! Anyway the agent got them a great price for the house at auction. However, I consider it was emotion based bidding as the price was high for an unrenovated house which needed a lot done to it, painting, flooring, lighting, curtains, new kitchen , new bathrooms, fencing. I reckon could easily spend $200k. There were other properties on similar size land renovated with pool, tennis court etc for that price.

awesome bathroom Joanne so inspiring!