Hi Candy, Paint is by far the easier option to do oneself, as liming needs to be done by someone who has experience in doing it, otherwise it can go horribly wrong. I've done both, and painted floors are just perfect in a beach house, in my opinion. As the paint wears with time and use, it just adds to the "rustic" charm. Use a paint/brand that is meant for floors and follow directions. Leave plenty of time for paint to dry and cure/harden properly before walking on it. Have fun!

Hi RePete, another app for drafting is Home Sweet Home which is free. My experience has been that some of the really good architects are happy to share their ideas when they visit as they enjoy the creative process so much. Eg Williams Burton met with us years ago (we are still figuring out what to do!) - and I was very impressed. We didn't use them as they are very fastidious so their builds take a long time and we can't cope with that but they do some amazing work on character homes in particular and although people think of them as only doing very expensive jobs, I am aware that they have also done some cheaper jobs where the project has got their interest. You could try talking to them and a few others from that "tier". I can't remember if we paid for the initial meeting, but if we did it was only a very small amount. I would seek as many views as possible (including here), keep trawling the net and pinterest as well as Houzz, look at lots of magazines etc, go to every open home that is vaguely like your style and ask the real estate agent who designed/built it... (hmmmm this is why we haven't started building yet after 8 years...) As Ok says, probably the only person that can determine what accommodation is required is you, so make that thought process a parallel one to looking at pictures. Good luck.

Well, not all that much to it. Paint makes a big difference in appearance. As far as the house goes, we didn't want to do too much to it as it is going to be demolished next year to make room for the new construction.

your house looks like an 80's home with a sunken lounge. I live in an 80's single level house like yours and love the spacious feeling, do you have raked ceilings? If it was me I would make small changes so suggest the following, 1) If the eave is deep enough I would push your sons bedroom wall out this would give him a good sized bedroom with access to the next bedroom and bathroom for his "PAD" 2) There is a flow problem with the house with accessing the bedrooms as you have to step down into and back up from the family/rumpus/living at two points. Keeping the "fireplace" insitu I would take part of the internal bedroom to allow for a passage across from the entrance to the bedroom wing. the reduced bedroom would make a great study or guest room. you can keep both step down points or close off the wall from the fireplace to the master bedroom 3) another problem with the house is internal access to the alfresco, at the moment it would only be via the family/rumpus or master bedroom, I suggest that the alfresco decking be split level to allow for large sliding doors coming off the new open plan kitchen. The door into the existing kitchen be kept but remove the laundry which will allow for a bigger dining table. 4) The laundry could be moved into the planned office/guest.pool room which would be perfect if there was access down the L/H side of the house for hubbie coming home and needing a cleanup which would be done in the same space, which could also be his man cave!! 5) The granny flat needs to be sorted by a local designer to get the best possible result, I have heard that a studio is more readily approved over a granny flat (siriuskey)