Oh C'mon V Richards...every epoch has its treasures. B4 you make a mad run for it stop a while and consider the period and the reasons for the style...it can be extremely enlightening....unless its not the period you want to escape from but from some of the opinions. I spent many years of my youth outside of Australia living surrounded by old ruins in Europe. I forgot what it was like here. When finally I returned to Australia and found myself living in some of the 60s and 70s places..I found much to admire and wonder about. I may not have fallen in love with much of it but there was a certain mistique and a feel that I can still conjure when talking about certain places. Not saying that it was all romantic and pleasant but it conveyed something of the era and the kind of Aussie from those days.

emerald..don't know how you full time mum does it..I wouldn't be able to cope lol I only work part time and yet on the days I work I don't even look after myself properly lol. took the kids to Yum Cha today so I bought groceries at Melb Central before hopping on the train back .. just making a stir fry tonight..was going to have stir fried noodles..turned out my Hokkien noodles are expired..this is the reason why I don't buy stuff beforehand lol so will wing it and have with rice..one wok wonder with some scallops from the freezer.. my kids are easy they don't ever whinge about what I cook they know better..as sometimes I don't cook at all lol

We're already at the "old age" with problems stage, so have gradually adapted most areas to suit our limitations. What has amazed me is how suddenly the body changes have seemed to come all at once. We have a 4x2 on a quarter acre close to amenities, and I would hate not to have it. I love having all our varied fruit trees and raised garden beds, but admit I have a strong young man to help for 2 hours a week. Had spinal and knee ops last year which has limited what I can do. Bad part of getting old is the mind staying young - tells the body to do something beyond it's present state. Example is lifting a huge bag of fertiliser out of car boot. Result was spinal surgery, and being told that lifting heavy objects will put me back under the knife. The 1 thing left to do in the bathrooms is install higher toilets, as the knees don't bend so well any more. Walk in showers, bidet toilet seats, and heated bathrooms are a boon, and grab rails are well used. We have a small step to the patio, but have installed a ramp for that, otherwise we have no other steps. Rugs and carpet have been replaced with tile which is easier for using walking frame. Installed more and brighter lights for OH,s fading eyesight, and replaced our t.v. with a larger one. Have enclosed part of our huge patio to create a sunroom off the family room. This brings more warmth into it when the sliding doors are open, and we can vent the heat in the hotter summer months. Our next project is to replace our [only] 4 years old kitchen so we don't have to bend or stretch so much to reach what we need, especially all my appliances and gadgets. Now all we have to do is hope we live long enough to enjoy it lol !

Hi Tim, it's charcoal: Polytec in 'Feldspar' colour and the finish is Shimmer Matt. It marks like hell (only because the other users don't get that you don't have to paw the doors to shut them) but it's a pleasure to clean (microfibre cloth and Windex). Still a amazing. My tip is to get the carcass of the top cupboards made out of a matching (or close colour). White carcasses look cheap when you open them. Bottom cupboards not as obvious amd they don't stay open for as long as often.