Adopting a puppy is like adopting another baby. They need a lot of time and supervision to get them to the self sufficient trustworthy stage where you don't need to supervise their every waking moment. You get there faster with canines than humans, but not if you don't have the time to put in the WORK that they need. The best dog for a busy family is often that ADULT Heinz57 mix. They still need exercise, training, and attention,but not like a puppy does. Consider adopting a black dog from a shelter and save a life. It's a good lesson for the kids that animals shouldn't be throwaways. Black dogs and cats are the least adoped and most euthanized. Save a life and gain a friend for life. Also consider that the best dog for your famly might just be a cat! Cats have taken over from dogs as the most popular pet in the US because they can potty indoors and don't need as much structured exercise and attention. They are perfect for those who seek companionship with less of a time commitment.

Great to hear that you have decided not to paint the brickwork. Can I offer my opinion - I'd suggest painting the garage door and surrounding frame and the adjacent beam and column (currently white) in a dark charcoal/brown to match the ground floor brickwork try Dulux Namandji or Mali. I would redo the retaining wall with large boulders in a more freestyle layout than the current straight line and take up some of the concrete drive near the retaining wall to create a garden on the lower level, curved to still provide access to all of the undercroft unless you wish to enclose part of it with a large full height window. I'd love to see the wrought iron balustrade painted black. My home in the mid sixties had salmon coloured bricks, white window frames and fabulous turquoise gutters! The downpipes were painted to match the bricks thankfully - turquoise might have been a bit over the top! Good luck with your project, would love to see your progress. W

I would vote for the top example here. Itr gives an earthy tone to the room and yet is still bright and wont show every piece of dust or food.

Yes. I couldn’t find it in my profile though but here is the link. https://www.houzz.co.uk/discussions/5879722/ceilings-floors-and-weatherboard-questions it was kind of an unrelated question re matching ceilings Which is now redundant as it was a question pertaining to the old floor plan. If we keep our current floor plan, we don’t need to match the ceilings as we no longer have the combined dining living - theyre now separated by the kitchen. The deck on the floor plan is now to be knocked down and turned into a dining room. Haven’t got a floor plan for that since we just got the news from council. Trying to warm my husband to it. Otherwise he wants to move! I’m wanting the wall to be weatherboard under the windows to match our weatherboard living room. We have a nice view from the deck hence to keep that going in the new dining room w these windows. this is advice from council. The deck would eventually need to be replaced in the next ten years as it’s an old house so I’m not bothered we would pull it down as we would have to anyway but to be replaced w a new deck. Just looking for advice on type of window rather than any comments on council is. My hubby is doing a lot of dining about it!