@urj123, Cricky!!! I knew you were going to ask that, after I looked at the sample I had that was full strength ha-ha.....AND I re-read you post and you wrote quite clearly 1/4 strength!!! I will return to the store, AGAIN, ha-ha and ask for 1/4 strength. All jokes aside, I think 1/4 will probably be real nice, as I didn't dislike the full strength but too creamy for the ceiling. My daughter actually painted all her ceilings the same colour as her walls with Hog Bristle but all the experts seem to say that a ceiling should be white or at least traditionally its always been white and I like the look of that too. I won't be back in town until next week but I'll keep in touch when I have the sample in my hand. Hubby and I are hay contractors and are at our most busy time being in tractors for many long hours but we are nearing the end and then I can take a breath and turn my focus back onto the home. Actually have 80mtrs of edging or capping tiles around the veranda to do and then the same amount of concreting to do on the 1.8m wide veranda and then we can get the colourbond roof on the house and during the cooler months, we can start to lay the limestone bricks, so there's plenty to do on the home!!! I have photo's attached in an earlier post. Best get to bed, more hay baling to do tomorrow. Cheers, Barbara

Firstly - thank you everyone for your fantastic ideas. I absolutely loved the light and airy Look especially! I have been visiting various lighting stores today and other online sites and then went back to the house and I am not sure that I have reached any useful conclusion! My latest thought (which may change!) is that I have a lot of beautiful Aboriginal artworks so I am thinking this room might showcase all of that and have a warm light to complement - possibly brass, but maybe even a completely out of the box modern fitting as a juxtaposition to the gorgeous art. Your great ideas have made me more comfortable again with a pendant over the table, but a lot that I saw today was chrome which doesn't thrill me. I hope to change the balustrades in the next couple of years to something more contemporary also. Thanks for keeping the ideas flowing!

Lyn Huppatz raises a very valid point with moving, particularly for those moving from the city to the country. It is very difficult to feel you are really living or belong in a place if you are not accepted and these barriers can be very difficult to cross. I've just traded city life for what I hope is some peaceful country living to see out my days and this aspect did cross my mind with thoughts of how to try to cope with it. Fortunately, I've chosen a wonderful place where everyone seems to be a newcomer, basically all escaping the city hustle and bustle so the welcome I've had is amazing with invites to join many local groups and clubs, I doubt I will have time for them all. Maybe instead of wondering about ourselves so much, we should also focus on how welcoming we make our own particular areas for newcomers - how much would we like others to say they have lived rather than just stayed.

I would definitely remove the animal on the floor and cushions. And the Italian pedestal and floral display. Try the deer print on the black wall in the lounge area. Try it on the right hand side of wall at eye level, after you take the pedestal away. Put your tall table decoration onto the white buffet, where the deer was. Can you remove the shiny light fittings that are in the dining room space. They seem not to work. Install led down lights. As the existing lights seem not to be where you have your table. This is my opinion. Everyone's tastes are different.