hi Adrian and Erin, now that looks flash! and it is amazing the difference the small things make! we will certainly look at this and Erin, tks so much for the photo. Do you think the new square posts holding up the veranda should be painted the same colour as the windows ( we think we will restore the windows to the existing white) or made a feature, ie maybe dressed timber or another colour? Our landscape plan includes a pergola ( maybe dressed timber or painted white) leading up to the front porch and a few low retaining walls ( maybe rendered or sandstone?) and maybe the post colour can tie in somewhere? cheers kim

Erin I like the rug but how about trying the size smaller if that's possible? The sofa should ideally sit with front feet just on the rug. Then pull the ottoman out more and add a colourful chair on opposite corner ( of the triangle). A tray on the ottoman with some books, flowers and maybe beeswax candles? That's if you don't have toddlers of course! Some white sheers on the window also would look good. Hope this helps!

Hi Erin Both look like they will work. I think your challenge will be to bring some depth to the front of the house . With the colour being uniform its quite flat, so I would suggest adding some awnings to the front windows. These could also be a nice feature on the front of the house adding your personality. http://www.icietla.com.au in Brisbane sell some beautiful stripes. The other option was to have a base and top scheme that helped the building look a little lighter. A great transformation which ever way you go.

Hi Erin, Some very good points made by everyone. First, I'll start by recommending that your have a read of the government's Your Home website. Tonnes & tonnes of information about designing a comfortable, energy efficient home. I'll link to the orientation section, as that's what I'll discuss, but recommend that you read more. http://yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/orientation A western frontage with no northern neighbour is a great block. This has allowed you to locate the garage on the SW corner, blocking the very hot afternoon summer sun, which is brilliant. But the western facing master bedroom is a major concern. Western sunshine (& eastern to some degree) is very difficult to shade, as eaves are ineffective when the sun is low in the sky. So usually it's a good idea to minimise western windows & place rarely used rooms, like bathrooms, laundries (along with the garage) facing west. But this becomes difficult for west facing houses, as you don't want to negatively effect street appeal. So I'll start by asking, do you envisage using all of your bedrooms, all the time? Or will one or the bedrooms be a guest bedroom, that will be rarely used? If one of the bedrooms is a spare bedroom, is recommend moving it to the front of the house, so that it bares the brunt of the hot afternoon sun. I'd then move the master to the SE corner, so it has an outlook to the backyard. If this can't be done is recommend following the above designs, moving either the ensuite or WIR to the W frontage, while still trying to maintain an attractive western facade. Pity you don't have access from the north. A northern entrance could have limited the length of the hallway, & brightened it up. One option I like a lot for this type of block orientation is designing a split skillion roof, with north facing clerestory (highlight) windows running down the spine of the build. These windows will greatly brighten the hallway, & also the kitchen which will be quite dark otherwise. These high level windows can also be great in summer, purging the house of heat in the evenings & throughout the night. Just make sure they have appropriate eaves, so they receive no sunshine in the warmer months. Next question. You explained a little of what's to your north. But how is the outlook. Generally it is a good idea to face your living areas, & a large portion of your windows north. If you will have a nice outlook to the north you may consider more north facing glazing. Though, do your research, as I'm not too sure of your actual climate, & you wouldn't want to overglaze. Also, orientating your glazing for cooling summer breezes is important, particularly in hot QLD. Which direction do your breezes come from, throughout the year, & throughout the day. I'd recommend finding this out by looking for the local "wind roses" on the BOM, Bureau of Meteorology. That's it for now, phone battery's about to die. Good luck