Hi. Great spot! When we had an acreage first thing I did was to start closest to the house with easy water able stuff so that there is something there to look at from your windows that gives you impetus to go further. However, you could also figure out where you want to be walking to and your views and needs (big veggie patch, orchard etc) and begin by setting out pathways leading there. Always taking account of that run off issue too. Once those are in, you can get your trees ( for shade as you walk) and any other plants you want or make beds or ponds etc - perhaps your paths could make a loop that takes you back to the house? Also think about watering needs and access to irrigation points. ahh am I ever envious - but too old now!

If you want to make the house hotter, then painting the roof charcoal will certainly achieve that. Repointing the brickwork is the most sensible from a maintenance perspective. Once you render and paint, then you have to keep painting (and it's likely to be out of fashion sooner or later). Try to keep passive cooling in mind (i.e. light colours & permeable landscaping) with any of your renovations, and I think it always pays to try and embrace and compliment the original architecture and be unique, rather than trying to look like the latest project home. In my opinion the arch window is actually quite cool, and the excellent mock-ups provided by Geo Toria are along the right track.

Hi Sue, I think the wall colour (white looks like an white/off white) is lovely. It’s neutral and light, and will be the best back drop for any soft furnishings. I would suggest maybe updating some of your furniture. Your sofas look in good condition, so re-upholstering to change the colour may be a expensive option. in a bid to save some money, perhaps updating your rug to a lighter/more neutral pattern/colour (look at armadillo rugs) is a better option. Also updating your dining setting (perhaps something with chair upholstery to compliment the sofa, and even a large light coloured marble top) to be more contemporary and in keeping with your lounge suite would be the way to go. My clients often find it difficult to part with certain pieces that hold sentimental value, but often a new home requires a furniture update. In summary, I’m not convinced changing wall colour will be able to link all your furniture together. Stick with one piece that works well (ie. the sofa) and work towards updating the rest. Good luck!

Creating content, visual or written, takes a lot of time. Time is money. I suppose it's hard enough finding the time to do it for your own business, let alone for something else, unless it of course makes sense for obvious benefit/investment. Perhaps you need to put your feelers out for this in the Pro-Pro discussion area and provide some more information about the "deal" so to speak and what you are endeavouring to achieve..................no offence taken, but just to explain a little of my blunt response, particularly for the design sector of this industry, it's a tricky one as to where to draw the line between providing content/time as part of business/service promotion/exposure, or just feeding the digital beast and giving away value/content for nothing........everyone these days just expect that access to info and content are free, which in turn diminishes it's value and increases the pressure on particularly small businesses.......... As siri said, If you post a question on this forum about something specific, a few of us here will typically jump in an offer some considered comments that you could possibly use with approval..... best of luck with your venture moving forward...cheers PD