@wuff -- I bought mine a few months ago while on a trip to the USA. It wasn't on holiday and had limited shopping time, which left me with empty luggage space to fill :-). I visited a discount/surplus items store and got them cheap! I'd been looking for months for some, but nothing I saw here came close to the heavy-quality metal of the ones I bought. They're made by a company called Seville Classics. Here's a link to their website page: https://www.sevilleclassics.com/kitchen_counter_top_organizer Following my return to Oz, I emailed the company enquiring about availability in Australia. I never received a reply. Much to my surprise, I recently discovered that Howards Storage World is now selling them. Here's the link: http://www.hsw.com.au/index.php?product&id_prod=6558&id_cat=106&id_dept=510#.VcDbmSkbA5s The one available at HSW is as shown in my earlier photos and is different to the ones I have. I'm not sure if the thickness of the metal is the same. Kind of hard to tell when I didn't have mine with me at HSW. Items are so much easier to access than if they were stacked. Best part is that others in the house have no excuse about putting items back into these organising racks. Here's a link showing the Seville products being sold by HSW. http://www.hsw.com.au/?product=&search=seville&op=search_products&x=0&y=0

Hi Sandra, what a beautiful room you can make, I would love your fire place, my thoughts would be to go the lighter colours including painting you panelling, as a few others above have suggested keep the trim and wall colour similar, big floor rug as suggested also. Our sitting room is 4x4 metres, when we first moved in, I painted it quite a dark pink shade and had way too much dark furniture from our downsize that I thought I could not live without. After two years of trying to make myself like it, I finally heavily culled furniture and changed paint colour to a very light grey tone. It probably isn't my perfect colour choice but heaps better, I also purchased some lighter profile furniture, I sit in this room so often now, I just love it, it has gone from a room I tried not to look at, to a room I really like being in. I will put a couple of before and after in for looking at darker colours to lighter colours from very similar angles

My advice is to think about the working/function as you need it for your family. Prioritise that (as a starting point) and get that happening somewhat free of a "box" shape extension and see how that all sits - it's like you're trying to squeeze it all in to a specific shape and then struggling with certain details....you're suggesting/entertaining ideas like a functional laundry/bag drop zone etc which 100% is important/relevant for a busy family of 4. The problem seems that there hasn't been true clarity on the function/requirements before the design has been proposed. Is it too small? Well it depends on how exactly you intend on using it - how many people need to be able to sit at the table or on the lounge etc..this will dictate scaling - whether or not you'd like a butlers pantry or not. Is the 3rd toilet needed? Well ultimately nobody can tell you that one way or the other - you will know whether functionally that is a requirement necessary for your family - all these are questions you will have (or need to establish) an opinion/position on one way or another and then (should) be able to work through (more effectively) & resolve with the architect whom you've engaged.....you are obviously staging the project which can be logical/necessary, and given this there may in fact be alternative and arguably more cost effective design options available for you (such as a 2nd stage "clean" extension for a master suite), but realistically that involves greater understanding/information of the site/context and your particular budget in order to provide specific advice/suggestions as to how best to achieve your goals...Good luck :) PD

This isn't a personal recommendation as I have not yet purchased anything from this company, but I've been admiring the timber floating shelves on their website. https://shelvingshop.com.au/product-category/floating-shelves/wood-effect-finish/ Or you can buy the brackets and have the shelf custom made in whatever material and size you want. https://shelvingshop.com.au/product-category/brackets-2/floating-shelving-brackets/  I think hardware stores also sell brackets by themselves. I was thinking of going the custom route because that means I can ensure the brackets will be attached to the studs. I believe you can paint melamine after proper preparation of the surface, but I doubt if you can stain it.