I've had quite a bit of fun today moving furniture around to try out everyone's wonderful ideas. I have decided that the dining room needs to stay where it is, as it doesn't quite work with the hall which adjoins. I have moved the china cabinet over to the smaller wall though, as someone suggested and added a house plant here and there - it looks right. Not sure yet if I will go for a large buffet or a reading nook, but a large rug for the dining area is definite, as is art on that large wall. Now to decide ... one large piece or a collection?

I love the option to work in a private office while still feeling connected to the larger open plan space. And who doesn't want a huge blackboard to creatively brainstorm?

The last home we had was a very small workers cottage so I kept the walls a light off white, table and to unit tops were gloss white to bounce the light around. My dining chairs and bar stools were clear acrylic so that I could see through them, the ends of my island bench/brekky bar were mirrored and my curtains were textured white sheers so that they also didn't take up too much visual room. All of my furniture was on legs so that I could see under it and the lounge room rug was pulled away from the lounge just a teeny bit so that I could see a little bit of timber flooring all the way round it, that all made the floor size look just a bit bigger. Bedrooms had mirrored wardrobe doors and bathroom was almost completely white (except for dark floor) and had frameless shower screen and oversized vanity mirror to reflect as much light as possible. Friends and visitors would comment that the house was bigger than they had imagined from the outside.......it wasn't, it was just styled inside to make it look larger.

Hi there Michelle, Have you thought about using artificial Vertical Gardens/Hedges on the fence? It's crazy how like-like it looks and it is all UV protected to ensure longevity. We are located in VIC (ship across Aus) and using our product by the pool wont affect it at all! There's so many designs to choose from and it is extremely easy to install. If you are still not sure get in touch with us today and we can send you up some samples to show you just how good the product is! Below are some photos of previous jobs we have done to give you an idea - many more on our Houzz Profile! Cheers, Aidan Designer Plants Australia