I'm sure most people would envy you the pool and potential this area has. Not sure what your requirements are when it comes to "use" of the land. Have you thought of a cabana at the end of the big pool in front of the shed? It would hide the shed and at the same time give you a focal point that draws the eye to the beautiful length of the pool... and at the same time provide a visual full stop with the cabana. (If money is an issue....I recently purchased a beautiful outdoor gazebo and placed it on our outdoor wooden deck which was always too hot to sit on and the whole family now sits out there under the gazebo for most of our meals-I like to make flat land-useable land) The surrounding gardens (I agree with fianou) that large leafed, tropical plants would help soften the overall look (if that's what you want/like) . Other people like the harder lines and a starker more modern look. If that's the case then put in more structural plants. Just depends on your own personal taste. Not sure that the existing palm trees are a help or a hindrance as many drop seeds into the pool and from a visual point of view can look like telegraph poles if not under-planted with other medium sized shrubs that balance the overall design. If there are surrounding areas that you want to use as pathways...Astro Turf is a great alternative to traditional hard surface choices.Good luck with your plans!

@Emma I, What you're suggesting is a pretty bold move and irrespective of whether you are permitted to do it in the end by your respective shire and other authorities, I can't stree enough that for all the money you are thinking of spending on this project and the lengths to which you are intending to go with removing windows, dig a huge hole for the pool etc... that you use some of your finances to employ an architect as suggested by EmileECLC to make sure that this massive transformation becomes everything you dream it will be!! You must be absolutely sure of regulations surrounding pools like mentioned by mazgardiner about not being able to directly enter a pool from the house for example. Hubby and I are building our own home and we decided to have an indoor pool. We were originally having a sliding door leading outside of the pool, only to find that we were not permitted to have this access from the pool outside and I expect it was the sliding door, as with mazgardiner that was the issue, as it would be far more difficult to make it a self closing and lockable door. Fortunately we had already decided to change the slider to an awning window instead and just as well. The access into the pool from inside the home is a hinged door with a self closing mechanism and has the handle positioned at 1.5m from the floor. Furthermore, we were told by the window manufacturers, that any glass near a pool area had to be safety glass by law, so your stacker doors or any other windows that form part of the new pool area, will need to be upgraded and be much more expensive just so you know, about double the cost of a standard window. Another safety feature with our awning windows was that the wind out chain could only open to a maximum of 100mm, again law, just like the bars in a safety fence. Our building inspector tried to tell us they would not be allowed and that we would have to have external bars fitted and have the windows permanently screwed shut but further contact with our state building commission deemed the 100mm gap to be safe and adequate. Don't just accept something that seems wrong, if need be, take it higher as we did and succeeded, so again another reason to have a professional helping you through the maze of regulations.

I have a relatively small but very well designed house of 160M2 on a block of 1000M2. We get lots of northern light in all the right places. Garden views and connection from every room and plenty of borrowed views. Outdoors we have space for produce gardens, fruit trees, outdoor patio and BBQ area, a fire pit, play space and a native garden. We also have a large, private courtyard off the master bedroom and a small one off the en-suite bathroom. And utility spaces to the south (washing line, hot water, outdoor compressors for air con, garden sheds etc). Internally we have 3 bedrooms, a study and open plan kitchen/dining/kitchen plus small activity area for the kids. None of the rooms, other than the activity area are poky. Because it is well designed there is no wasted space, and it flows really well, accomodating two adults and 2 teens while providing a good balance between connection and privacy. Ample ceiling heights, 2.4m high windows and sight lines that connect with the outdoors means it feels spacious despite its relatively compact size. It’s such a joy to live in this house. It feels like the goldilocks house. Not too big, not too small. Just right.

Pacific Tiles at Sefton, near the roundabout to Birrong Pool Quality tiles and cheapest prices, tilers buy their tiles at Pacific However Avoid prior to 8.00 am and after 3.30 pm, too many tilers