Wow, what a difference, I had no idea just how big the area was from the before photos, but this looks great - clean and easy to maintain as well. I can see in time the plantings will give a nice lushness and softness to the area that will also help visually cool the area in summer as well. I also like the elevated garden - I can assure you this is a real bonus in senior years. Wondering how many of the old crowd are still around, I lost the ability to post photos after a computer update quite some years back and then couldn't make comments either, so I'm thrilled suddenly the site seems to be working for me. I felt I'd been excommunicated. Not long after this post, I up and sold my Sydney house, was totally fed up with the overdevelopment happening and moved to Port Stephens for some quiet country life. Bought a house on a small block of land that wouldn't be too much for me to maintain in my senior years and the back garden faces north so gets sun all day winter and summer - beautiful in winter as it lets the sun in the house on that side too, but almost unliveable in summer. House had been leased all its life so I literally had a blank canvas - after I'd levelled the craters the tenant's dog had created - I needed privacy from neighbours but didn't want a lot of maintenance, including no lawns to mow, so I've used low maintenance shrubs growing to about 2m around the perimeter and 4 crepe myrtles in the centre area for shade to sit under in summer while allowing full sun in winter. Just waiting for everything to grow now, but thanks to Covid and lockdowns, I've had plenty of time to garden. Thanks for the update Rog, I hope everyone is staying safe and well.

Tell me about it, the ones across the road were going all day and night in the front yard, including revving up a motor bike they're not allowed to ride! my hubby wears flannie shirts when he's not in work gear. He likes ripping them, that's a trend that should end. of course, all Australian flag thongs (flip flops) are made in China!

this house is such a great example of it's era it would be a shame to change it too much and the dark framed original windows and doors (with horizontal divisions not colonial panes) stained or painted a similar dark colour (including black) would be excellent but only over the original dark trim and others will make better suggestions for colour schemes but if you decide to add the entertaining areas, carport and covered walkways, dark posts, fascias, decking and pathways could make a a nice contrast with the blond bricks..DIY can be a great cost saver but having recently almost completed a similar renovation and about to start on another (we're also a retired couple) i would strongly recommend that you invest in a builder to take care of the overall construction and save money with careful planning (to avoid last minute changes) demolition (NB there's probably asbestos to consider) we saved by sourcing all our own taps, tiles, sinks, doorknobs, light fittings and happily recycled many of the existing fixtures and fittings (including sections of plaster cornices and etc and you could try painting, DIY flatpac kitchen and wardrobes, and consider prioritising the work based on your personal daily comfort eg although i suggested the old sunroom is worth renovating as long as it's safe and weatherproof the upstairs doesn't really need major changes and you could concentrate on the biggest project first OR start small and work up but it's always preferable to plan the whole property to avoid duplication and have a builder quote for the whole renovation and then you can stagger costs (and stagger out of bed each day) doing work in stages...In the meantime i'm assuming that your plans are from a real estate add so your very first project would be to make a very accurate plan of what you already own so measure every wall, thickness of walls, position of windows and doors, width of stairs etc ..even a few cms can make a huge difference in your options (eg the floor of the "study nancave" is probably lower than the living room and not waterproofed so do you want/need it enough to raise the floor, step down, enter under the stairs through a secret tunnel, come in through the old garage or leave it for the the boys??) obviously i can write ad nauseum but you will need proper plans for the external structures so it would be worth investing in professional drawings for the internal work as well your pre-planning will save time for the professionals (and your money) if you're reasonably confident about what will fit the spaces and i would be happy to revise the plans if you want to message me directly with the accurate measurements

I think that top one from Amart will look lovely with the room and will definitely carry on with your timber throughout, it’s different, has a light wood that will pick up the white of the tables, I would love it myself. Are you able to get a larger photo of it and see how it looks near tables.