@lottielong, Whatever you do do, seek professional help because no matter what, a pool RENO, can be a very expensive venture that you do want to get right. I'm not all for designers for this and that in the home, as I'd like to think I have a good enough idea myself but when it comes to a pool, mistakes are almost life long or simply too expensive to rectify. It's all about how much you are able to spend ultimately. Hubby and I are building a new home and we have allowed ourselves an indoor pool, very extravagant for a farming family, ha-ha.....anyway, we were lucky to be able to purchase a second hand fibreglass pool for a 1/3 of the cost. It is a little faded but we will give it a polish and see how it comes up or alternatively, we'll re-coat. We'll tile over the concrete base and it should be stuning when complete. I've attached a photo before the frame went up.

I spent ages figuring out the lay out of our kitchen and am really happy with the result (four months in). We put the sink on the back wall, under a window and love looking out. Make sure there is a bin drawer next to the sink. Ours goes bin, sink, dishwasher, drawers, stove, drawers, oven stack. I think the passages in your kitchen area are a bit narrow. We have 1300mm between the benchtop edges. People can then pass each other easily and it doesn't matter if the drawers or dishwasher is open. The island then has drawers holding the plates and cutlery. You can unload the dishwasher straight into the opposite drawers which the kids love. You have two lots of corner cupboards in the pantry and might be better off with one straight line as I don't believe you gain much more and it will feel more spacious. Consider leaving a space on the kitchen side of the island so you can sit too. I hate standing while entertaining and everyone else is sitting at the island! Hope that helps.

The lower brickwork stands out too much. If you painted the balcony in a darker colour, either picking up the lower brown or a darker green version evident on the fascia boards, this would help to unite the colours better. And the garden needs to be considered. If you retained the steps, removed the garden beds and then just had trees in the lawn, this simple concept would then add considerable value to your home. Don't render the bottom area - instead work with it. And keep all changes simple to offset the pattern in the lower brick.

I voted for neither. Growing up my family always had a pool. Although I am sure it's much easier to maintain the pool during the winter months nowadays, I will forever my father's grumbling about how tedious it was to maintain a pool throughout the year. Of course, I've always lived in Melbourne. Unless your pool is heated, a pool is something that doesn't get used for much of the year. I guess a spa is different, indoors, it could work. But then I'm more inclined to pamper myself in other ways - A good massage will always win over a spa any day in my book.