LB I think you confuse me as much as I probably confuse you. LOL. ;-) I noticed I had some crazy auto correct word in my last post which I think was supposed to say "able" (I can't remember now what it even said) ;-) Oldroo I think the builder said something like sticking the old roof bats under the floor. The rain, yes we had it here more then a week straight!! It was great because 1) I was on the sunny coast in Qland that week! And 2) we are on tank water which we have been running off empty for about 6 months now and we just got a second tank connected a few weeks ago as well as guttering on our shed and guess what.... Our tanks were overflowing for days!! We could of filled 3 or 4 tanks at that rate!! So I am very happy about the rain!! :-D

Looks like buffalo in the second lot of photos but it also looks like you could have some couch in there too Buffalo is a great wearing lawn but it is hard and scratchy and kids don't like playing on it too much, unless it is Sir Walter, which is a more friendlier version and the most popular one now. It will respond well to a sandy type of top dressing - black river sand is really good if you can stand the mess for a few weeks while it settles - a sandy soil will give the runners something to grab onto and grow and this is what buffalo needs. I would leave the couch in there for now but dig it out as the buffalo runs to achieve a really even lawn. The buffalo will probably choke most of it out too but do try to control weeds early as it is harder to get them out when the lawn is established and many weed killers will kill buffalo too. Buffalo is very much a surface grass so the clay won't bother it but it will affect your lawn in terms of run off and water absorbency. With winter now approaching, there won't be a lot you can do but study run off over the coming months and where the water pools, time it takes the grass to dry out after rain and then decide just how much you need to do to control water problems. Maybe just running some agriculture piping around the edge of the paving will solve your problems or there may be other areas some piping can help drain quickly. Nothing worse or more irritating than water problems, so it is really worth the effort fixing them in the coming months ready for next spring, the problem will be fixed forever and you can focus on letting the lawn grow. There are quite a few websites with tips on growing buffalo and problems you need to watch out for. This one gives good tips on mowing heights too, which is very important, especially in your heat. If you mow it too low the sun can burn it and kill it. http://softleafbuffalograss.com.au/buffalo-lawn-care-and-articles/maintaining-buffalo-lawn.php

Yeah I will have to set some time aside to go measure all the rooms, so bear with me. I think I'll need to re-draw the original layout too, so it makes more sense what I'm doing long term. A previous owner opened up the current dining room and kitchen but it means the lounge has 5 doorways and is an awkward thoroughfare with nowhere to put furniture. The kitchen then ends up too visible. I keep hoping the drawing will turn up but it's not so far! My parents are compulsive renovators, so I grew up checking out salvage yards and open houses and worst house in best streets and talking over "what would you do with this space?" We ended up moving like every second year! It means I know I can turn this house around. I don't however intend to do all the hard graft for someone else to enjoy. Its really more of a creek than a river so it's not super wide, so the tree line shades the waterway a bit, but its all gorgeous and green year round. At the moment the windows aren't quite in the right spots. when we reclad I'll open the up more. The bath has a great view.

Hi thank you so much for your ideas i really love them. I had a question if I were to change the buffet what color would go good with my dinning table? I have found it really hard to match because I have no idea what color my table is, i have a lot of miss match throughout my home so I’m not afraid to miss match but I just feel that this one just doesn’t complement each other or do you think I should keep it? Thank you.