To da_jg_king...This thread is about Stephanie's dilemma and all responses are directed to giving her some suggestions....its grown to be a rather long article and it is unlikely that anyone will respond to your dilemma. Why don't you start a post about your house and put up some really good photos to give Houzzers a "look in"? I bet you will get lots of respnse if Stephanie's post is anything to go by. Its hard to imagine your environment and make alternative suggestions without having photos. Cedar or any timber panelling can be deceptive depending on the area of the room and on the lighting that would change during the day..really need photos! I'm sure Houzzers would love to pitch in with suggestions...some of the ideas given to Stephanie might inspire you too! I love the challenge of natural timber. I've come across and advert for a beautiful new paint colour from the RESENE company..They have some amazing stuff that gets me quite excited imagining what I could do with some of it...You ask for suggestions for flooring that would look good against cedar walls....You do not say whether you want colour suggestions or materials suggestions...so...Go to the RESENE paint site and have a look at all their paint products, you might be inspired by the colours and that could lead you to other ideas...like tiles, floor renders..etc. Lately I've had a "thing" for a definite shade of Wedgewood Blue..( and I don't particularly like blue in my environment), but there's something very appealing about a dusty, light, warm-looking exact BLUE...leaning neither towards green nor purple...a perfect blue that I just love next to my timber walls.....That might be a clue for you...though it would depend, as colour always does, on the natural hue of your timber walls...Wood has its natural colour variations according to its type that also change with age....lots to consider. Put up some PICS! Yes?

Wow love some of those pics Siriuskey! Thank you for the ideas. I struggle with whether to keep walkways 'clear' in this house - for example the two doors either side of kitchen and the deck door all create these weird walkways. (See arrows on drawings) Is it a smart move to 'block' them with say a couch, or an island bench, or the dining table? (See random furniture placement in pictures showing these options) I have uploaded a drawing with the current walls that we propose removing in green highlighter and showing where the current front door is. As you can see it's a wasted space and strange detour past laundry toilet and storage! I have sketched what I think you mean by entry next to bed 3- would you leave a small office room to one side and create a hallway or leave open and place miners lounge against west wall. Am I interpreting it all as you imagined?!

Hi all, have been trolling though the forum looking for ideas and thought I would ask for advice. Basically we have a heat issue in our house, have done a lot of things to address is (multiple solar vents, window tinting, increase insulation and a new a/c). A lot of the problem is the current dark blue (I think it is Dulux Sharp Blue but we haven't been able to match it correctly). The paint is also breaking down on the N and W sides so the UV protection has basically gone all together. So we have decided to go a lighter colour and gray seem to be the logical choice. In preparation we organised to have the roof cleaned but was told the paint had also broken down, it was chalky and super-faded in areas. So we had the roof restored and sprayed with heat reflective paint (surfmist). We have all cathedral ceilings upstairs and the insulation between the ceiling and the tin is minimal. So we are planning on using the same heat reflective paint upstairs and then a dulux weathershield downstairs (not a lot of direct sun). We had a dulux colour consultant come in and we ended up with either Techno Gray or Spirit. We did large boards and after a few weeks I think we decided the Spirit is too blue (we're over it) and the Techno Gray is just too 'dirty'. We saw a house on the weekend that was lovely, was done in Shale Gray half. I went in for a sample pot and decided to also get Tranquil Retreat. The difference between the two was one drop of black (from memory). I'm also trying Miller Mood and Milton Moon (confusing). What I am most concerned about is the Tranquil Retreat looks stunning when there is a darker contrast with the roof. Given we are pretty much surfmist everywhere I'm a bit worried that it will all end up looking too pale. I don't want to go dark on the walls given the heat issue. Also have a driveway to play with, that will also be resurfaced so I can bring a colour element in there (hopefully) to tie it all together. Any suggestions greatly appreciated! Cheers Sean

Definitely an attached garage is always a big plus, particularly in terms of value and resale "tick boxes".........which is one of the benefits of the concept I threw out there a few weeks back that involved developing the more logically oriented extension that connects the garage across where the pool is currently.............which obviously involves moving the pool or removing it for a period of time before it can then be potentially reinstated............ My professional opinion remains firm that for the long term investment that is the superior outcome, better spend and highest value-adding option for the property, even if it takes longer and costs more to achieve......budget limit is one thing, but equally you can spend a certain "budget" limit to simultaneously achieve a "more expensive" & lesser value adding result...........let's say you have a limit of $500K but budget aside the arguably best value concept is more like a $650K exercise. A compromised spend of $500K can be actually the "more expensive" option long term in comparison to a higher cost but higher value spend, that perhaps could be achieved in stages or over a longer period of time, say building first and then eventually finishing off landscaping. Rome wasn't built in a day and I've written before about the time/cost/quality relationship and how managing those one way or the other will influence the long term outcomes for a project, for better or worse....... We'll never tell people what they should or shouldn't want in their homes, but when it comes to resolving/identifying the most logical and profitable and balanced options/solutions for a certain outcome, well that's kind of the business that we're specialised in.............. I am also suspecting that there could be some misalignments/tension on the "client" camp/side (ie his wants vs her wants) of the process that is making it difficult to properly prioritise and robustly shuffle the various project variables........the "in limbo"/"going round in circles" is a classic symptom and ultimately requires resolution somehow.........