Hi Laura Given the colours in your living room, it seems that you like a neutral and natural palette, which is why the green has given you a bit of a shock! Fear not, you can totally make this work :) Why dont you consider going for a new and emerging style - Modern Western. You can team rustic timbers, Aztec patterns and tanned leathers to bring in a neutral and natural scheme, but also bring your couch into sync with everything else. Have a look at Bodos Modern Western concepts, which include paint, materials and products to bring your home and your new couch to life! You can instantly download for all of the information to get started.. We will be releasing our home concepts very soon, which can offer further information on soft furnishings and decorating. http://bodoboards.com.au/collections/modern-western One of our Bodo customers recently matched a similar green to your couch with these neutral Aztec patterns, just to give you an idea. Good Luck!

Happy February down there. We just had another snowfall, only an inch this time, two weeks ago we were blessed with 36 inches (a meter of snow - ouch). I agree with bits and pieces of the above. The simplist would be to deck the entire area, with lots of interest in the woodwork, as georgio suggested. To reduce costs, have someone design the carpentry, install all the support posts and beams, and let you do all the decking and handrails. Because everything is so rectangular, I would want to see a series of artful curves, and steps that are indirect. Consider that the rush to the pool is incidental compared to all the other activities to be considered in that small space. Ask each member of the household to write out their individual desires for activities not present in the back yard, and that all wishes will be considered valuable to consider. Perhaps you wish to add some more of that handsome fencing to add security, so you don't have to be constantly on guard when family or friends are present. The vegetable and herb garden can be just as happy in large planters or in individual containers on the decking. Plain terracotta pots will blend in better than the more decorative glazed beauties. If planting trees for shade, the evergreens will cause less of a leaf problem in the pool. analyze first, then plan

It's spider mite. These plants are from tropical regions where the humidity is high. Spray the leaves front and back regularly. Do not overwater. Liquid fertilise with very weak brew every third water. Ficus lyrata are not easy plants to grow south of Sydney unless you know what you are doing. Currently they're all the rage. I don't bother with fad plants.

I'd mostly be using upstairs for storage space - you have to build up pretty large dry food stores if you want to stay self sufficient on a homestead - but given where I'm looking at building a bunk-room for visitors unexpectedly trapped by heavy rain would probably be a consideration so I want to make sure I plan my plumbing (for an accompanying bathroom) according At this stage I've marked the stairs here on the first floor plan. The footprint of the storage room would be (I think) 3.2m x 2.8m and the staircase would eat into this. Edit: I also have the general impression most people see themselves having larger families than what I personally consider right for me, so I imagine future homeowners would probably be appreciative of being able to turn upstairs into a 'kids zone' with additional bedrooms,rumpus room etc