Two years later... We ended up purchasing a 3-seater for wall opposite fireplace, a 2-seater for under the highlight window (leaves a comfortable space to enter the room) and an armchair placed diagonally opposite the couches. I've fooled the advice to pull the furniture in off the walls a little. We have just updated the fireplace with the (professional) installation of an insert wood heater and (DIY) replacement of hearth and tiles/timber mantel to conceal the brick while meeting the safety specifications of the heater (required a much wider/deeper hearth than the existing brick one so we removed and replaced with a slab of honed granite, and the minimum height for breastplate/mantel shelf posed a few design limitations). TV mounted above fireplace to allow for better furniture placement. Not quite the picture I had settled on 2 years ago, but works with the style of updates we have made elsewhere. Thank you for all the advice. before: After:

Here's a couple of links: https://www.designerchandelier.com.au/ Owner Jon Warren - recently got a Linkedin message, might be a good one too https://www.chicchandeliers.com.au/ 

Thanks Kate! :) Storage is so important, especially with children! They are very lucky the entire fourth wall (not in the pictures) are floor to ceiling cupboards, so everything can be stored away and 'invisible', how their mum likes it. I think how we all like our mess sometimes! :) Have a lovely day!

I love your ideas , and the concept -- I have done several similar cheapee renovations . Some people give me grief about being budget , but I like the challenge . So maybe this will grate a bit , but the only area inside I would have done differently is the bathroom -- I saw at the end your budget there was $500 -- I would have gone a bit more lux and upmarket and spent $2K , and gotten it to a similar standard as the kitchen . The outside is brilliant -- clean and tidy and imaginative . The only 2 comments I have regarding the outside is firstly -- changing from charcoal to grey paint at the door . I personally wouldn't have ( I would have stayed charcoal right around ) , but if I 'had to' ( to save a divorce haha ) I wouldn't have made the change over at that veranda wall -- it makes the wall look 'tacked on' IMO . And the other observation / suggestion -- that front concrete wall thing at the front of the section looks a different white to the house 'base' -- I'd repaint to be an exact match , BUT also add ( probably wooden ) uprights around 250mm high , and do a 150 x 50mm horizontal 'front mounted rail' along the length , and paint this rail and posts/uprights in the charcoal -- I love the rest , but that very front of the section seems a bit flat in comparison to the house and the new gardens .