Thank you robandlyn. I am definitely leaning towards the karndean especially for the kids. I might use it for a splashback?? hi the interior therapist. Thank you for your reply. The budget that was put into our build (by the builder) makes hardwood floors an extra $23k. Although the 600 x 600 are expensive to lay it still comes in at less than half the price including bathrooms. We had hardwood in our last house, I liked it but it scratched and dented with chairs and kids dragging their sandy bikes inside. i am worried that I will choose the tile and hate the cleaning and potential slippery accidents in summer but I worry about the look of karndean....... is it very plasticky? I have some samples but it's very hard to tell from such a small piece. Is the tile we have chosen too 'busy' for all areas? Maybe I have really bad taste and it's an ugly tile lol Thanks so much for all your help guys :)

Start by spending a portion of your budget on the various dream feature items that are relocatable and can be used in your final design anyway. e.g. Buy the firepit you really want - it can become the focal point of your future garden. Test it outside in your backyard for a few months. Are heaps of mozzies annoying you while you're sitting outside around the firepit? If so, then you'll know that you're going to need a gazebo with flyscreens as well as privacy curtains so you can really enjoy lying outside in your hammock year round. The hammock is another relocatable part of your design. First, lie outside in your backyard on a swag or a rug for a few hours. Is it too windy? Is there road noise? Keep experimenting until you've found the perfect location for the hammock. Then buy an inexpensive hammock and suspend it from a couple of sturdy RL4 poles. If it's working, then this is the place where you should build your future patio, that's going to shelter your hammock. Keep testing inexpensive versions of your other ideas out. Trial tea candles or a string of inexpensive white Christmas lights as garden lighting. Do they create the feel you want or do lights just attract moths or unwanted insects? What about relocatable solar garden lights? Or a portable floodlight from Bunnings? Where's the ideal place for your garden table and chairs? Test it out with inexpensive camping chairs - or chairs you already own for a few months to be sure. Then invest in the perfect outdoor table and chairs. Same with the water feature. Start with a wine barrel with a waterlily or a second hand pond off Gumtree. Can you hear the trickling water in the garden or do other noises crowd it out? Keep in mind big goldfish need deep water and space to swim. To help you in your choice of plants,look around your immediate neighbourhood. What purple, blue and scented plants are thriving in your immediate area? Who has the best garden in your street in your opinion - and why do you think that? Do you always see a particular neighbour passionately working outside in their garden? That's the person you should strike up a conversation with to get advise about suitable plants for your immediate area. Chances are they will not only give you heaps of free advise but they will probably give you plants and cuttings as well. Markets are another source of perennial plants that grow well in the local area. Plant these smaller plants into large plastic pots and garden bags and allow them to grow for a year or so. Consider herbs as filler plants - many are highly scented, can be used in cooking and often have interesting foliage e.g. choc mint, fennel, rosemary etc. After you've been using your backyard for at least a year and you've experienced all of the seasons, then invest in your big ticket items like your gazebo. Buy or build a structure that's truly practical for your local microclimate - incorporate glass, windbreak fencing, shadecloth, mozzie mesh or whatever you need to make your hammock shelter ultra comfortable. Build this structure where you've tested it and know it will work - not where a stranger who designs gardens thinks it should go. Spend the remaining money on the things you know you need and want - the stones, plants, irrigation, a birdbath, etc

Measure all your furniture and make actual size templates with pieces of paper. Then move the templates around the rooms and see what works best. This is a lot easier that lifting and moving furniture. If you want the dining in the lounge because that works for you then do that. Don’t be dictated to what a room is used for because that is the name of it on a plan.

I’m glad you like it Irove. We have done similar changes to our house. -I’m not sure what your council will require in regard to your changes. Ours was only for the fitting out the supporting beam. Ours was supporting an upstairs area, whereas yours may only be supporting a roof truss or not. So I’d check that out first. Worst case scenario, you may need a supporting post. All of the work for this can be done by a registered carpenter. Get quotes! -There are kitchen companies that do flat pack kitchen but also offer the added service of an installer at a very reasonable rate. My daughter had her whole kitchen installed, including electrics and plumbing for $3500. They could also do your WIR and vanity downstairs and coffee bar.😜 -Downstairs, all the plumbing is already existing, you can work with this. Check with your local council about any certificates you may need. I am wondering if downstairs maybe on a concrete slab? If so, there is amazing work being done now with polished concrete. Check it out. Back to the bathroom. We bought all our plumbing fixtures and fittings on line for a fraction of the price that any bathroom company charged. We bought our tiles from a bargain tile place, (larger tiles are cheaper and quicker to lay and less fiddly) they suggested a tiler. We called in a plumber to fit out the bathroom. You will also need you carpenter to be involved in this. Get all trades together before you even start. Work out your plan, if you keep most of your amenities in place, it will make it cheaper. That doesn’t mean you can’t update them. Good luck, if you do go with this!