The next time I decorate by a colour of the year will be the first time. Don't hold your breath. I have nothing against this particular colour but it doesn't work with all the things I've collected over the years, and I am not about to discard carpets bought after hard bargaining with dubious merchants in Istanbul or Islamabad because they don't "go" with a paint colour that someone voted "colour of the year." In its place, I think the colour would be quite nice (better than this years choices, certainly). It's just that my place isn't the right place for it.

Hi spmm, "I agree about getting help but be aware that building designers have NO accreditation in Australia and can be appalling practitioners and very expensive. i speak from recent experience in regional NSW. Architects may appear to be more expensive but are capable of delivering a better result." That is an appalling description of an Association that is registered on every state in Australia and has an Australian representative Association in Canberra, based on your personal experience - unless its based on self interest. To the best of my knowledge all Building Designers that do Working Drawings must have Professional Indemnity insurance to provide working drawings for a building Permits, which is the only accreditation in my opinion that carries some worth for the clients, and like all organization they can be included and expelled from their respective associations and are accredited by their organizations. As for them being "very expensive", generally I would say that the buying public is no fool and people that do not deliver are generally out the game very quickly . You might like to inform yourself a bit further on this by contacting any of the Building Designers Association in your state or the Australian body, some are included underneath: Australia: http://www.nabd.com.au/ Australia: http://www.bdaa.com.au/ Victoria: https://www.bdav.org.au/  (may include Tasmania) Queensland: https://www.bdaq.com.au/ South Australia: http://www.bdasa.com.au/ Western Australia: http://bdawa.com.au/ Northern Territory: http://www.bdant.org.au/ Michael Manias - mm407p@gmail.com Manias Associates Building Designers

The good kind of mad! (Most) old houses ooze character, warmth and heart as much as new ones do chemicals and cheap fittings. I am a housebody, and love being in my house - I spend my money on it, instead of out clubbing and yes, there are always unexpected costs (new hot water service, leaking toilet...), but if you were renting you would have nothing of your own at the end anyway. Three years ago I bought my first house, a fairly original sandstone 98 year old lady in need of some TLC. No builder's reports in this little town, but then she cost me less than a landcruiser... Things I planned to do, but took forever because of rusting nails, old sizing, old quality workmanship include painting the whole thing, top to bottom, pulling up axminster carpet and getting the floors polished, putting fans and air conditioning in. Things I was hoping to avoid for a few more years but can't, include replacing the original roof, swapping the three-cupboard sleepout kitchen with a bedroom, redoing the bathroom, complete with new plumbing and actual drainage to the septic pit (which I had to have fixed a bit), and then I think the best option for the back room and laundry is just to rebuild them....But I don't regret this house, or the journey it's taken me on. Even if it has turned out to be a much more expensive journey than I thought! With time and google, you can do a lot yourself. Before I moved back three years ago I had always been n provided accommodation, so had never used a drill and only changed a couple of light globes, but now... I took a chimney and fireplace down on my own, then re-pointed the stone and put in a ceiling panel to close it up. I have painted, put up shelves, taken down cupboards that were built into walls, patched cracks, filled gaps, pried off skirting boards, and generally turned it into a home. For the more major stuff, like putting a doorway through a foot thick stone wall and rewiring an original bedroom to house a modern kitchen, I am getting the professionals in. good luck!

APPROVED! We gained another lightning-fast commercial approval for Psychologist office in Auburn. Thanks to PC Group Certifiers. This shop will be special with a beautiful internal tree in the waiting area to bring beauty and serenity into the waiting room-exactly what the doctor ordered for a Psychologist’s professional office. Contact ISC DESIGN ARCHITECTS, SYDNEY for beautiful designs that stretch the imagination and bring beauty to spaces. High quality documentation, professional and experienced consultants and great certifiers combine to make a great firm for you to gain expert design, documentation and approvals for any building type-commercial or residential. ISC DESIGN ARCHITECTS provide full traditional Architectural services. We design, document, represent, approve and administer contracts-for bespoke buildings of all scales from small simple single housing to large multi storey complex residential & commercial buildings / developments in Australia. Architect Ibrahim Conlon M.Arch (UTS) B.A Arch (UTS) ADAD (CIT) AICOMOS RAIA ISC DESIGN ARCHITECTS: Architecture, Development and Heritage Design, Documentation, Representation & Administration Registered Architect ARB NSW 10042 Associate Member ICOMOS 1512 Nominated Responsible Architect under NSW Architect Act 2003 SEPP65 Competent Designer under the Environmental Planning & Assessment Regulation 2000 Office Address; Suite 74, Level 2, 48-50 George Street PARRAMATTA, Sydney NSW Australia 2150 Mobile; 0404459916 Email; ibrahim@iscdesign.com.au Website; www.iscdesign.com.au