Yeh. Sorry. Origin picture looked like fence. I live in austraila and my husband built something like that and the planter boxes. Ours is jarrah wood ( with a few coats of decking oil) and already needs re coating because of weather and living near beach. Too hot to do that now though.we are happy with the look as it's much better than plain fence.

Flufftop, there have been many good suggestions in this discussion. You already have two 'WOW' factors in your front yard...your lovely cottage and the tree. Whatever you do needs to link these two with the remainder of the garden and that's not an easy thing to do when you have a variety of ideas coming at you from all directions. Walk around your neighbourhood, go to Diggers for inspiration but also go to your local nursery and ask if they have a garden advisory service. Another option is to find a local garden designer (www.aildm.com.au) and have them visit your garden. They have the knowledge to tie all your ideas and thoughts together. They will suggest ways to incorporate all, or some, of your wishes into a unified design which can be implemented immediately or over a period of time to suit your budget. It will cost you a fee for an hour or two ,or more if you get a plan drawn up, but will save you money and disappointment because you'll be eliminating guess work and mistakes. Best wishes Arthur

Bravo to all these amazing creative minds. I hate wasting stuff that still has life in it. By the way, though I have read that some pallets are treated with a fumigant which is toxic. Generally, make sure pallets are stamped with “HT”, which means they haven’t been exposed to chemicals (at least not in the treating process.) Avoid unmarked pallets or those with “MB” for methyl bromide. Well, if anyone wants some really nice, bargain 2nd hand windows we just pulled out of our 12 y-o house to make way for a sliding door, and you live around Melbourne Australia, please check them out here: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/112070272414?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1586.l2649

There's a lot of timber going on here with the floors and the door, I would avoid any more features in this room and add a narrow console as the previous owner did. Just think, you didn't notice the crevice when you viewed the property. A console is easy and inexpensive, it's also functional if you use it for keys etc. Sitting a large plant (or cut flowers if you can manage the upkeep) on the console will add some vibrant colour and the mirror will reflect it adding depth. A few other accessories will help to dress it up. Consider baskets under the console or something similar to hide the crevice and cover the vast mirror. Whatever you decide to do, I'd love to see an after photo!