Western wall will have a carport attached so will be shielded from sun. Western 'wall' of carport will be mesh with a creeper grown up it. We live in Gladstone SA where we have a long hot summer and a long cold winter. We have built houses before that make use of north facing but have found since we have lived here that having lots of south facing windows is also very important for light without sun coming in and for when a cool breeze is present. Shower room is on the north side so that it dries out well and doesn't grow mold. North wall will have a pergola with a deciduous climber on it. The second bedroom is a spare room - children have gone. The dog room does not have solid walls. It will actually be cellar balustrading - the dogs are in the room without being all over the furniture. Their spot is there because it gives them access to the yard (there will be a dog door in the wall). The house is actually a converted shed. We are using secondhand products as much as possible. Windows in the living area are 1800H but have to be 500 off the floor or we have to reglaze them with safety glass (they are old windows). External doors are both glass. Our taste is country/shabby chic/reclaimed/antique. We already have plenty of furniture, just not sure how to arrange it and wanted some advice

The last home we had was a very small workers cottage so I kept the walls a light off white, table and to unit tops were gloss white to bounce the light around. My dining chairs and bar stools were clear acrylic so that I could see through them, the ends of my island bench/brekky bar were mirrored and my curtains were textured white sheers so that they also didn't take up too much visual room. All of my furniture was on legs so that I could see under it and the lounge room rug was pulled away from the lounge just a teeny bit so that I could see a little bit of timber flooring all the way round it, that all made the floor size look just a bit bigger. Bedrooms had mirrored wardrobe doors and bathroom was almost completely white (except for dark floor) and had frameless shower screen and oversized vanity mirror to reflect as much light as possible. Friends and visitors would comment that the house was bigger than they had imagined from the outside.......it wasn't, it was just styled inside to make it look larger.

A new footprint is the best answer. As okloiuse said the existing dining area can become the kitchen. This allows for good flow of foot traffic through this busy area and access all round the kitchen if you have an island. The area is not big but if it is well thought out in terms of storage it should work really well. Your biggest cost will most likely be in moving your plumbing fittings and electricals especially if you have a concrete slab floor. Opening up the doorway between living and dining areas would make the room bigger but may require an engineers report. As we do not know your budget these may be costs that are outside your current budget. If it is something you wish to do get some prices in so you know how much you will require for the full project. great advice above. Good luck

Thanks for all the suggestions - it's certainly given me some good ideas. julia herbert - I love the screen pergola - it's perfect! And maybe a water feature in the top left corner of pic might work and give a nice view from the bedroom and the garden. oklouise - there are three bedrooms with windows from the left (the master is on the far left overlooking the long strip of garden) and on the right is a living/dining area with glass sliding door. scottevie - I don't need to have a washing line in this area. As far as garden, the lemon tree and roses are my only must haves. That pathway in the photo looks great, however the pathway area is only 1.5m from house to fence so I'm not sure it's wide enough to become functional. Thanks for the searching suggestion - I'll look for some more inspiration in the narrow gardens! Would love any other suggestions anyone might have.