the photo make the room look quite light and the windows already look quite wide so first remove all the curtains and depending on views from inside and out replace with white venetians or blinds installed in the reveals, paint walls and ceilings white, add new ceiling light and a light coloured rug and furniture and, assuming you mean flat or raked ceiling, and/or new windows none of these options is cheap unless there is outside wall space for extra windows so consider a skylight or roof window but what are the black objects on the walls, how do you want to use this room and have you considered opening up more of the wall between this room and the kitchen or other rooms?

Which direction does your room face? The curtains need removing, as per oklouise suggestion. Paint the old aircon a light colour. The television bracket is the wrong place for a tv, because of reflection from window. Remove that from wall. Install skylights, or solar tubes. The solar tubes are not expensive and make a huge difference. https://solatube.com.au/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIi-q78O7A4wIVg4RwCh3WfQGIEAAYASAAEgJNgfD_BwE

Changing the roof pitch from a flat roof to a pitched roof is an expensive exercise and won't change the amount of light in the room. I would only consider this option if there are big issues with the current roof, such as being too flat and not draining water. For most people a "relatively small budget" is not a figure over $30,000, but the real cost will depend on the size of the house, the complexity of the new roof and the materials used.

I would be looking at better window coverings, such as honeycomb blinds, better light fittings, some careful placement of oversized mirrors and repainting before considering skylights. Skylights in flat roofs often lead to leaks.

Honeycomb Blinds · More Info

Best of luck,

Dr Retro

of Dr Retro House Calls

I’m already aware of of all the interior decorating aspects needed such as painting,floors,rugs,window dressings,light fittings,removing TV bracket etc..

Im requiring more Architectual input from Architects.

Thankyou

An outside photo of your roofline, might help the professionals

My budget is up to $100 000 AUD.Appreciate any input from Architects.

Also am considering removing the kitchen wall to make the room look less closed in.

m-walker5 - sounds like you need a Dr Retro House Call (depending on your location) https://secretdesignstudio.com/services/dr-retro-house-calls/

If you are in Melbourne, Sydney, Hobart or Adelaide send me a private message

Dr Retro

of Dr Retro House Calls

$100 000 just to make one fairly small room lighter? Are you not planning any other changes at all? Id want at least a new kitchen included in that cost (or a bigger space).

If you would like any free input from Houzzers ( other than Architects) you need to give a lot more info, ie: house floor plan,aspect and climate, number in family etc

Write up brief on what you wish to achieve. More natural light, bigger room for lounge furniture, etc.

$100000 for the whole house-not just the lounge room.

Siriuskey-I’m only interesting in input from Architects.

Thanks

Check out the listed Architects on Houzz

You will need to actually engage an architect and probably a civil engineer if you are planning on changing walls and roofs . A certifier will be needed once you have your plans . Major renovations are very expensive and a good architect will be able to guide you on what is possible for you within budget .

To start with, what direction does the room face?

Are you incorporating other renovation scope?

Are you in a Heritage planning zone and is the room at the front of your home?

How do you want to USE this space?

What other spaces connect/directly relate to this room? Looks like you have a kitchen next to it. Is this kitchen going to be renovated? What's going on with that space? Does it have any natural light?....................

Yes natural light is important and there are various ways of both bringing it in AND controlling it

$100K is a healthy budget for a modest internal project scope, but will be challenged if the scope extends into multiple wet areas including kitchen and external works.

Simple original question that when posed to a design professional will raise a thousand more relevant questions that will require addressing first before we get to the lighting issue.

As per other comments, seek/engage some professional assistance - it's the best investment for your home

Best of luck PD :)

www.pauldistefanodesign.com

MIRRORS

double the light instantly and switch curtain colours to whiter light makes a huge difference

Of course, remove the dark curtains. Hang a large mirror on the adjoining wall to reflect the light from the windows. Add a large skylight as you have a flat roof and you will have plenty of light

for a very small budget and save about $99000. If you want to spend money, enlarge the opening between the kitchen and the living room.

Hello

I can provide you with design including structural. Please contact me for details.

Regards,
Ilya
0452225424
usbd.com.au

HI,

are you also planning on improving your energy efficiency when you renovate? If so there are a number of elements that you will need to take into consideration including orientation, materials, construction methods etc - and ask for some thermal modelling so you can get some data to base your decisions on.

Cheers

brenton@atmos1.com.au

oklouise and siriuskey - if it was me, I wouldn't be rejecting your advice because you are not architects (and maybe you are). Your posts always have such good ideas.

thanks Kath, i think HOUZZ is a forum for everyone and many people find it useful to collect opinions so that if/when they employ a professional they have a clearer idea of what they like and don't like...it's not realistic to expect professionals to provide specific advice free of charge without a personal site inspection so anyone who prefers a professional needs to contract for their service

thank you for your input Kath, as Oklouise has said we are here to offer our thoughts and hope this helps when trying to work through the maze, not many can do this without help. When you have a better understanding of what you are looking at doing you can then approach a local professional and hopefully reduce some of the costs involved for what can be a very involved procedure. cheers

Interesting to note that m_walker5, the original poster, is only collecting information about Building Designers when you look at the profile. No architects have been added to m-walker's list, so it seems a bit strange to be asking for advice "only from architects" when only building designers have been tagged (under a heading called "architects")!

I have been in the building and design industry long enough to know that you can never know everything, and it always pays to be open-minded about other people's experience and expertise, even if they are NOT architects!

Dr Retro

of Dr Retro House Calls

@DrRetrocalls I am the OP and sorry if I didn’t make it clear but I should clarify that I actually meant Architects and Building designers and builders.My tags are just coincidental and I am considering both architects and building designers/open to both.When I posted ”only from architects” it was just as a shortcut saying in response to receiving posts from diyers or interior decorators about things like curtains,mirrors,wall paint etc and I was trying to make it known that I was looking to really change the structure of the building and bring HEAPS more light etc and was more looking for opinions on the “building design” side of things and not decor.Im open to anyones experiences on this side of things.

Obviously would also need a design consultation in person.I have now had one from one place which suggested removing the kitchen to laundry wall to make the kitchen bigger,removing the lounge to kitchen wall to make it more modern and bigger and bit more open plan,putting in larger windows and skylights to flood it with light.This suits my aesthetic as its waaaay too dark for my taste,but I have concerns as due to the age there is likely asbestos.

If you're after more advice from a forum you'll need to include floorplans and additional photos.
And professionals may give you some useful input but really they're trying to make a living so unlikely to be able to offer much free. The purpose of a forum like this is usually to seek advice from people who have been in a similar situation and can advise against certain pitfalls or those who can look at a problem from a different angle and find a creative solution. You always need to engage your real life professionals to check if the ideas are going to work for your situation.
I'm sure I'm teaching you how to suck eggs with this post but it isn't that surprising that you put people off with your dimissive comments after providing a fairly inadequate brief in your initial submission.

Thanks Cp.That is fair enough.I should have been more detailed in my initial post,provided a floor plan and mentioned that I was referring to lighting etc specifically from an architectural/building perspective.

m_walker5, just from the 2 photos so far it seems to me the main first improvement to that space would be to remove the wall to the kitchen, so you need to find out if this is loadbearing or not. Stick your head up through the ceiling manhole to see how the structure is framed. If it is fully framed (rafters, ceiling joists, struts bearing down on internal walls) chances are that that wall is loadbearing. On the other hand if it is gangnail trusses (triangular frames with W braces held together with metal nail-plates) you are in luck. These typically span between outside walls and internal walls can usually be changed or removed easily.

This is your staring point for deciding how far you want to go with this depending on budget, and is the point where you should involve an architect/designer to work out a comprehensive renovation plan.

I have just completed a very similar project where the renovation was urgent (kitchen cabinets were falling off the walls!) but the budget was greatly reduced as the owner unexpectedly lost one source of income. We managed to do a full kitchen renovation, remove walls to create larger open-plan spaces, full re-sand and polish of floors, full internal repaint, all for about $80,000.

you coumd switch the lighting, change the curtains to a lighter color, one set of curtains instead of two. another option light color, like a light blue on walls (just an option). the changing of curtains for sure for more light to come in and also possibly tge lighting in the room.

Solar tubes. They are cheap and effective at pulling natural light in your house.

On this forum, you will get input from architects, designers and experienced homeowners with remodeling experience. If you don’t want to hire an Architect or Designer, we experienced homeowners offer free suggestions.
For a mid-size job, an experienced licensed, insured contractor may suffice. For a big job which includes moving walls or mechanical systems, hire an Architect. Electrical, plumbing and structural work should only be done by licensed, insured professionals. Amateurs may void their home insurance by doing those jobs, and when an amateur screws up, the correction costs may exceed the cost of the shoddy workmanship. You will need a pro to undo the error and correct it.

Use roof windows, it will dramatically increase the amount of light.

I am in the UK and now specify a roofing product EPDM rubber roof. Athens traditional problems with flat roofs are gone with this product as the insulation sits on top of the main roof timbers so they do not move around and crack the asphalt above.

There are many different versions of the rubber roof but the natural rubber one by Firestone is the only one to use. You would need to check that it has a good warranty with heat of the aussie sun. It seems a lot of work to replace the whole roof.

The firestone product is US so it should be well tested in hot climates.

Light from above, solar tubes if possible. Remove sheer curtains and heavy draping. use blind/ shutters. Utilize minimal, airy neutral decor.

Hello M Waker 5,

So how is all this going? Have you got any closer to an idea of what you want to do? Sounds to me like you really need a pro to have a look, hear you concerns, make a wish list and go from there. And this is what I do as a designer. If you are around Melbourne it is easy! I look forward to helping sort the confusion for you.

Cheers

Margot 0419 348 546

We introduced light into our kitchen and dining area by installing a solar skylight. Bought through special order at Bunnings and the product was Ilume Premium skylight system 280mm. Individual cost was $264 (bought in 2016). The reason we decided on this type rather than the tube system is that a cord (rather than a tube) connects the small solar panel on your roof (ours is a tiled roof but can be used on a metal roof) to the circular panel in the ceiling. The panel lies flush with the ceiling. We have been extremely happy with our choice.