There is nothing wrong with having the board for the pelmet sitting on top of your window architrave. I can't tell much from the photo you have provided, but how an entire wall of curtain would look would really depend on the colour of the curtain. If you had navy for example, like you have now, would make the wall similar to a feature wall and would affect the visual proportion of the room. However, if you had light coloured walls and a pale coloured curtain then the wall of curtain will add to the lush look to the room without visually altering it.

Thanks OKLouise - I have looked into it, and it would definitely be cheaper to go with a reno and separate granny flat structure, simply because of the meterages. I have drafted site specific plans for several scenarios. A whole new build would include so many more things that we want but don’t necessarily need that it would work out be a bigger spend. The Reno would be just a new bathroom and kitchen. And the separate granny flat would be fairly modest. And it could all be achieved in stages. I work in commercial fitout and have good access to joiners and fittings etc. so I feel I can keep costs manageable either way we go. I suppose it’s a question of what do people prefer - to retain character where they can, or have a McMansion (a whole new build wouldn’t be to McMansion scale, but 90% of our street is still 50s timber and tin so I feel a whole new build would possibly be an over investment and would certainly stand out).

Thanks Kate, the house was built in 1970, not a new build. Nothing structural done to house in past 20 years with current owner, but I'll definitely get a engineer to check things

Andrew, it’s all experience and learning. But if the real estate agent was selling that home, that is who you sign the offer and acceptance with. Yes the agent definitely works for the seller, so you need to be vigilant at all times. Then the real estate agent puts you in contact with a settlement agent to proceed with the purchase documents and transfer of money and Landgate information. You can also choose a settlement agent if you already know one. You have done the normal sequence of events in Western Australia. You can’t help if you think the real estate was dodgy, because they are the ones who were contracted to sell that home, you could not have avoided interaction with that agent. You could only have asked to deal with another agent from that real estate company. There is nothing wrong with what you have done to purchase YOUR home. Enjoy the home as is, and do your due diligence with every thing in the future when you are working out the renovations.