emerald..don't know how you full time mum does it..I wouldn't be able to cope lol I only work part time and yet on the days I work I don't even look after myself properly lol. took the kids to Yum Cha today so I bought groceries at Melb Central before hopping on the train back .. just making a stir fry tonight..was going to have stir fried noodles..turned out my Hokkien noodles are expired..this is the reason why I don't buy stuff beforehand lol so will wing it and have with rice..one wok wonder with some scallops from the freezer.. my kids are easy they don't ever whinge about what I cook they know better..as sometimes I don't cook at all lol

Hi eleanorgreen1 It appears to be a magnificent house with loads of potential, bit hard to see from the photos you have posted the full extent of the house but it certainly has presence. I can fully understand your experience with your last project; "didn't really have time to develop a clear vision of what I wanted and ended up getting someone else's dream home" It can happen, as often clients and Building Designers have an end date in mind, rather than an end goal which drives the project. I think that you are taking the right approach in terms of trying to determine your design goal, then you can always incorporate other design ideas that may improve the project, when you have a clear understanding of what you are trying to achieve. My suggestion is that you might like to have a design approach with maybe more than one designer, and make it very clear that the contract for Building Design is for "Design Development only" - (with Town Planning requirements considerations if required). This would mean that you have drawings which are to scale, with all plans and elevations with all furniture placements so as to obtain a clear understanding of how the space works for the intended use. You will also need 3D views of the proposed changes/renovations to gain a good understanding of the proposal. When you have finally decided on the design/designer you are happy with you can get him/her to do the Town Planning Application (if required) and working drawings for a Building Permit which will be required for any building work. For this you will need accurate drawings of existing conditions, a 2D measure up and drawn to scale with levels, if the site is sloping. This can be done by any competent Building Designer or Drafts person - just make sure that you make it clear that is all that is required, and that the the position of windows and walls are included from adjoining buildings as you do not want to overshadow nor have other overlooking on your site. Then you have to include a fairly competent photo survey of the building, so that the person doing the design has a good understanding of the house. Static photos of all the external and internal areas are often better than a video. When you have that information in hand you can then have a varied and hopefully fruitful discussion with someone offering you Design Advice. You can email or post the 2D files in PDF or DXF format to any Building Designer that is online and you have developed some understanding of your proposal. It is sometimes better to choose someone you find easy to talk to, and you feel he/she has your point of view, is often better that someone that has great photos on their website with equally great claims. All this can be done online, with any Building Designer of your choice, as the resultant drawings can all be PDF's files that can be printed on any small printer or viewed on any tablet/computer. And as you have stated above you have allowed time to reach a decision by having the building rented until you are sure of your next step. Basically you are breaking up the design stages that generally are followed in the Building Design process to achieve your goals. Like all processes there are more details, but if you are clear in your instructions and agreements with whom you employ I do not see any reason this is not achievable. I like the idea that you are looking for something that you prefer, rather than an imposed design. I wish you well with your approach, I would be happy to be further involved with the proposal. Michael Manias Manias Associates Building Designers.

Hi all , no matter from what part of the globe your from . ----------- Up cycling is the in thing . Just a few pic's showing a few ideas of mine using both non- treated recyclable timbers ( pallets and other timbers used for packing ) and some treated timbers "where required ", combining old kitchen sinks and laundry tubs and old semi ridged plastic signage signs sourced from tip shops and garage sales ,etc . Ideal for kids play ( mud) kitchens / planters and my latest upgraded design for a gardeners cleaning and potting work bench ( as well as for cleaning fish / BBQ 's food preb./ cleaning benches etc) . For those local here in Tasmania can contact me for further info and prices but those of you interstate or even overseas, can contact myself for one off designs for a kit form design. Anyone interested in seeing a TV programme produced on the subject of specialising in re - use / up cycling of what many coincided waste products ; I would like to get some feed back so i can approach the local TV stations to see if they would be interested in producing such a programme on the subject .

Don't suppose the roses are iceberg?, I can just see your dogs scaring the life out of the poor fish. My same farmer Friend had his roof spray painted on a similar period house to yours, and it was a perfect no problems, I think that there good and bad and ugly trades that do these roofs, I know a neighbour was not happy with the quality of his and had to be redone and then another managed to get a really dodging one going around doing roofs and driveways that were total rubbish. A good job removes and resets all the ridge line tiles repairs adjusts and replaces tiles where needed. and remember to keep too many people from walking around on your tiled roof as this can add to more cracked brittle tiles. Re painted down pipes I wouldn't worry at the moment, a house nearby has just had roof painted mid gray and walls rendered a very soft pale beige/sandstone colour. Windows doors eaves, barge boards, down pipes are all white and the gutter is the same as the roof colour, simple, it's hard to match paint colour with brick work so I think I would be going with unpainted white the same as the neighbours I just mentioned, they won't get scratched that way and your down pipes aren't terribly visible from the front. A farm house bedroom for you x, Ticking,linen,timber, black and metal and a blue wall like your fireplace