Thank you for your comments and your sympathies, it is a difficult room to work with. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel, behind the far wall is an enclosed garage which is used as a storage space and we are in the process of getting a shed built to move everything out of there and extend out, so the room will become more of a rectangle rather than a square and everything should fit into place nicely! We have tried different variations of furniture placement which did look nicer but weren't practical for the age of our kids, like Lego at our feet when sitting on the couch etc. I think we will leave the furniture as it is for now, however I love some of your ideas. Good point about the shag, that's gone, I will have a look for a low pile wool rug. choices flooring have some nice styles I like. I hadn't thought of incorporating a blue or terracotta toned rug, that could work well to better hide stains. I love the idea of artwork, what would you suggest, something abstract? Incorporating colours from the room or more a statement piece? I also love the idea of adding more circular elements and also a lamp to add height. Do you have any suggestions for either one? I'm also concerned the room is a bit impersonal, do you agree? Please keep the ideas coming.

Hi Georgia, The brick is quite dominant. You could paint out the 2 small side walls to match the rest of the walls in the room. The main fire place you could do the flooring; up to the mantel height you could either leave the brick as is as maybe white wash it to make it less dark, or you can clad it with a tile of stone. Replace the mantle timber wish something that is the full width of the fire place so that it creates a separation point. Paint the brick above the mantle either the same colour as the rest of the room or something complementary. There is always the option of plasterboard so you don't have as much texture visible. Let me know if you need more help. MKG

I might be a bit late to the party, but have you thought about putting the TV on the long wall and the lounge facing the tv, creating a bit more of an entrance way? You could still have the sofa table behind the lounge to put keys etc. Space permitting, that could also allow for a separate zone for reading, perhaps putting books along the wall where the tv is now, with a comfortable chair and a lamp etc. There are a few ideas here: https://www.houzz.com.au/magazine/no-entryway-create-the-illusion-of-one-stsetivw-vs~26568992

Classic 1970's build. You can tone down the bricks by painting the trim in a contrast. Gutters, railings, windows all painted in a nice cool contrast colour normally does well with these hot, dark brick colours. I notice you have aluminium windows but these homes look much nicer with timber windows and doors. Actually these homes can look quite good once done up and there is nothing particularly ugly about it's overall dimensions or shape, it's just the colour scheme is out of date. It helps if you re-roof in a contemporary colorbond too. The joy of these homes is that the layout and room sizes are usually very good and work well with modern living.