@ EMILY! Thanks so much for showing us all that you've accomplished...what a big...ongoing job and its not cheap undertaking something like that. Thanks for the tip about the star jasmine...I have a beautiful planting of that.....or rather 'had'...I got a chap in to trim it for me who advertised himself as experienced....Oh Dear! He killed most of the vine by cutting it at ground level! Now its a brown horrible mess up a tall trellis and no privacy. I'm devastated. To make it worse the neighbour sits out on her back deck and calls out to me when I'm out there when before she couldn't see me.....I'm putting up atemporary reed screen...I think....would rather my star jasmine with the blackbirds nesting in it....I know the feeling of not jumping in in case one makes a regrettable mistake. I also had gardenias but once they get sick its not worth all the trouble. I've had to learn heaps about what plants are appropriate for my place and I've made some really silly mistakes too. I've never seen those cut laser panels before and am a bit intrigued. What are they used for,,outdoor lighting? That colourbond fence works really well as a privacy screen! You've done so much and have invested not only your hard-earned money but also your ideas! Hope you have some lovely times in your space.

Hi Erin Both look like they will work. I think your challenge will be to bring some depth to the front of the house . With the colour being uniform its quite flat, so I would suggest adding some awnings to the front windows. These could also be a nice feature on the front of the house adding your personality. http://www.icietla.com.au in Brisbane sell some beautiful stripes. The other option was to have a base and top scheme that helped the building look a little lighter. A great transformation which ever way you go.

Hi Lyn, there are some good ideas above, however I mainly agree with the suggestions to live there for a while to get a feel for the site and to save some money for the renovation. My biggest piece of advice is to get a good designer involved when you are ready to renovate, as it definitely looks like one was not involved in the previous renovations! I see the main challenge of the new design when you are ready to proceed will be to tweak the orientation of the living /kitchen/dining zone - as the living room looks like it is currently on the south side of the house- to maximise sunlight, garden and pool views, and resolve the planning issues of the bedroom areas. And for when you are ready - and because I can't resist giving design advice - I would aim to relocate 2 bedrooms and your wish for a larger main bathroom - to the south living area. You could create a master suite out of a slightly shorter bed 3 and the current bathroom, with the current main bed reducing in size and becoming a walk-in robe. That way with a small tweak all the north spaces can become living /dining spaces, possibly moving out the middle glazed wall slightly . Double-glazed windows would be important to control noise on the main road side of the house. If you keep the kitchen and existing bathroom roughly in the same place and with 'middle' quality materials, it should be relatively economical to build the new walls and linings and remove the poorly-located ensuite, and you will have much better daylight and all-important connection to the garden and patio. However of course this is all budget dependant, and a good designer will help you manage your overall project budget and match it to your brief. Good Luck!

Since you don't need privacy all the time I will suggest motorised Roman blind, position it high up under the cornice so when it's up it fits above the door, you can choose the width of the folding panels. In addition to this you can have privacy blinds attached to your door panels they could also be on remote control, it cost a bit more but it really is worth it, no cord to pull, it goes up in seconds. This system can be hard wired on your wall like a power point so you never have to replace battery. The other option is also motorised vertical blind like the one pictured here , this way you can adjust light and privacy as you like.