The next time I decorate by a colour of the year will be the first time. Don't hold your breath. I have nothing against this particular colour but it doesn't work with all the things I've collected over the years, and I am not about to discard carpets bought after hard bargaining with dubious merchants in Istanbul or Islamabad because they don't "go" with a paint colour that someone voted "colour of the year." In its place, I think the colour would be quite nice (better than this years choices, certainly). It's just that my place isn't the right place for it.

You really can't beat Kmart for starting out. They have a great kitchen starter pack that will give you all the basics - saucepans, utensils, etc. Also you can buy packs of 10 plates for $10 so there's no going wrong really. Don't forget cleaning supplies - broom, dishwashing liquid, a bucket, soap, toilet brush, dustpan and brush and BINS! Check if you'll need a shower curtain, showering without one that first night will be a disaster. Good luck with your move, I remember what it's like but try and have fun with everything. Trust me though, Kmart will be your best friend. It's even better than IKEA for some things ;)

Absolutely agree with blueskies60 ! Remove the artwork/bench/plant that's on the left and replace then with either a bookshelf or a tall chest of drawers. Perhaps the plant can be repositioned into the corner on the floor where this troublesome niche is (there seems to be more than enough light there for a plant) and just place something calm and simple in the niche itself - perhaps a Japanese style scroll or pen and ink art work set off with a more rounded object sitting in the left corner of the niche; a gorgeous rock, a lovely candle, a calming statue... If you have (my preference) a chest of timber drawers on the left where the current art work is, you'll break up the symmetry, have more storage and have another surface upon which you can place a changing display of objects. This is the area that I would utilise for a mirror.

Thank you all for the advice so far. It's been really helpful. I'll try answer some questions the best I can, as I don't have all the measurements etc. The structure on the northern side of the house is an old shed. Hubby wants to remove this eventually to allow access for his pool. The we were thinking about putting a single car garage in its place. Given the money restraints, we won't be looking at that for probably a couple of years. Not sure of distances from living and master bedroom to the front boundary, but yes, there would be plenty of space to build out into the front yard. We hadn't really considered that, as I thought it might look funny as the roofing will be different from the rest of the house. siriuskey, thanks so much for the diagram. It's a massive help to get my head around things. You've managed to tick off most of my wish list! I love the long pantry right behind the kitchen. I hadn't thought of structuring it that way. We figured there would be some asbestos that needs to be taken care of. I have a couple people coming by next week to take a look and get some quotes. Has anyone had experience with it and could give me a rough idea on what the costs are like? I've been told you can pay $3000 - $4000 just for them to drop it at the tip. Thanks again. I'm starting to get excited about renovating now I have some ideas from you all.