I see this is a very old thread , with lots of comments . I've just skim read them , but I haven't seen anyone suggest anything like my 'top-of-my-head' idea -- I love the wood , and the white contrast , but pretty boring . Whats your favourite colour , or what ties in with the other rooms ? It might be blue or red or yellow or orange or green , as examples . So paint the skirting board and around the door a pastel shade of your choice , and add a small 30cm x 30cm abstract painting featuring that colour as the primary dominant one , above ( or possibly below , or maybe even get 2 matching/complementary ones ) the control panel . One lighting crowd suggested glass shades -- I'd actually go for someothing large but wooden , in much the same shade as your floors and steps , with LED bulbs -- you can get some stunning ones around 80-100 cm in diameter ( sort of a star ball shape ) for $300-400 . Total budget then $500 plus a painter and maybe electrician , unless you DIY .

Personal taste aside, I think it's put together well. I like the sofa aNd elongated space, I also like the coffee table, but not keen on e browness of that rug. It does add texture, but it feels as though it needs a lift, which is odd in a room with vertical space?? The floor looks great but hidden. I'd lighten that rug to suit that, layering is fine, but something sympathetic to the floor might help reflect light from ground up, the the timbers and sofa would warm the area by contrast.

Hi I like the idea of a deck that is a common level with the house, but it would be expensive and maybe a waste of materials if the bricks are still level and whole. Consider pressure cleaning the bricks to remove grime and weeds. Imagine a pergola over the existing brick area. Have large pots at the foot of some of the posts with vines growing up the posts to eventually form a cover for seasonal shade. (Don't plant the vines directly into the ground, as they will eventually spoil the brickwork with their roots.) Or maybe the pergola could be covered with a suitable material of your choice which suits your climatic area - shade cloth, timber slats, canvas shades etc. Would you enjoy a fountain or water pool of ssome kind? Perhaps a Moroccan-style raised pool with tiled walls. Add some lovely seating - teak? or cane/rattan? and lots of potted greenery. Have fun with your new look.

Oooooh lovely to see such great work in my neck of the woods. Pity City of Bayswater doesn't do heritage awards you guys deserve one.