To da_jg_king...This thread is about Stephanie's dilemma and all responses are directed to giving her some suggestions....its grown to be a rather long article and it is unlikely that anyone will respond to your dilemma. Why don't you start a post about your house and put up some really good photos to give Houzzers a "look in"? I bet you will get lots of respnse if Stephanie's post is anything to go by. Its hard to imagine your environment and make alternative suggestions without having photos. Cedar or any timber panelling can be deceptive depending on the area of the room and on the lighting that would change during the day..really need photos! I'm sure Houzzers would love to pitch in with suggestions...some of the ideas given to Stephanie might inspire you too! I love the challenge of natural timber. I've come across and advert for a beautiful new paint colour from the RESENE company..They have some amazing stuff that gets me quite excited imagining what I could do with some of it...You ask for suggestions for flooring that would look good against cedar walls....You do not say whether you want colour suggestions or materials suggestions...so...Go to the RESENE paint site and have a look at all their paint products, you might be inspired by the colours and that could lead you to other ideas...like tiles, floor renders..etc. Lately I've had a "thing" for a definite shade of Wedgewood Blue..( and I don't particularly like blue in my environment), but there's something very appealing about a dusty, light, warm-looking exact BLUE...leaning neither towards green nor purple...a perfect blue that I just love next to my timber walls.....That might be a clue for you...though it would depend, as colour always does, on the natural hue of your timber walls...Wood has its natural colour variations according to its type that also change with age....lots to consider. Put up some PICS! Yes?

I would stick with urban grey on the render. It will become the body of the exterior, and is neutral enough for living spaces not to feel to risky, bit still feel contemporary. Landscape against it will become the feature outdoors. Monument for colourbond as in gutters and fascia? Yes, as it will be the closest colourbond colour to the klavier used on the front ga de, and as they won't be seen at he same time, it is a best fit scenario. Although, I do not recommend it as a roof colour, and perhaps it isn't available in roofing anyway. This is because of the heat absorption. As it is low pitched but somewhat visible, I would go with a horizon colour, not introducing another one, rather just a construction tone, so for me either galvanized. So it remains a structural material rather than a fashion statement, or if you want something more polished, then I would go surf mist. The roof will disappear in this colour and blend into the sky, after all, the actual building from ground level will be all you see, and the roof will only be visible in relation to the building from a far. Neighbours will appreciate the unobtrusiveness of the surf mist, but you will save on energy costs Also. But of course, it is just an opinion, but one I'd be happy to stand behind for my own home. Good luck. Love to see pictures of your progress.

Well after a very (very very very) long time my Living Room is all but complete. There is some work to do behind the new steps and some trim to be put on the bookshelves. A light is to be put between the couches (that the electrical cable hanging down) and the wall lights are going to be removed. So just a quick rundown on what has been achieved; Two sky windows - Velux - roofing guy Sheeted under the beams - plasterer New carpet – Bunnings – carpet layer Closed off the old bar and put in a door – builder and plasterer Installed ceiling fans – Hunter, remote control, reversible – electrician Installed downlights - electrician Painted the endwalls – Solver Paint but Dulux Chine White colour - me Painted the ceiling – 2 x coats Solver Ceiling White over 2 x coats plaster board sealer - me New blinds (venetians) and curtains - from Spotlight - me Installed a gas bayonet heater (until I can afford a gas ‘wood’ fire for the fireplace – cripes they are expensive) – secondhand from Garage Sale - me Installed bookshelves – 2 x 202mm high + 2 x 106mm high Billy Bookshelf and 2 x Brimnes Cabinet - me Built and installed new steps and bench top on bookshelf – laminated Beech bench top, cut to size and routed, stained and oiled - me Sofas – Ikea Ektorp - me So some things I would have done differently. The downlights would be warm white not welding mask white. In fact I would re-think the whole light thing and possibly use lights with reflectors that were dark so that light was only reflected down. They would ‘lower’ the ceiling and make the room cosier I think. I kinda like the ceiling fans but had seen some which were awesome but really expensive. Then I saw ones very similar to the awesome ones but much cheaper but by then it was too late. I should have put bi-fold doors where the old bar was instead of a swinging door. I suspect that it will be unlikely now that I can use the room for its intended purpose. In fact with hindsight I coulda shoulda done the job myself rather than getting a builder in. It’s not as good as it should be and that has disappointed me. The bookshelves have come a up a treat – need to finish them off though with some trim. All from ‘Ikea’ except for the timber bench top. The bench top was a light bulb moment and breaks up the all-white appearance of the shelves. Also the white of the shelves and the white of the cabinet were slightly different and the bench has helped disguise that. The bench top and the steps were laminated beech panels from ‘Bunnings’ that I had cut to size. I stained them, put a router over the edge to round it off and then coated with Tung Oil. The bookshelves look bigger in real life than they do in the photos too. So now to sit and enjoy my handy work.

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.