I'm amazed that this discussion has carried forward for nearly two years! In that time I have moved to another coastal area (cooler climate and better proximity to children) and this time found most of the discussion still rings true. Finding another home here was an incredibly frustrating journey made all the worse by a mad investor rush in the area just when we arrived to start our home search. That search took the best part of six months and in the end there would only be three or four houses to choose from in any week. Result? A rushed purchase, a desperately inadequate building inspection and failure on my part to notice poor bathroom tiling, shortage of closet and storage pace, just how small the lounge room really was, and etc. I disappointed myself because I had let the pressures beat me and now we are trying to resolve all of these issues in a home designed and built by one of this states most respected project home builders 25 years ago. Having now studied the floor plan with more care I realise it was put together (designed) in modular fashion - most bedrooms have similar dimensions and the living areas are all approximately the same size as if the designer simply juggled three boxes of one size and four of another size and then worked out traffic flow. Then he must have thrown them all in the air to see how they would land and that was design number two! And etc and so on. This house aside, we looked at a great many during the six months because we had to broaden our search above and below budget trying to find something. There were massive termite problems, leaky roofs, asbestos galore, gazzumping at every turn, almost all but the most expensive properties suffered at least one substantial fail for the most basic of needs and to top it off the best home in our price range just happened to be built on flood prone land - approved by council who put the flood signs up less than five years earlier. We live and learn. Then there were the real estate agents, but that would take another two years and I doubt the internet has enough free page space available!!! OK, I hear you, they're not ALL bad...

If Scali doesn't step up then you can camoflauge it with paint. Experiment beforehand with a tube of black, grey and white acrylic paint and a stippling brush. Mix up different blends until you have the right colours and stipple it on. Start with a base coat of grey. Let it dry on an old tile or similar before assessing the colour as correct. The good thing is that you can wipe it straight off with water if you make a mistake or it doesn't match. When we replaced our kitchen there was a patch of raw pine exposed on the floor. I painted it with watered down acrylic paints and painted in some knots with brown paint and no one has ever picked it. Took a few tries to get it perfect. I assure you it won't stand out like it does now. i've even used texta to hide scratches on furniture and polished floors. You might consider that as an option too. Lastly I spilt scented oil on a my dressing table and it created a white film. I put some Brasso on a piece of cloth figuring I had nothing to lose and it's supposed to work on water rings on furniture. It took the white film straight off with no damage. You could try some on a cotton bud to see if it helps. You never know. Good luck.

For me, it would be colour. Maybe a feature wall for walls around dining, or living, pick colour from your favoured painting, and use same and other colours from pictures for cushions or even some occasional furniture in the brightest colour - I saw this done beautifully in a tarted up house for display - a small seat/coffee table painted and upholstered in an orange mix, which was taken from the splashback (everything else was neutral) and also in a throw for lounge.

So many good ideas on lights. I have someone on the hunt for nice fittings here. Locals love chandeliers (cheap ones, not necessarily nice) and over-wrought creations that just aren't me nor would they suit the house. I love some of the suggestions here. In a win I actually found someone who has some imported carpets. A very small range of mostly plain colours but hopefully I can find something big enough to fit under the couches and keep our feet warm. We were also thrilled to find a single furniture shop with some reasonably modern furniture. They have this round table and chairs in a 6-seater combo, in stock. With the chairs pulled out, like in the picture we would have clearance of about 50cm behind each chair. Our dining room is 3.75m x 3.9m an there's a photo of the dining space in the very first post. Thoughts on this shape versus the traditional shape we currently have? Alternatively they also have this lovely traditional long table which we also liked, which made me think we could just get the existing picnic table re-finished and then perhaps buy these chairs to go with it. So that's our Christmas break blown, as we will be driving all over town (nothing closes here) looking for house stuff!