I can't really give any advice on buying over the internet - never done it, and probably wouldn't have even if it had been available in the days I was in art-buying mode. (Now, I'm at the stage where, if something comes in, something has to go, so I don't do as much fossicking around as I used to). The point is, I like to see what it is I'm buying, face to face, so to speak. I've bought most of the art now adorning my walls (and it's pretty eclectic) from street vendors and "starving artists" markets and from small regional art shows. It's always worth having a look at local exhibits and galleries outside the big centers. You never know what you can find, and what might appeal to you. My tastes are bit eclectic, so I've also been known to buy old prints and lithographs and have them framed. Also, like Georgi, I have a lot of "non-art" things on my wall, including big copper trays from Turkey, a relief from an Indian temple door, ceramic plates picked up in Italy and Austria, a Haida wood carving from my native BC, and a woven wall hanging of a village with pigs going to market from Lesotho. As I said, eclectic. I'm a firm believer that art should be more than an item of decor, and should have meaning to the owner, whether it's something you especially like or something that has memories attached to it. I don't believe in buying things just to fill a blank space on a wall. Leave the spot bare until you find something that really speaks to you.

I wonder if you should look into this a lot further. I find it hard to believe that you can't sell a house in the kind of location you describe, walk away, and find a nice place maybe in one of the more peripheral areas, that will meet your requirements, give you cash in hand, and not touch your $100,000 nest egg. No, you certainly wouldn't end up in the inner city but you could end up in a situation that provides the facilities you need and gives you a financial cushion. That said, my real concern would be how to make this house workable for boarders while preserving your privacy. I think you need to provide a floor plan of what you have for anyone to make anything approaching informed advice.

there are way too many colours going on here. Your home is a traditional style and yes the cream and green are traditional colours with the reddish brick however why did you put grey around the windows??also you have red scollops above the grey and it doesn't do the house justice. What colour was there before you painted the grey?? considering grey is a more modern colour I think you were attempting to modernise the externals. in saying that the roof would have been better to paint charcoal the cream in white and then the grey and then the driveway would be done in a grey stain. but if you leave it the way it is and cover the red scolloping above the windows the same grey and the bricks below the windows near the ground grey as well then get the drive way restained to the reddish colour of the bricks on the house and then it would blend more and look inviting.

Many thanks for your comments folks. I was wondering if there was something out there I didn't know about... cellular blinds I haven't tried but I know they are expensive. Blockout curtains I know work well with pelmets and when extended past the windows at the side, and that doesn't work out cheaply either. I imagine we will need a combination of these. We will probably put a pergola out to the east side of the house with a deciduous vine, so not worried too much about summer. Will use canvas external blinds if it makes the house too hot. I like sun in the morning to get me going, and avoid it in the afternoon and on summer evenings.