I really like this building, and I love the railing... I would not change the railing. Is the railing the same thing as balustrade? (sorry I am not familiar with that term.... if it is, I think that I agree that I would do my best to maintain the character of it when I am trying to meet building code requirements). I think that it is reflective of the period that this house was built. I think that some nice landscaping of the property would add to its street appeal. I would love some hedging, and perhaps some flowers. I would remove the white railings that are next to the parking area (I am not speaking about the staircase railing, which I like.) The railings that are next to parking area, and entry into parking area are not very appealing... some hedges here would definitely add to the appeal. I would also remove all of the straggly looking plants and opt for something slightly more formal. The parking garage next to the building is unattractive. I think that this is much less appealing than the apartment building itself. The area definitely needs to be paved and I would explore the costs of improving this area. I think that while people like car spaces, this whole area detracts from the apartment complex which is actually quite nice. Also, is the paved area that is outside the stairs for visitor parking? I think that could be improved as well. If you do not need visitor parking, I would put a grass area here, and possibly a gate or formal hedging at the boundary of the property. I might even add something for tenants to use. Perhaps a bench or picnic table. I am not certain what the horizontal bar is that is between the windows on the upper floor. Can you have something more decorative there? (perhaps the street name 32 Hill Street (or whatever the street number is) ... written out in a decorative font that is in keeping with the time period of the building. I have seen this on some buildings in Sydney, and it actually looks nice. I think that I might change the red color on the end of the stairs. Is the seemingly paved area outside of the stairs a parking area? In one of the pictures I see a set of blue curtains in the upper window. I would replace this with something like a roman blind, so that all window treatments are the same. (I think that it has more appeal from the outside.) Good Luck!

Hi mutcherson, Having once owned in this type of development myself, quite often even the landscaping has to be unified. We, new to this style of living, bought and started to put up a garden shed, within our own side yard, and we got a knock at the door, you need approval for that, some neighbours upset, they had a meeting and they eventually let us go ahead! Judging by your photo, showing your side sliding door, it looks as though your front yard is private? if that is the case, you can probably plant as you wish, we did, we had more of a cottage garden, but the overall development landscaping in the public areas was more Australian natives style. So add lots of different height and colourful pots. Then pick a spot, close to your front door, to add a nice bench for relaxing, sunning yourself in winter, reading and putting on and taking off of shoes, perhaps some outdoor bright scatter cushions to make it even more comfy. Also, if your garden is large enough, perhaps make a little area out of recycled bricks layed in a circle, place a small setting of round table and chairs and add a colourful umbrella, nice for visitors to share a coffee or for you to read the Sunday papers. Around the garden, plant taller plants with underplanting of variegated foliage or colourful flowers, what about some lemons, which you could grow espalier style up your fence/s, what about a small potting bench or storage of somesort? I have seen some small garden sheds in the shape of a guard box, which can be brightly coloured which would be quirky! What about buying and hanging some chimes (not the loud type though). Finally, add a nice piece of sculpture or art on the wall next to your front door, this will all help make it YOUR space! You can do all or some of these suggestions, as long as the overall effect is not too busy. You enjoy your new home.

Could you give us a bit more info please, re does the apartment have a dedicated dining area or is there a table in the kitchen? Does the sink cupboard house a water heater or is that somewhere else in the kitchen/apartment? Fuse box in cupboard? will you be keeping the splashback? The kitchen in an apartment I renovated and lived in was only 1.95 wide but a little longer than yours, and set in an L shape. It had no dishwasher and that was fine. It had ample cabinetry space and also room for a small drop down table which served as an extra bench space, and a dining table. I would not recommend a U shape for this size. It cuts off your space and makes it very poky. You could make the floor space feel and appear larger by removing the lower cupboards along the right hand side and putting a drop down bench table there instead, or floating bench so there is nothing on the floor there. With narrow shelves above for storage or keep that wall without anything, unless you can put built niched shelves built into the wall. What is currently on that right wall, it's hard to tell from the photo- is there a built in cabinet or servery window? I would recommend a one and a 1/4 bowl sink with a draining board on the right side. Run an L shaped bench and lower cabinets under the window and left hand wall in standard size. Upper cabinets along the left with a built in fridge space that has a cabinet above the fridge. I'd use white cabinets personally, keeping the colour scheme light. Matching colour for splash back and cabinets. Here's a picture of a wall mounted table..

There looks to be a lot less underbench storage , and even though it implies a 'two-part' pantry in the description , the width has been halved , so my guess is at least 50% reduction in pantry space ? The left hand window also seems to have been replaced with a door , so a lot less natural light , or view . Now it is possible that the door goes to a butlers pantry ( although I thought that would be mentioned ) , so its easy to make a kitchen more spacious by adding another room haha , but thats just guessing . And if it was 20 years old and dated , why do a very similar style in the same colours and tones -- a yellowy beige with light brown highlights ? The cupboard unit in white reminds me of the $89 Bunnings units , and as Ks says , not going to the roof just looks budget kitset to me .