The weird shelves across the windows... why would you do that? It looks odd to me. The odd collection of wood finishes.... The pokey appliance spot that won't fit a kettle. hm... maybe I am a bit of a nitpick?

The first thing we noticed was the beautiful light created by the back window and the blue curtains either side of it. What a fantastic room!

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.

We used Bunnings flat pack shelving in one of our walk in wardrobes, I'm pretty sure it is Melamine and it is fine. There have been a lot of advances and improvements to these products over the years and they aren't the cheap nasties they used to be. Ours are a matte finish too so look much nicer and classier than a gloss. Have you asked the joiner for a sample of just what he is thinking? This should give you a good idea. Check out Bunnings flat pack products too. You could use just an MDF and paint it, but that is more work and the paint can chip or wear off on shelves. Unless you want to go to the expense of having all solid timber, you will find most products are MDF coated with a timber veneer or a product like Melamine. Going on what I have, and I know Melamine was used internally in my new kitchen cupboards, I don't think you will have any problems. If you are having shelving, do ensure you use adjustable shelving too - it is such a bonus in areas like this when your needs can change over the years and it is so easy to just add or subtract shelves or adjust the height. The wire systems are OK for some things but over the years the plastic coating cracks and breaks off and you could then have difficulty replacing the baskets. You are also more restricted with sizes.