Oh C'mon V Richards...every epoch has its treasures. B4 you make a mad run for it stop a while and consider the period and the reasons for the style...it can be extremely enlightening....unless its not the period you want to escape from but from some of the opinions. I spent many years of my youth outside of Australia living surrounded by old ruins in Europe. I forgot what it was like here. When finally I returned to Australia and found myself living in some of the 60s and 70s places..I found much to admire and wonder about. I may not have fallen in love with much of it but there was a certain mistique and a feel that I can still conjure when talking about certain places. Not saying that it was all romantic and pleasant but it conveyed something of the era and the kind of Aussie from those days.

Hi Brett, first off - well done for reaching out (without ego) and asking those that know and those that have tried and found results. If you are going with the brick veneer, the cavity is key to your moisture and thermal capabilities, after years within the house. Gyproc is not designed for anything but a 'skin'. If you increase thermal layer on the walls by asking he outer layer of the stud work with good quality silver sarking or Tyvek. Tape joints to eliminate vapour transfer to internal gyproc. Use 12.5mm gyproc on all external walls. OR Use 12.5 silver backed gyproc board on walls instead of previous. If coast effective -I would use this on the ceilings also. Principle being - isolate the internal breathing environment both thermally and other from the externals. Then deal with any ventilation or thermal issue by themselves internally. Look at why a house is designed, then go 100% better. The problem with roof voids is cold at night and heat in day, focus on high air barrier and high 'R' values here. Internally, consider + and -, as in, where it is cold-draw heat to it (South+ low) where it is hot, draw coolth to it (North & high). The result will be both continuos balance or equilibrium in comfort, thermally, energy and ventilation wise... Hope this helps : )

Hi Karina. Haha very funny re your art piece, KitchenAid! Baking is so much fun; I'm a baker from way way back, and you learn by just jumping in and doing it. About the height of your combined dining/bench table, it's pretty important to have a height that's comfortable for you whilst you work. I'm tall and my family is too, so we had the benchtop height built higher so we are not getting backaches from constantly having to bend over to work. It's really more important for the one who does all or most of the cooking & baking to be comfortable as you can spend long periods of time reading and working out recipes, then putting it all together. Likewise, if you are shorter, choose a table that suits you. Best wishes and keep us posted.

I agree that charcoal would be nice - softer than black Just check that it has a greenish base, as that will work with Woodland grey Use a coppery colour for the front door and follow the theme by using rusted metal pots and mail box, as julie herbert suggested Pebblecrete for the pathways will complete the theme of natural materials, then give the garden some personality by contouring beds and mulching with pebbles and stones in the grey, brown and black colours of the building Perhaps a winding path to the front door Use Woodland grey for the new garage door If you really want to change the roof tiles, make them a greenish grey too With medium sized shrubs - magnolia, camellia, mock orange as well as soft grasses, the garden will finish the project nicely You don't have to do it all at once - it's nice to let the process evolve as you develop confidence Have fun and let us know what you decide