Well after a very (very very very) long time my Living Room is all but complete. There is some work to do behind the new steps and some trim to be put on the bookshelves. A light is to be put between the couches (that the electrical cable hanging down) and the wall lights are going to be removed. So just a quick rundown on what has been achieved; Two sky windows - Velux - roofing guy Sheeted under the beams - plasterer New carpet – Bunnings – carpet layer Closed off the old bar and put in a door – builder and plasterer Installed ceiling fans – Hunter, remote control, reversible – electrician Installed downlights - electrician Painted the endwalls – Solver Paint but Dulux Chine White colour - me Painted the ceiling – 2 x coats Solver Ceiling White over 2 x coats plaster board sealer - me New blinds (venetians) and curtains - from Spotlight - me Installed a gas bayonet heater (until I can afford a gas ‘wood’ fire for the fireplace – cripes they are expensive) – secondhand from Garage Sale - me Installed bookshelves – 2 x 202mm high + 2 x 106mm high Billy Bookshelf and 2 x Brimnes Cabinet - me Built and installed new steps and bench top on bookshelf – laminated Beech bench top, cut to size and routed, stained and oiled - me Sofas – Ikea Ektorp - me So some things I would have done differently. The downlights would be warm white not welding mask white. In fact I would re-think the whole light thing and possibly use lights with reflectors that were dark so that light was only reflected down. They would ‘lower’ the ceiling and make the room cosier I think. I kinda like the ceiling fans but had seen some which were awesome but really expensive. Then I saw ones very similar to the awesome ones but much cheaper but by then it was too late. I should have put bi-fold doors where the old bar was instead of a swinging door. I suspect that it will be unlikely now that I can use the room for its intended purpose. In fact with hindsight I coulda shoulda done the job myself rather than getting a builder in. It’s not as good as it should be and that has disappointed me. The bookshelves have come a up a treat – need to finish them off though with some trim. All from ‘Ikea’ except for the timber bench top. The bench top was a light bulb moment and breaks up the all-white appearance of the shelves. Also the white of the shelves and the white of the cabinet were slightly different and the bench has helped disguise that. The bench top and the steps were laminated beech panels from ‘Bunnings’ that I had cut to size. I stained them, put a router over the edge to round it off and then coated with Tung Oil. The bookshelves look bigger in real life than they do in the photos too. So now to sit and enjoy my handy work.

In my last house, after adding a living room (the area you see this side of the arch) and also updating bathroom etc I couldn't afford to reline the ancient walls in my little lounge (when I removed the purple wallpaper I found a mixmax of boards, gib, pinex, plywood and holes!) so I plastered walls all over with layers and layers of newspaper and wallpaper paste (papier mache), then after applying primer/undercoat I painted with 2 similar colours (rich reds in this case), and stippled the surface with a plastic bag. This made it look just very slightly textured like leather and successfully disguised the uneven surfaces. Gallons of gap filler filled the gaps between the old T&G ceiling boards and evened out the mismatched skirting and scotia. Again white paint on all the trims. Amazing what can be done when you have to make do! This was a great cosy little room! (Before photo is the 3rd one)

HI Sophie. Im a property stylists and the company you are asking about looks very professional from their website. Lovely furniture and the styling looks very professional. I do not know of them but simply giving them a call or email is a great start and ask some questions like the style they think suits best in your area. In regards to prices Melbourne is one of the cheapest states to have furnished with QLD and NSW coming in at the most expensive. As a really rough guide a 2 bed starts at $2400, 3 bed starts at $3000, 4 bed starts at $4000 and so on with each additional living area styled at $800 and out door is usually complimentary. Hopefully this helps you

Hi Macymacmaples, I would go for a 120cm to be sure that you are not splashing water everywhere. The latest trend is these single panel showers but they do come with their own challenges that need to be addressed by a professional. A shower tray with proper drainage is a great way to start. The most common errors we see in renovations with such showers is that the drainage has not been thought through - so the water runs everywhere. This makes keeping a clean bathroom impossible. If you want to ensure that water splashing/running is not an issue, I always recommend a properly water-tight shower box. But the decision depends on practicality VS aesthetics and the advice of your builder.