Firstly I would have to ask if you bought this cottage because you truely love "vintage" or did you buy on a budget with the sole purpose of renovating to A. keep it traditional or B. make it so modern the the very hint of it ever being traditional will be almost unrecognisable in the end??? If you in fact love traditional, there are ways to make it modern enough to suit but still retain enough of a "traditional" feel in any single room or space, as to still be able to see the homes"roots" For example, retaining high ceilings, or ornate cornices, timber floors or timber windows etc... If your reasons are to make it modern but maintain tradional, then definitely seek professional help to get it right and that may only mean paying someone "once" to tell you what you should or shouldn't do to make the transformation successful. The picture provided by carthiefintexas is outstanding, showing traditional timber and unusual ceiling heights but with that most gorgeous kitchen/dining table albeit that this picture appears to be that of an inclosed barbecue/outdoor eating area and an add on to the existing home. Even the outside of your home, if council permits, can be partly traditional and partly modern but again, you really need to seek help so as not to get it wrong. Would love to know what you really want for this home??? For instance, if it's on acres and you are going to have pets, traditional homes look and feel more like you could let the dog in so to speak, if you know what I mean, versus a fully transformed modern home that the dog can only look at through the double glazed windows with perfect white tiles and a perfect white couch etc... etc...ha-ha!!!

Thanks for asking.. I am so happy.. the house was so decayed so we decided to rebuild the same look of a 100 year old cottage but move all the living to the front for the river view.. so happy we did it and went for light grey and white and yellow.. so pleased and we have people in the park comment.. we could not go any bigger because of council and flood zone but it makes it special as it is. Some pictures I just took.. I took a picture of the outlook so you can see why it feels just right.. still work to do as in the gardens and just finding the right plants to put in as it is full sun. Will ask for help on that one too to make it feel cottagey but not block the view. Thanks again for asking. Karen

Hi Lilith - your cottage has lovely charm - and a fascinating past! I can see you are seeking to introduce some contemporary elements - but my strong suggestion as per some of the above is to keep the heritage front and reinstate the bull-nose verandah. The verandah and front 2 rooms are 'the face of the house' - it's how people understand the style/period of a home, and helps place a house in context, and belong to a neighbourhood, even in country areas. The traditional design of the bull-nose verandah across Victorian cottages is not only an identifying period element, It also has practical purposes like providing an appropriate entry point, cover from rain as you arrive home, a threshold for greeting guests, as well as providing shade from the hot summer sun. Trust me - keeping and reinstating the bull-nose verandah will maximise the eventual resale value in your home especially as time goes on. I thus have several comments and a few big-picture suggestions for you! And I am deliberately not asking what your budget is; think of these as masterplan suggestions! 1. Don't just keep the verandah as is - reinstate it for its full length by removing the entry portico and built-in wardrobe. Tile it for the full width with your lovely tile pattern, and a selection of plant pots of lavender and succulents, or balls of lily-pily etc. Source a second-hand victorian doorway with stained glass above to let light into the corridor, and reinstate the north-facing window into your main bedroom - you won't regret it! 2. Ahh but that means you've lost your walk-in? The current walk-in actually blocks the north light, and removing the walk-in will radically transform how this room feels..........Building a built-in robe along one wall would be the cheapest option, for only the cost of the robe itself. However if you MUST have a walk-in, it will cost about $3-4K/m2 to add in a small new area of walk-in to the side. HOWEVER.... 3. Radical suggestion.....I observe that the contemporary addition at the back of the house reflects a large, modern-sized open-plan space, and yet 2 big chunks of it are taken up by bathroom and laundry. In fact the bathroom corner, poking out from the side of the house, actually looks like it gets north sunlight throughout the afternoon. SO..... 4. You could plan for a renovation that moves the bathroom, laundry and walk-in robe (accessed from the main bedroom) into the living-room zone, extending the corridor through it. Then you have created a large open-plan kitchen-living-dining at the back for the entire room, which has access to a north-facing wall in the corner perfect for afternoon entertaining which you could link with an extended deck! Just add big double-glazed doors to this corner. (I know I know - it will be looking straight at the water tank, but you could relocate this to the other side OR just landscape in front of it). You could modernise the back verandah to look more like the verandah images you posted above. All of the above can be done without adding any new floor area, just the relocated bathroom and laundry/robe, plus the cost of new floors, plaster repair and painting to the rear space.. Anyway hopefully I have given you some ideas about the possibilities over the longer term! Good Luck!

I'd paint the surround of the window and door , to the respective creases , in a sharp white -- it will break the look . The window and door are a fairly 'simple' clean design , there are no sills or relief lines , so a visual upgrade is the easiest step .