The cane furniture will really look nice in your verandah. As for plants, jump online and browse for some hardy plants on the Aussie websites. They are a wealth of information and if you do have a large planter box or pot make sure you put it on wheels. That way you can take your plants in and out of the house. Also put a base under the pot/planter so it catches the water and does not ruin your nice floor. You can pick these from a garden store in your area. Good luck! :) btw hope you don't mind me your spelling error "taught" should be "taut", I really hope folks correct my spelling too! cheers.

Hi eleanorgreen1 Love the house, as others have stated above "great little hat" on the house, Good slope on the roof and great veranda for breezes and sleeping outside. I would be delighted if someone asked me to design a house in NT and I came up with that design. There is a few things that I can suggest and I hope they are of some use. 1. If possible I would dig a trench next to the perimeter of the slab of about 600 wide and 300 deep and fill it with pebble and gravel stones. This is to remove any excess water that may come of the roof (connect it to your drainage system - or lowest point of your block) and also to reduce the possibility of termites and other small critters coming through into your house. Termites do not like ground that might move as they build a tunnel in front of themselves as they proceed forward and any "gravel" or water of any kind they tend to avoid. (Love the termite mounds by the way - fantastic landscape design - at no cost). The CSIRO has fantastic information on termites - I don't think the trench would keep snakes away - hate the little critters! - Taipans - those horrors follow you home. 2. Providing a topping to your slab externally might improve the look especially on the exposed veranda - but the topping should have some form of "non slip" surface - maybe with some carborundum in the mix so that it might not get very slippery when wet. However I think plain concrete if finished with 'hard topping" is an excellent solution. 3. Love the idea of "Screens" but they will have to be securely fixed as they become missile in high winds. 4. I can not see any water tanks or solar energy equipment on the photos - I just wonder if this could be an advantage in your situation. As you have some very large verandas I wonder if large garden pots, something to the size of 800 round and 800 in height, these could still be moved but may break up some of the straight strong line of the house. Even two or three would do he trick. I would paint these with a strong colour to give a focal point and arranged strategically around the veranda. 6. Defining the entry to the house might also provide interest. I think it can be done with the large pots and also with a maybe a little bit of tilework and some form of path leading to the entry. 7. Painting the elevation that contains the entry a different colour might also brighten the place up a bit. I would not paint the whole of the elevation if its the long longitudinal side - just the central part up to a defining area like the first two windows. 8. Some nice landscaping at some distance from the house to be enjoyed from the veranda view might also help (Keep the termite mounds - they look great) There is no plan and no north point so its a bit hard to comment further especially in relation to orientation and internal plan layout. I think you have a great house and some subtle design improvements will make it even better. I would be happy to comment further on this project. Best for the future Regards Michael Manias - mm407p@gmail.com - web: newhomedesign.com.au

oklouise; it's 15 meters from the white vent pipe to the last post on the existing patio. Sorry if this wasn't clear. Not sure why so many questions re the use, how many steps there will be, landscaping or indeed the actual location as this is all planned, all I wanted to know is how best to connect roof to roof eg; through the fascia into the trusses. Yvonne, we looked at this idea but where we are there is always a sneeky little breeze and this would likely allow for too much airflow. In saying that, I guess some Perspex might fix that.... cheers Twos company, great job, I don't recall seeing ply used like this. Comes up nice. Know what you mean re the rainwater, thinking do I remove the existing house gutter all together in this section and put on a wider/deeper one off the front of the deck capable of catching the new runoff. how did you connect the skillion to the trusses or did you use some other method? Cheers

subject to accurate door and window location and the age range of those using the space my suggestions include a narrow divan bed with storage drawers (extra bedding, seasonal clothes etc) and for a reading corner and extra bed, dining table, shallow low bookshelves (screwed to the wall) for toys books and games, a single small lounge chair (one or a stack of chairs that can do double duty on the deck or extra dining chairs) a corner wall with hat and coat racks, a gallery wall to create a view from the living area and empty floor space for kids' games or to erect a folding table for seasonal crowds and consider a chalk board on the inside wall for spontaneous artwork, keeping score, shopping lists and leaving instruction..i was planning to suggest indoor plants but only if the house is not left vacant for extended periods of time