That looks great I love the range, so much better than glass & S/steel. I also love that shade of grey on the island as it compliments the cabinets with out being in your face. Beautiful well done

http://pin.it/rpBnXNS Build something like this for the kids. You could put a sail cloth over the top or plant a creeper vine. Don't rush to plant things, work out a master plan and then do it on steps. On a slope like that you could easily have an above ground pool with decking that would look built in.

I share your exasperation! We have a large garden with clay soil at our place in sydney and limited budget to redo the whole thing! With 2 kids and work it's hard to keep the backyard looking good. I've found that lilli Pillis worked a treat for screening and grew quickly ie within 2 years were at fence height ( 50cm when planted ) though it looks like you have some hedges growing that may be these already? There are more tree like versions of lilli pillis eg waterhousia floribunda see picture - it's grown over 2 meters in 1.5 years now almost 4m tall and starting to throw shade. We lost a heap of shade when our large Blum gum was removed due to safety reasons. Another option might be a baby citro gum tree? For general landscaping I also love purple fountain grass another plant that really thrives in our climate. Gets to about 1.6m tall and looks very pretty when there is a breeze and they are nice and soft for kids. Agapanthus are another plant we cat seem to kill, and they flower all spring and summer. I often take a look and see what the council plants in the area, usually gives me an idea of what is likely to grow and not require excessive maintenance. There is a fair bit of trial and error some things that look great just can't cope with my low/zero maintenance strategy I now order plants from a wholesale nursery as retail prices can be a budget killer. Also IKEA have good freestanding umbrellas, works well and was cost effective, casts a large amount of shade and can be moved around the garden if needed. The lawn is a bit of maintenance but speaking from experience if you don't have to water it then mowing is probably easier than garden beds, I haven't yet found a way to really stop weeds, so that might be a consideration. Hope the tips are helpful.

Hi gailgratland we have blackbutt engineered floor from woodpecker flooring - satin finish and we love it. We have a crazy dog that dashes all over it and the scratches wipe off. No dents so far but the floor has only been down a year. Our last floor was also blackbutt and that was down for 15 years, it probably had 2 or 3 noticeable dents. That one had 2 teenagers galloping across it for years. The only reason it was replaced instead of re-finished was it had water damage from the dishwasher. Hope these pics help with your decision.