So many good suggestions and ideas, thank you everybody :) partim I actually had the lounge room exactly how you described to begin with, I know it's hard to visualize through just seeing the photos I've put up but it didn't work as the couch coffee table and tv unit were jammed in together leaving little walk through space and there was a lot of unusable wasted space in the corner where the tv is. I contemplated getting a corner lamp table at the time but what we really need is more sitting space than table space. I changed the room around to this and we liked it much better as the window wasn't obstructed as well. the walking space between couch and cone lamp hasn't been a problem. The absolute last thing after rugs etc will be to move the bigger bookcase that's next to wood heater to another room and put an armchair there :) that will require renovation of the other rooms first. our records are all in alphabetical order and I love them but wouldn't display them any more than I have already as it's not a huge focal point. decoenthusiaste I love the idea of putting the small bookcase on its side behind the couch and could do this if I put a finish on the top and the base! unfortunately it will no longer be able to hold the records if I do that as the shelves are an awkward shape. (Smaller shelf is better for holding records to keep them in separate categories and keep them standing up than the bigger shelf) redpoint, I know! I've always been a timber floor person. When we moved in I was set on putting wood floors down in future. Although these tiles lack character, since living with them I must say the practicality of them outweighs the aesthetics of wood. I can move furniture around without scratching the floor and know I'll never have to ever sand and re polish the floor from wear and tear and they feel cool to walk on in the hot, dry summer. I'm leaning towards getting a sandy coloured slate put down one day. That should add more character to the place :) and my future tribal rugs will work either way. The view is fine, it's just a neat suburban street. I feel too exposed for now with the curtains open and would like a privacy screen put up with a nice garden bed as a view when we get around to re paving and landscaping. It's a southern view so the winter sun now shines through our front windows, which gets a bit bright at times. The brown rug was given to us as a stop gap for absorbing sound and catching the walked in dirt. If I moved it in front of the couch the "brownness" of it would hurt my eyes while I'm trying to relax in my little living space hehe I would consider cutting up the wall hanging or doing something else with it yes, good idea :) Zag Built LLC, I like the idea of a round or oval coffee table! Thos. Baker, a new piece of art would be nice

Thanks Steve. We selected the colour from actual grout samples (not a colour chart) and yes we also had the tile with us at the time... the lighting there was pretty poor though :/ A little confused, you say that raking out joints is no big deal but then that using grout sealear is very tedious... do you mean removing old grout not so hard but applying new grout is harder? Now I'm starting to wonder if they did indeed use the wrong colour, as we had also selected another even lighter grey for the wall tiles and wondering if they used that on the floors too... and even if they did, I'm not sure what can be done about it now :/

Firstly to replace a timber window with aluminium isn't necessarily a good move. The existing windows are probably around 40+ years old so have done a great job so far. While maintenance is required by oiling and/or painting they still have lasted quite well. 40+ is a long time exposed to the elements. Timber performs thermally much better than an aluminium frame. Even the modern thermally broken frames are probably only line ball at best with timber. Repainting a timber window is easier than changing colour on an aluminium one. So far changing to aluminium there is not really any obvious advantage...... The advantage with standard aluminium is really only the cost to purchase, yet a thermally broken is quite expensive...... I regularly change aluminium windows back to timber on many renovations due to the poor quality of the older aluminium frames and timber looks so darn good. Use timber windows with a high quality glass such as Low E, Laminated or double glazing. This will suit the house and perform a lot better. I personally like the existing frame and configurations so would probably only upgrade the glass with a high performance version.

Over time & with exposure to light the natural light colour will start to yellow. You could use a water based non yellowing polyurethane, or if you want them to stay very light you could use Feast Watson liming white, water based, which is non yellowing & gives a milky white effect without obscuring the natural grain.